Turning green olive

I find they turn best when you remove the pimento. ;)

DAGS LDD, boiling, microwaving, bagging. LDD is my preference. Dave in Fairfax

I find the black ones turn much better. Tell me, are you leaving the pimentos in when you turn them? : )

Sorry, couldn't resist. Yes, olive is very prone to cracking, as are most fruit woods. I would suggest trying one of the "alternative" drying methods discussed on here, ad nauseum, like microwave drying, or boiling, to name a couple.

I have turned a fair amount of Olive, mostly natural edge bowls. For natural edge bowls this is what I do:

I will turn the bowl to final thickness, thin, 1/8" or so. I then place my lamp close to the bowl and turn the lathe on real slow. I then go have lunch then return in about 30-45 minutes. The light, 100 watts, has dried the surface of the bowl enough so that I can then finish sand it to 320 grit. At this point, I remove the bowl from the lathe leaving the tenon intact as it will remounted to finish the bottom once it has dried. It may move a little but normally will not crack. A little movement doesn't affect a natural edge bowl.

Symmetrical bowls is a different story. I will rough turn the piece then seal it thoroughly. Sometimes they don't crack much or the cracks will be turned away once dried and returned to the lathe for finishing. Keeping it away from drafts will help slow the drying process and minimize the cracking. I put mine in my basement where the temperature and humidity is fairly constant. Olive is a gorgeous wood. Have fun.

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