Drying very wet wood

Kat Green is good. I have cut a tree in the morning and turned it in the afternoon. Easy showers :-) You can rough it to form and then dry if you wish. See my web site for ideas. It may help.

well this piece of silver birch, was very wet, to the point of dripping water, and also being very hard to turn. The end piece, I couldn't finish well no matter how fine sandpaper I used, it still was ragged in certain points. I want to turn fresh wood, but maybe as a beginner, this particular piece is beyond me.

Also got today some nice new oak and some new I think spalted birch, and some new yew.

any thoughts on what I should do with them? Currently covered from rain, but outside

Kat

Hi Moggy, If your having problems turning wet birch I would suspect the wood is not the problem. Green birch is very easy to turn. I would guess that your problem is likely poor tool presentation or tools that need to be sharper. You can turn to finish and sand but you need to turn thin. Your best bet would be to turn to a wall thickness of 1/10th of the bowl diameter then put the turning in a brown grocery bag and leave it alone for a few months to let it dry. Check it every couple days for cracks or mildew. Minor cracks can be repaired with CA glue. If your a new turner I would skip the oak unless you want to use it for practice. Oak is very hard to dry for a new turner who is probably not going to end up with a turning with consistant wall thickness which is a big factor in cracking. You might turn a piece of the oak and when your finished cut it in half to see how your doing in maintaining even wall thickness. The other woods you mentioned should be ok but roughing and bagging would still be your best bet.

Bob, Naugatuck Ct.

Hi Moggy, When I first started to turn, I tried turning fresh cut Birch, and was soon convinced that no one would be turning this because of the way the fibers kept tearing out and sticking to the end of my gouge. I had new tools, and was sure that they were as sharp as they would ever be. Then I read Keith Rowleys' book "Woodturning a foundation course", and realized I would have to attempt to sharpen them. After making the Jig he describes in his book, I sharpened them the best I could, and was amazed that Birch could be turned. I'm sure that I didn't do a great job of sharpening, but they cut so much better that I couldn't believe it. I like to turn wood as soon after it is cut as I can. If it is a bowl, I also put it in a brown grocery bag to dry. I too make the wall thickness 1/10 of the bowl diameter. I've had good luck with everything except some oak from a famous tree in my area that is between 400 and 600 years old. Most of these bowls started cracking right away, and I lost most of them. Good luck, Don Hart

"moggy" wrote in message news:bpmacc$ikb$ snipped-for-privacy@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...

Sanding is like scraping with a _very_ dull tool, and with green wood, it's impossible to get a sanded finish equal to that on dry wood. You're just going to have to wait, and that said, I will assume that the piece will split, as a 4" is spindle turned? If so, it's likely to split even though it's birch and even if protected from rapid moisture loss. Drying stress of the outside losing moisture more rapidly than inside will cause checks and splits even into the pith. If you did not include the pith, you may survive an out-of round piece.

Only way to treat branch wood if you want to get something from it in the round is to leave the bark on, elevate off the ground, cover and wait. Woods like most birches will check at the ends, but may survive more than a couple inches in, if the bark is tight. You can retard moisture loss through the ends by using an occlusive coating, but it's not a sure thing in any case, and the wood was free, so why waste time. If it's something which might be special, coat and wait longer.

Two things to remember when turning - sever the fibers with a perpendicular entry, and plane down hill. In short, the same directions as you would use to do flat woodworking.

Oh yes, birch is famous for reversing grain - almost as much as elm, so sometimes your planing cut will run up fiber on the same line, regardless.

Well, most of the piece turned ok, if a lot slower than the dry bits of pine I have been practising on, however there was one band in the wood that just would not finish properly. I may have another go at it when it is drier, it may finish better.

It was only one layer in the wood that I had this problem with. I have the book and it is very good. I haven't made the jig as my grinder has a tool rest on it. I think my sharpening is OK, as I keep comparing my sharpened chisels with one that I haven't used as yet, to check the profile. Though, it cold be that I have got it wrong, I don't know.

I am guessing that this newgroup is text only. If I post a link to a pic of the end of the chisel, would someone give me an appraisal of the edge of it?

Hi Moggy, Is the wood sound. I don't know about silver birch, but I've come across paper birch where the some of the interior wood is punky, and it holds water like a sponge. The punky stuff didn't cut well at all. Martin

It seems to be sound though I don't know the word punky (unless you are referring to Billy Idol???)

I tried turning it again, I had left half the piece I was turning before, so it had had a few days to dry slowly with the bark off. As I am a newbie, I think my main problem with the first piece.was a) being too gentle b) not having the wood secured onto the head stock, so too much pressure and it spun freely.

I turned another light pull in a fraction of the time of the first one, but still there is this one layer that will not clean up. It is not right in the centre, but around the edge of the heartwood.

Punky refers to wood that has started to decay, and it will be softer and pull out more than the rest of the wood. Around here birch trees don't last long and often start to decay internally while still standing. Is that one trouble area noticeably softer than the rest of the wood, can you push your finger into it? Martin