A few questions on a piece of wood I found...

Hi Toller

For a few days, yes put it in a trash bag, and get it out of the sun, wow nice haul, solid 18" D apple ??

I would use the trunk for (If you can handle it) 2 large bowls, pith taken out and oriented board grain wise, then try a end grain turning from the top piece with the branch wood ends.

There are other options like making 4 shallower bowls by cutting the lower part into 4 slabs rather than 2, etc.

Have a nice weekend and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Hello Toller,

Leo's advice should do you well, but he failed to answer your question about pith. The pith is the very center from which the growth rings originate. A piece like you are talking about may have several piths, one for each of the branches that were formed. It is from the pith that the cracks seem to emerge when the wood starts to shrink as it dries. The plastic bag should keep the wood from drying too fast and starting to crack, but make sure it is sealed. Also, when you get back, get it out of the bag and start cutting it down into turnable pieces otherwise it may mold. Store it out of the sun and in a place as cool as possible.

Have fun on your trip and deal with the wood when you return.

Fred Holder

Crabapple is always worth it in my book. I had been hoarding a very old branch of it for about 9 years or so. Even though there was some punky areas and cracks, I had to use it, and boy, am I ever glad I did! You can see the results here:

The only sad thing is I have no more of this and I've since had the tree removed. Very depressing. I have a small branch left slightly larger than a pen blank.

As this was so old and dried I didn't concern myself with the pith. The piece cracked on the outside, but remained solid at the pith.

You may want to anchorseal the cut ends to slow down cracking. If you don't have any anchorseal use any latex paint. It won't prevent cracks but will slow it down.