I was just given a bunch of apple wood. It is still very green and just bucked up but not split or resawn. Anyone have any experience/advice regarding this wood? How does it behave while drying? Best way to deal with it, turn it thick and let it dry, turn it an boil it, dry it solid and then turn?????? Any advice or comments would be appreciated. Thanks, Mark
It moves like a snake on bennies.
It'll split and crack like crazy.
I like to quickly turn it green to very thin and let it warp into art.
I love apple. I prefer to turn all my bowls green to finish thickness (1/4 inch or so) let them dry and warp, then sand and finish. Most fruit woods take a little extra care in drying as they tend to split more than other woods. I do put a couple of wraps of 6 inch plastic stretch film around the rim with about an inch hanging over into the inside of the bowl. I have had much better success getting them to dry without cracking this way. Usually dry enough to sand out in about a week to 10 days.
robo hippy
Apple wood is notorius for splitting sometimes even on the lathe while turning. I was given some a while back and the only way I got good results was to turn to near finished size and dry in the microwave then turn to finshed size. I still have one of the bowls I made 2 years ago and no splits warps or cracks.
It looks great (IMHO) but cracks like crazy. Use whichever tricks you like (you missed at least "pack in shavings", "brown paper bag", "turn to finished thickness and let warp" and "liquid dish detergent" from the long list of r.c.w nostrums) and expect to lose some anyway. Save the shavings and the ones that crack for grilling/smoking with.
If it holds water, it's a bowl. If it doesn't, it's art.
Mix with a couple of ribeyes
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