I am standing out of a window looking at the remains of a "windfall" apple tree in my garden. Is the wood suitable / desirable as a woodturning material? I have never used any before but have heard that fruit wood sometimes gives a very nice appearance. I notice that there are large amounts of sap and the wood looks very white, wet and soft. Any ideas on how to use, preserve etc would be of interest. G
Graham Apple likes to split while drying. I would get it cut to length, the center cut out and the ends sealed quickly. Other than that, the usual drying techniques work well. See
one of mt first trys was fresh cut apple.my face mask and shirt were very wet when i finished. Live and learn. then i turned a peice about 4.5" dia. 6" long, with a little work i got it to 1/8" thick and all the worm holes showed up, it's a very nice affect. i put all the wet shaveings in and around it in a bag to dry and had good luck. give it a try i think you will like it.
I have turned a lot of apple. My customers really like it. I have had good success turning green. When rough turned and then Anchorsealed, I have had higher losses than with other woods due to the extreme warpage that is perhaps twice as much as maple or birch.
Try to leave the heartwood in the center for interest (orienting like a natural edge bowl) for interest. Beware if there are any existing cracks in it, however.
Graham, Apple like most fruitwoods is a beautiful wood to turn. But you've got to turn it green and then boil it for an hour or two to stabilize the severe movement in the wood. Once stabilized and finished turned, fruitwood bowls are really beautiful with the contrasting heartwood and sapwood. If younjust seal the ends with Anchorseal and wait for the blanks to dry like I did once, you will have a whole bunch of presplit firewood and kindling to use or give away. good luck Roger Dunn
I like turning apple. When I turned my last bunch it was still a bit green. Apple seems to warp in interesting ways. I have a few apple bowls that are unique in shape. My wife loves them and they are setting as center pieces on our dining room table. Save the shavings. Someone will want them. They smell great. I gave my last bunch to a guy that is smoking meat.
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