Cutting your own wood.

[pensbymdsmith]

I am new to pen turning and would like to know what I need to do to prepare wood that I cut myself. Is any length logs better than others? How do you dry it and about how long? I assume different spices dry differently. What else is done to the wood besides cut it into blanks? Thanks.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Michael,
First welcome to the group.. lots of good guys here and you'll get lots of answers to your questions.. hopefully, mine will be helpful.
If you are cutting good solid wood, the most important thing after cutting is to make sure your wood is dry... you can use a microwave,, run the blank in the oven for a few minutes, let it cool, repeat, etc.. until you can tell the wood has stopped losing water.
Some weigh the wood before and as they process and when it becomes stable.. consider it dry.. others use a moisture meter. If you air dry, it can take several months before the blank is dry.
If you are cutting pretty funk/punky wood, you may need to stabilize it with either CA or a resin.. You might contact some of the guys here to do casting.. I don't. I have stabilized punky wood with CA.
Not much info here, but I'm sure the rest will chime in with more.
wellcome.

 

[Wildman]

The length of a log is completely up to you. What size is easiest for you to handle.

What is the diameter of the logs your handling? For 3 to 4 inch logs simply seal the ends and store. Over 4 inches split logs, and seal the ends. You can use available commercial wax emulsions Achorseal, or Greenwood Sealer. Also latex paint, canning wax, wood glue make good end sealers. Sealing the end slows down the drying process and helps prevents checking. Logs drying too fast will check & slit.

Store your logs off the ground and out of the weather & direct sunlight. I store logs in an outdoor shed, for a couple months before trying to cut them up. Some folks bring their logs into a garage or basement to dry.

Cutting green logs can really mess up saw (table, bandsaw) blades. Cleaning and wiping down equipment to prevent rust is a real pain too. Waiting a couple three months before cutting help blades cut cleaner.

Having said that couple of days after cutting, hauling, unloading, splitting, sealing, & stacking logs. Mess up my whole shop roughing out bowl blanks, or resealing blanks to dry.

 

[pensbymdsmith]

If I split the logs and seal the ends, do I need to do anything to the exposed wood? Thanks.

 

[Rick_G]

When harvesting my own wood for penturning I cut it into oversize blanks an inch square by 6" long, then dry them in the microwave. To microwave dry I put 4 blanks in the microwave and heat on defrost for 3 minutes then let cool for an hour. Repeat 3 or 4 times as needed. I have a moisture meter to let me know when they are dry enough. A set of scales could be used to weigh them and when they stop losing weight they will be dry.

They will sometimes warp which is why I cut them oversize, once dry I recut them to 3/4" square and 5.5" long.

If you are going to dry them like this it would be a good idea to go out and pick up a cheap microwave, it's NOT a good idea to use the kitchen microwave DAMHIKT.

Also don't leave the room when the microwave is on. The wood can catch fire if you leave it in to long or get it to dry and cycle the heat again.

 

[wdcav1952]

If I split the logs and seal the ends, do I need to do anything to the exposed wood? Thanks.

Michael, in my opinion the answer is no. If you seal all of the wood, it cannot dry. Seal the ends only.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Michael, let me also welcome you to the group, you've already got good answers, now I'll steal this thread to invite you to our little Oklahoma pen gathering in Shawnee. PM sent..........

 

[low_48]

How you cut the wood depends on how soon you want to work it. Leave it in half logs and it will take years to dry. Get the blanks to 1" x 6" and it can be dry in less than a month, or faster. I don't seal the ends of pen blanks. I'll loose a few, but mostly just go crooked if there is some stress. It's a good idea to get the bark off the logs as well. Bugs will be working soon, and since I hear a woodpecker outside these days, I think they are already working. The bugs mostly live just under the bark. During the winter I put the blanks on top of the main trunk line running from the furnace. That'll dry the easy stuff in a week during cold weather. It's a pretty gentle dry, since the wood warms up when the furnace runs, then cools when it shuts off. I almost don't mind the furnace running since it is drying wood, "almost". In the summer, I put the blanks up in the attic of the house. Same thing, less than a week to dry in July. For the attic drying, I basically make a bag from chicken wire. Fill it with blanks and hang it from a nail in the rafter. It gets the most air exposure that way.

 

[Rifleman1776]

If I split the logs and seal the ends, do I need to do anything to the exposed wood? Thanks.

No, that is enough. I generally slab off the sides to expose more wood and remove much of the bark. Bark is an insect buffet. I cut to abut 6" lengths and seal ends. Drying time varies with the wood and storage conditions. I'll wait a couple months then cut into blanks. Sometimes this isn't enough time and the blanks warp. Other times they stay OK and I let dry that way. Smaller pieces, naturally, will dry faster. I use the microwave thing only as a last resort.