Hi all,
Quick question--When turning an exotic hardwood that comes covered in wax, is it advisable (required) to turn it down to a cylinder and then let the wood acclimate/dry out for a bit in my shop before turning to final shape? I ask because I had a block of tiete rosewood that came covered in wax. I turned it down into a pepper mill, and it's since developed some cracks. Nothing major, and I use it as my everyday mill in my kitchen--between my wife, me, and my three kids, who knows how much it's been banged about. That could definitely have caused the cracks. But I was also wondering if maybe I'd messed up by not letting it acclimate before turning to final shape. Obviously, the wax is there for a reason. Maybe it holds a little water in (especially if it's waxed in the tropical clime where it was logged); maybe it's supposed to keep water out. Either way, it seems possible or probable that there could be some significant movement in the wood that would benefit from turning to rough shape and then letting it acclimate a bit. I'm curious what others do.
Quick question--When turning an exotic hardwood that comes covered in wax, is it advisable (required) to turn it down to a cylinder and then let the wood acclimate/dry out for a bit in my shop before turning to final shape? I ask because I had a block of tiete rosewood that came covered in wax. I turned it down into a pepper mill, and it's since developed some cracks. Nothing major, and I use it as my everyday mill in my kitchen--between my wife, me, and my three kids, who knows how much it's been banged about. That could definitely have caused the cracks. But I was also wondering if maybe I'd messed up by not letting it acclimate before turning to final shape. Obviously, the wax is there for a reason. Maybe it holds a little water in (especially if it's waxed in the tropical clime where it was logged); maybe it's supposed to keep water out. Either way, it seems possible or probable that there could be some significant movement in the wood that would benefit from turning to rough shape and then letting it acclimate a bit. I'm curious what others do.