I'm new to turning and people are always commenting about turning green wood. Why not regular kiln dried / air dried wood? Does the moisture help to keep the turned piece from splitting apart?
Someone told me to get a 4x4 cedar port from the Borg and practice on chunks of that. Is that a good or bad idea?
============================= I wouldn't recommend the cedar. It is a soft wood that will usually tear out if not approached with good technique. On the other hand, if you learn to turn kiln dried cedar, all the other wood types should come pretty easy.
Green wood is usually free and it cuts much smoother than dried wood. I avoid using kiln-dried wood whenever I can. If I must use dry wood, I try to get air-dried wood. Turns better than KD stuff, which is chippy and extremely dusty.
In aqddition to being free, easy to turn, and the possibility of getting a wider variety, there is another aspect - FUN. One can shoot the shavings clear across the shop!
Rob. There are about a dozen good reasons to turn green wood. Such as it's usually free or cheap. Much easier to turn. Less dust. It's almost impossible to find large dry pieces of wood. Etc. If you want to learn more about turning green wood check out John Jordan's new DVD called "The Aesthetics & Properties of Wood". I don't beleive it is available in any catalogs yet but can be purchased directly from John.
I have been attempting to contact John via his e-mail address as published in the AAW Directory, but get no reply. Maybe it is not reaching him. Can someone give me a better address? Joe Keeler-Cincinnati
I have about 13 Acers of land that is about 3/4 wooded. I have a lot of fire wood that is any where from 1-7 years old. There is always a lot of fallen wood in various stages of dryness or decay. I just picked-up my first lathe, a Powermatic 90 that I got at a school sale for $276, and just started using it for the first time this week. What do I need to know about using green, air dried, spalded wood? Do I need to trim the ends of a piece of firewood until there is not any checking or cracking? How "round" does a piece of fire wood need to be before I put it in the lathe for spindle turning? Any good links to green woodturning?
Not really. I usually just chuck the firewood, rough it to a cylinder, and evalute the usable diameter and length between cracks at that point. If it's overly rotten (or has "advanced spalting" ;^)) you may need to trim back to get solid wood that will hold a center, or you may just need to give up on it and choose another chunk that's not so far gone.
How slowly does your lathe go? With a slow enough lathe you can turn just about any hunk of firewood round. If the low speed is too high you need to get the balance of the piece well enough to allow you to turn it without having the lathe flopping around, or the wood tearing itself out of the lathe due to imbalance + speed. Most firewood I start with for spindles is basically triangular (split from the log). When it has to go in the ShopSmith, which does not go very slowly (500-700 RPM minimum), I need to do more work with the drawknife before turning the motor on.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.