Free Wood

[sand334]

I went to my Knitting class today and the preacher of the church was cutting down some trees. I thought FREE WOOD for handles, pens, bowls. He said it was some kind of Pear. It is yellow inside and pretty.

How do you preserve wood like that. I don't want it to crack especially the big pieces that I would like to use for bowls. I am new to this craft but free wood is free wood. At least I hope so.

Thanks in advance. And this might not be the place to put this post.

 

[magpens]

I will let someone else answer your question about pear wood.

Meanwhile .... Welcome to IAP !!!

 

[Edgar]

First step is to seal the ends of the logs as quickly as possible. Some use a wood sealant like Anchorseal but others just use ordinary house paint.

Then store them in a covered area if at all possible & off the ground. I use old shipping pallets & just let them air dry under my tractor shed.

I don't have any other recommendations for Pear wood, but someone else might have more experience with it.

 

[robutacion]

Regardless of the type of wood it may be, the best thing is to identify which logs you want to make bowls from, on those, you slice them in half with the chainsaw and then seal/paint the ends.

Other logs need also to be sealed at the ends, kept off the ground and in a weather protected area, is important that the wood gets good ventilation.

Cheers
George

 

[mark james]

I have just a few skills/experience in this area, but I have learned that fruit trees are very prone to cracking, so follow all the suggestions above and seal the ends.

I will also say, that the eventual blanks may be very beautiful! Go for it!!!

 

[MDWine]

You now know how to start the drying process by the other posts!

I had some small pieces of pear that I turned for pens and key fobs. I found the wood to be a tad soft, but it turns like a dream and finishes nicely. In my case, there wasn't much figure, so it is a bit "ordinary". I managed to keep a bit of sapwood and bark on one piece, and I liked that a lot.

As I think about it now, it is kind of like a "yellow ivory" in the finished look... Personally, I like it and would turn more if I had it!

All I had were small pieces of cutoffs from a Woodcraft class. They turned bowls. If my feeble memory serves, the pieces they used had some figure/rings visible, although I did not see the finished pieces.

You'll have some small investment (gathering/cutting/Anchorseal/storage), so turn it and see what YOU think... I like it.

Free wood is worth a turn! I hope yours turns out well.