Preparing wood

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scjohnson243

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Jun 24, 2014
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Fort Smith, Arkansas
One of the big draws to the penturning to me (and woodturning in general) is the ability to scour my new 10 acres of woods (we just bought the house) for a bunch of wood, hunt for burls, etc... My land is full of cedar and hickory, but I do not have any idea what I'm looking for....

I looked through the library and did not see a section on creating blanks from "Live/Green"(Not sure what to call it?)... If I find nice straight hickory or cedar branch on the ground that has been knocked off the tree, what would I need to do to prepare it to turn? I have to cut down a few smaller (6" diameter) cedar and hickory trees that are growing in clumps, I would like to save the wood to use for something in the future...

Could anyone point me to any articles or tutorials on this? I didn't find much when I searched (But I do not really know WHAT I'm searching for! Being new at something is challenging!)

Thank you all again.
 
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CrimsonKeel

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Mar 1, 2013
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Royal oak, MI
Are you prepping just pen blanks or other bowl blanks? For pen blanks wet cut to 1-1.25 inch thick and a couple inches longer than a normal pen blank. the reason for the larger sizes is the wood will shrink,warp,and twist as it dries. I use a product called anchorseal to seal the end grain of my blanks. Then let them sit till they are Dry(depends on how wet and your local temp/humidity)

For bowl blanks most people rough turn to a shape and a thicker walls then seal and let dry. then you re-chuck them up and finish turn when dry. The reason bowls are done this way is it takes a long time for large chunks of wood to fully dry.
Those are the basics.
 

BSea

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Dec 28, 2009
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Little Rock, Arkansas
The wood needs to be dry before you turn it.

But to prepare the wood, I'd seal the ends & stack it somewhere. Buy yourself a moisture meter, and check it every few weeks. I wouldn't cut it till it was close to dry to help prevent splitting. You can seal the ends of the logs with anchor seal, wax, or even latex paint. If you have some large logs, you may want to rip them into boards, or make some bowl blanks. If you cut the wood, cut it oversized, and use some scraps between the pieces to allow air flow around the wood. Don't put a sump or short log down on concrete with the end down. The concrete will suck the water from the wood, and increase the chances of cracking the wood.


You can accelerate the drying process by putting blanks in the microwave. Although, I'm not sure I'd do the cedar in my wife's microwave. I do like sleeping in the house during the summer.:wink: To dry blanks in the microwave, wrap them in a paper towel. (only a few at a time). Don't over do it, all you want to do is help the water get out. So only get the blank slightly hot. It should never be too hot to hold. So do short times in the microwave, then let it cool a bit. Repeat till you don't get a lot of water from the blanks. Ive done this with some oak burl, and it worked fine.
 

Rick_G

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Nov 30, 2007
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Bothwell, Ontario, Canada.
I generally cut my "wet" blanks a little long and just over an inch square because they can warp when drying this way. Then 6 blanks at a time into the microwave for 3 minutes on defrost. Take them out and let them cool to room temperature before the next shot in the microwave. I have a cheap moisture meter that reads every 2% from 8% to 22%. When it doesn't read any more ie. below 8 I'm done. Depending on the wood the number of cycles will vary, I've had willow take a dozen or more cycles and maple 2 or three. When done I cut them down to blank size 3/4" square and 5 - 6" long and store them until needed.

After the first time I did this the wife and I decided that it would be a good idea if I had my own microwave for the shop so we picked up a cheap one on sale.
 

scjohnson243

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Jun 24, 2014
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Fort Smith, Arkansas
Thank you all.. I have not really looked into bowls or any other larger projects yet, pens seem small and uncomplcated so I figured it would be a good starting place.

I assume I can do this with any wood I find? (Like a branch on the ground)? as long as its thick enough, I would cut it down to just a bit larger than what a final "Blank" would be and seal the edges with some of the above suggestions until its dry (Or cook it in my wifes microwave and risk the anger)... That seems pretty easy, Thank you very much! Do cedar and hickory make decent materials? Anyone have any pictures of what you have made with them? (Sorry, not really on topic, just curious)

Thank you all again, love the resources!
 

1080Wayne

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Brownfield, Alberta, Canada.
Any branch you find 3/4 inch or above should work . Presence of knots or obvious trauma to the branch will probably enhance pen appearance . You can leave the bark on on a small branch . Blanks do not have to be square , or even totally straight , just straight enough that you can get the diameter needed for the pen .

I wouldn`t waste money on a moisture meter . A $10 scale capable of weighing to a gram will allow you to know with certainty that the wood is dry . If no change after consecutive microwaves . it is probably close to 0% . Allow it to stay at room conditions for a week or two to come back to equilibrium (determined by weighing) before turning . If allowing the wood to air dry , no weight change for a couple of weeks means it is dry to current temp/RH conditions .
 

BSea

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I would think the branch would have to be a minimum of 2". You don't want the pith in the blank if you can help it. What you really want is a branch or trunk of a tree about 12" or better. But 7" would do fine. That way you can cross cur the blanks, or angle cut them to give them some really interesting grain.
 

