How does redwood turn? I bjust got a huge slab 4"x48"x36" off a stump from a tree that was cut long ago. The wood is very dry but sound. No rot or anything. There is some really nice figure in the wood. What can I expect?
JB
Redwood turns very nicely. The grain is beautiful, especially the burl and lace figures. Wear a dust mask when you sand. The dust is pretty nasty.
Barry
redwood is very soft and very brittle. but it is also pretty. Personally, if you have a slap cut horizontally through a stump, I'd suggest not turning it - instead, sand it to a very smooth finish and apply a thick very high gloss urethane coat to it and use it as a table top. It is outstanding that way. Turning it will make it smaller and less attractive - again, just my opinion, and probably sacrilege in a wood turning group....
Or you could try something me and a friend are doing with a badly cracked 2 inch thick slab of tree; going at it with planes and belt sanders to angle it(I'm not sure really how to explain, but we are cutting down towards one side, making a flat surface but with more then just the radial rings showing). It has many cracks, so we are going to fill them, and finish the tree with a 2 step plastic finish,IIRC a form of epoxy, company is called system something or other. we have tried it on scrap wood, and it is more durable then polyurethane or lacquer. It's only drawback being that it looks like plastic instead of wood. and then 23$ for enough to do the whole thing(its about 3 feet accross, and has many cracks about 1/2inch wide running radially.
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