Circle of Life

[Marmotjr]

I planted this (Silver?) maple tree 35 odd years ago as a little kid. There were 6 flower pots I planted from the Helicopter seeds that had fallen of our tree in Mechanicsburg, PA. I think 4 of them sprouted, and we transferred them from house to house as we moved a few times while growing up. The last move, only one of the remaining 2 could be moved again, and it ended up in the front yard of our house. That was 25 years ago. Since then, it has grown into a good sized tree for a front yard.

Last year, I collected 3 more seed pods, and now have 3 saplings growing in the back garden, eventually looking for a final home. Most likely my back yard once I get settled in my new place.

Tonight, my father and I were talking, and I mentioned I was going to get the snips out and take down a couple small branches to eventually make pens out of. He said, just take that whole lower limb, it always gets in the way while you're mowing. So I did. Ended up with a whole bunch more wood than I can ever use in pens.

So before the saw had even cooled off (yes, I used a reciprocating saw, chainsaw is out of commission), I cut out a bowl blank from the split end, and turned me a bowl.

Now, I'm still learning to turn bowls, but this one was smooth. Aside from the liquid goo that was flying everywhere! This wood is so green (it was live when I cut it), I can't even sand it yet. I'll let it dry and see what it warps into. Then I'll sand it down, probably by hand as I highly doubt it will still fit on the chuck, and put a finish on it. The Ambrosia adds a nice little touch to it. I'm just hoping it doesn't crack too much.

 

[Edgar]

Looks nice - pack it in a bag of wood shavings while it dries. That will slow down the drying a bit & maybe reduce cracking somewhat.

 

[stonepecker]

I second that advice of Edgar's. Brown paper bag full of shavings.
A nice vase would also be something to remember that tree by.

And lots of pens for the family.
Congrats on the memories. That bowl is beautiful.

 

[JimB]

Nice story and nice bowl. Do as Edgar suggested to let it dry.

 

[mark james]

NICE!!! May want to also consider anchor seal/paint/wax on the end grains. But it has probably already started to crack :roll eyes:.

 

[tomtedesco]

Good looking bowl but it seems like a long time to wait to get the wood. LOL

 

[lhowell]

Always nice to get free wood and even better when it has sentimental value!

I would worry that being that green you may have prematurely turned it too thin to avoid some major cracking. I know you have to wait longer the thicker the walls but I've found the less likely they are to crack; especially when packed in the shavings and put in a brown paper bag for 6 months to a year. Take it back out and turn it to final shape.

Hope it works out! I'll be interested to see final pictures several months from now!!

 

[Marmotjr]

I'm still learning bowl turning, and it turned out ok, but It's no show piece, probably end up a random bowl sitting around the house or the shop.

I couldn't just let it sit though, I had to do something with the wood. I knew a pen was out of the question, so I cut a blank from the split section, cause I knew that would be a pain to seal up with wax. I'm going to finish cutting down the wood this weekend into manageable sizes, and seal the ends with wax. I'm not expecting great show piece type wood, but at least I hope it will turn out to be some quality turning blanks, and maybe some small milled boards for various projects. Along with the pens, I am thinking a matched set of ornaments for the tree.

 

[alankulwicki7]

I've turned quite a few bowls from green to finish and never had a problem with cracking. As long as the thickness is consistent, the bowl should dry crack free. Now it will likely warp on you but again, it shouldn't crack.

If you are looking for a perfectly round bowl, then you want to rough turn the blank (leave it about 1" thick), seal the end grain and either put it in a bag of shavings or toss it on the shelf for 6 months. Then you can re-turn the blank and the bowl should stay fairly round once completed.

Just going from my experiences:biggrin:

 

[TellicoTurning]

Silver maple, or at least that I've turned, is pretty stable. It may warp a little. I have 3 that were in my front yard when I moved here almost 11 years ago... they're good sized trees now, almost doubled in size in that time... only thing I hate about them, the put roots on top of the ground and it's a rough ride to mow around them and in the spring they do put out a lot of helicopters... I even had a grove sprouted in my front porch gutters ... until I tore the gutters down.

Another method to dry the wood if you want to rush it.... get an old microwave - I wouldn't recommend using your wife's kitchen microwave - put the bowl in and set on a relatively low setting... run it for 1-3 minutes, take the bowl out let it cool, then repeat as needed until it's as dry as you want it.... I've dried up to 13 inch bowls this way in my shop... I have an old Montgomery Wards MW that I picked up at a local Habitat store for about $20.

 

[triw51]

Such a slippery slop we tread when we turn our first bowl. Then we get sucked in to the vortex of more tools, bigger lathe, more exotic wood does it never stop???? It hasn't for me......

 

[Marmotjr]

So I cut the wood down to size today and sealed all the end grain with wax. Got more pen blanks than I know what to do with (when they're dry, I'll probably offer up some for trade), plenty of bigger pieces that will do stoppers or ornamanets, quite a few pieces that will do small bowls, a nice hiking stick, and one piece (the upper right one) that says baseball bat to me. Biggest piece on the bottom is about 7 inches across, for scale.