Wildman

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Jacksonville, NC, USA.
I use this stuff to end seal pen and other spindle blanks. My wife gets it at military commissary store for little less. At one time could get it at most grocery stores.
Gulf Wax Household Paraffin Wax, 16 oz: Decor : Walmart.com

Problem with limbs is reaction wood in hardwoods and compression/tension wood in conifers. So look for the straightest limbs you can find. Might be mixed up but reaction wood in hardwood is at top of the crook or bend and compression tension wood at bottom of crook or bend in conifers. Would worry more about reaction/tension wood more than pith in a limb.

Besides storm damage reason limbs fall from a tree is pruning or disease. Disease wood may or may not be suitable for turning. I say throw a piece on the lathe and see what you get. With storm damage & pruned limbs dealing with wet wood.

Wood dries from outside in, wood loose moisture twice as fast from the ends so we end seal with paint, wax, or commercial end sealer to slow down the drying process. Just put your blanks in a cool dry place out of the weather. Drying wood simply a water removal process summed up in one word think evaporation.

Moisture meter will give you ballpark moisture content. A better way to check moisture content (MC) for pen blanks is with a mail or kitchen scale. When the blank or blanks stop losing weight it said to be at equilibrium moisture content (ECM) and ready to turn. A 1" x 6" pen blank could be dry enough to turn in as little a month or as much as six months. Wood species, density and close or open grain affect drying times.
 
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1080Wayne

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I would think the branch would have to be a minimum of 2". You don't want the pith in the blank if you can help it. What you really want is a branch or trunk of a tree about 12" or better. But 7" would do fine. That way you can cross cur the blanks, or angle cut them to give them some really interesting grain.

Pith should not be a problem on anything under 3-4 inch . Anchorseal applied immediately to the cut ends of most woods up to that diameter will prevent the checking caused by the pith drying out .

The dark pith of some woods can enhance pen appearance if the piece is drilled so that the pith line will be intersected by the pen profile . Some pines with frequent regular branch structure have very attractive patterns in the pith . Many of the smaller , shrubbier trees will have nice pith .
 

1080Wayne

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Feb 5, 2006
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Brownfield, Alberta, Canada.
I use this stuff to end seal pen and other spindle blanks. My wife gets it at military commissary store for little less. At one time could get it at most grocery stores.
Gulf Wax Household Paraffin Wax, 16 oz: Decor : Walmart.com

Problem with limbs is reaction wood in hardwoods and compression/tension wood in conifers. So look for the straightest limbs you can find. Might be mixed up but reaction wood in hardwood is at top of the crook or bend and compression tension wood at bottom of crook or bend in conifers. Would worry more about reaction/tension wood more than pith in a limb.

Besides storm damage reason limbs fall from a tree is pruning or disease. Disease wood may or may not be suitable for turning. I say throw a piece on the lathe and see what you get. With storm damage & pruned limbs dealing with wet wood.

Wood dries from outside in, wood loose moisture twice as fast from the ends so we end seal with paint, wax, or commercial end sealer to slow down the drying process. Just put your blanks in a cool dry place out of the weather. Drying wood simply a water removal process summed up in one word think evaporation.

Moisture meter will give you ballpark moisture content. A better way to check moisture content (MC) for pen blanks is with a mail or kitchen scale. When the blank or blanks stop losing weight it said to be at equilibrium moisture content (ECM) and ready to turn. A 1" x 6" pen blank could be dry enough to turn in as little a month or as much as six months. Wood species, density and close or open grain affect drying times.

I think things which are very true at the large scale of boards are of much less importance at the small scale of a pen . I deliberately look for the most twisted , abused branches that I can find , because the more stresses that the tree has encountered , the more character the wood will probably have .

The curly hardwoods that we find attractive are found at the underside of a branch , and are caused by the weight of the branch compressing the wood fibers .
 

Wildman

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1080Wayne, I should have omitted the word TENSION when talking about compression wood found in conifers (softwoods). Reaction wood in conifers (softwood like Cedar) is called compression wood and forms on the lower side of trunk or limbs! Reaction wood in hardwoods like Hickory from on topside of bends in the trunk or limbs. In both cases we are talking about unstable wood cells.

"Problem with limbs is reaction wood in hardwoods and compression/tension wood in conifers. So look for the straightest limbs you can find. Might be mixed up but reaction wood in hardwood is at top of the crook or bend and compression tension wood at bottom of crook or bend in conifers. Would worry more about reaction/tension wood more than pith in a limb."

About the only time going to hear about both compression/tension side of reaction wood is from bow makers. Normally talking about Mulberry but might also apply to other woods used to male bows. They want the wood from the tension side and not compression side. Apparently compression not as strong when making bows.

Reaction or compression wood may have a tendency to twist a bit during drying. So always cut longer and thicker than actually need.
 
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