Osage Orange

[Jcraigg]

I am new to this so here goes I turned a pen out of some osage orange
we call it hedge in Kansas but any way The wood came from a barn and is 100+years. We tore the barn down. The pen was a slimline and it turned out nice the next day i was looking at it and it had hairline cracks all over it What caused it?
1 did i turn it to fast and made it hot?
2 Does the wood need stabilized?

I used a CA finish on it. Any ideas?

 

[Travlr7]

A picture will help us, but on first blush, I think that maybe too much HEAT developed during finishing. Had that happen to me with a Purpleheart pen.

Bruce

 

[low_48]

It would be my guess that the cracks were already there before you turned it. Hedge has alot of cracks all through the wood. The center is especially bad. Hedge could never be stabilized. It would be like trying to stabilize a rock. I think that cracking during sanding is only a condition of the wood not being dry enough. Most exotics are very hard to dry because of their density. When you heat it up during sanding the wood dries too quickly and cracks. 100+ hedge should have been plenty dry![]
A little thin CA will set all those small cracks and they should pretty well be hidden.

 

[Old Griz]

Originally posted by low_48
<br /><b>Hedge could never be stabilized. It would be like trying to stabilize a rock</b>.

Someone better tell that to BB... he is selling it and I have a couple of pieces he sent as freebies that turned like butter...

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have quite a bit of osage orange, most fresh cut in May. It is slow to dry. My very first turning project was on some osage orange I picked up off the ground left by a tree trimming crew. It had been laying for quite a few years, maybe as much as ten. Inside, it still had considerable moisture and cracked the day after turning. A friend gave me a large stick of OO that had been in his shop for more than six years and had been cut several years before that. I made some duck calls and dried flower vases from it. While boring the center out, I found it still quite moist. So, even though your wood is ancient, it still may have trapped moisture. I would suggest you resaw into turning blank sizes and allow to dry. For small pieces like pen blanks, try the microwave oven trick. I disagree with the statement that OO naturally has a lot of cracks. That has not been my experience. And I doubt if it would have been used for many centuries for archery bows if that were correct.

 

[mick]

I can verify what Frank suggests about drying it in the Microwave. As some of you can remember Connie and I recieved a couple of slabs of Osage Orange as a wedding gift.....lol. Just recently I cut some into blanks and dried it in the microwave...turned a couple of pens from it and as of yet ...no cracking or problems. Keep them fingers crossed tho .....lol.

 

[low_48]

Cheez Ol Griz, Well excuse me!!!![:I][:I][:0]

 

[Old Griz]

Originally posted by low_48
<br />Cheez Ol Griz, Well excuse me!!!![:I][:I][:0]

Sorry, was not trying to be nasty.. just stating a point.. I apologize if I offended you

 

[wdcav1952]

Is this the kinder, gentler, PC Griz? []

 

[YoYoSpin]

If Osage Orange (aka Hedge Apple, Horse Apple) is sanded aggressively, and the wood gets hot, it will develop small (but deep) cracks...same with ebony, pink ivory and several other woods. Try maintaining a light touch when sanding. If that doesn't help, try wet sanding.

 

[Old Griz]

Originally posted by wdcav1952
<br />Is this the kinder, gentler, PC Griz? []

NOPE, just the "tired of getting my butt kicked for making observations Griz"