Cutting Blanks

[jtrusselle]

The ice storm that hit New England the end of '08 knocked down a large 25 year old Lilac tree (three trunked) in my yard. The tree had sentimental value since I planted it when my youngest daughter was but 6 months old. But, as a penturner, the sentiment quickly faded when I started the chainsaw...

I don't have much experience cutting blanks and need some advice. The trunks of the tree are 18 inches in diameter and I have a Jet 14 inch bandsaw with the factor installed blade. I've cut some blanks but can't seem to get the squareness of a purchased blank or ones that other members produce. The blade seems to wander a bit when cutting through the thick wood. Is there a recommended blade other than the factory installed for cutting blanks? Also, what is good technique?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Jim

 

[jtrusselle]

Corrrection... the trunks are 18 inches in circumference and not diameter.

 

[jimm1]

I took a downed walnut tree, chain sawed to managable pieces then split them like firewood. I then used the jointer to get a flat surface. Table saw after that.

Be careful.
Jim

 

[arkie]

Nice square blanks are over rated. They are easier to hold and drill straight in those pretty little vises suppliers sell. In reality, you're going to turn the blanks round any way, so blank shape is mostly so you can drill the holes and mount the blanks. Also, if you're selling blanks, so you don't waste as much material. My advice is to get over that part and concentrate on the next step, which is far more important.

You'll want to dry your blanks after cutting and before turning. That probably involves sealing the end grain with some moisture resistant compound, like wax. Lilac is prone to splitting and you may lose most of your wood at this stage wihout care and luck.

Read the forum for micro-wave and DNA drying, check other turning forums for drying kilns, bagging, and other stuff.

 

[fernhills]

I get the log down to small manageable pieces and use a sled on the band saw, works pretty good that way.

 

[wdcav1952]

Look into getting a Timberwolf blade. The folks at Suffolk Machinery can help you decide what blade is best for your saw and what wood and thickness of the wood you are cutting.

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/silicon_steel_selection.asp

Nicely cut blanks are only important if you wish to sell them, or if accurate drilling is important to you. In other words, it is pretty important. If your blade is wandering, you either need to cut wood that is not so thick or you need a different blade.

 

[Fred]

To follow along on ARKIE's post, read this article on drying wood. It sure has saved me on a bunch of blanks I have cut from green wood.

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html

The method will save you many, many blanks from splitting. Steve also has many other great and informative articles at his site. :biggrin:

IF you can't boil your wood at least cut the pith out of all your sections. That should save you a lot of wood and future headaches.

As far as your band saw problems, all suggestions so far should prove helpful to you.

 

[leehljp]

I would add a big caveat to Arkie's suggestion on square, which applies to me and I know to a few others. I do mostly small amounts of segments on pens, but whole pen segments on occasion (at least I attempt them). I also like to make make almost shim thin segments. In these cases, square has to be square!

Celtic knots, shim, filler bands, segments, stripes - require square for most methods, and the more accurately square it is, the better it is.

Otherwise, it doesn't matter. One more, if you offer some for sale, it is more "appealing" in square or at least systematically dimensioned in one form or another.

 

[Robert Taylor]

all bandsaw blades have a "lead" angle. ie: they rarely cut parallal to the fence. knowing how to adjust the fence is the key. also typical resaw blades are 1/2 to 5/8 in width.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Your blade may be dull. Wandering is usually a sign of dull.
However, before replacing, you might consider using my technique.
I will take manageable lengths of the log (apx. 16") and slab off the sides making the log square. Of course, it is vital to coat the ends with Anchorseal or a similar material. Then let set, at least, six months in a dry location with ventilation. Splitting is optional but not a bad idea.
As others have said, absolutely square blanks are not necessary for making pens. But, if you are going to sell any it is nice to deliver a good looking product.
Blanks cut while the wood is wet will probably warp. I ruined a bunch of spalted redbud getting anxious. All I'll get out of those is practice for drilling curved antler.

 

[purplehaze]

blade drift

I don't have a band saw but I am looking for one and found a web site with an instructional video about lumber re-sawing. It's a shop smith site but there is some good info on fixing the drift of the blade when sawing lumber from logs. Look at session #23 good luck.
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Sawdust_Sessions.htm

 

[Lulanrt]

I use Timberwolf blades for cutting all my blanks. Saw logs into 12 to 15 inch pieces split cut. Do not worry about being exact. Also make sure the tension is right on the blade. Be careful I have broken blades and pinched fingers doing it this way. If you can use a jointer to establish a flat surface than cut on the bandsaw safer. Good luck
Travis

 

[Longfellow]

Cutting Pen Blanks

My three main cutting machines are 1- chain saw, to cut logs into managable size to cut into 3"X3" square blocks on my -2 Delta 14" bandsaw with a 3/4" 3TPI blade and the my 3- Delta Unisaw with a carbide tipped sawblade. I have cut probably thousands to 13/16" square X 6" long that I sell on eBay, (Username Deltakong), and also here in the Individual Classified section.
Example-

 

[jtrusselle]

Great advice everyone. The Jet factory blade is 3/8" and probably is a bit dull, so my first step will be to purchase a new blade. Also, I don't feel as bad now about not having perfectly square blanks since I'm not yet into advanced techniques... grain alignment on a two piece pen can be a challenge but I found that drilling one side and then aligning the center grain and marking the center point through the drill hole works.

Thanks for the help!

Here's a link (haven't figured out thumbnails yet) to a pict of some of my not so square blanks. At least I did catch some nice purple heartwood...
http://www.penturners.org/photos/index.php?n=7420