Why did it crack?

[jzerger]

I usually try to turn pens from most any wood I can find. I picked up some osage orange out of a ditch in Kansas (home place) and made a couple of pens from it. Two of the three pens developed large cracks literally months after the pen was made (and given to family). One was finished with just a friction polish (Shellawax) and one had a CA finish.
I'm assuming the two that cracked came from a branch I cut from the tree and the one that didn't came from just a piece that had already fallen and so possibly was dried appropriately enough. Is this probably the issue? Any ideas/suggestions would be helpful.

 

[David M]

that sounds like it , the wet wood cracked when it dried, or big temp change ( left in hot car ). But wet wood will crack if not dried correctly . I like giving wet wood a alchol bath for a day or so , then air dry for about a week befor using them .

 

[GaryMGg]

As I understand it, most branches don't have the same stability as timber from the trunk. Couple that with not being dry and that'll do it.
Rule of thumb: wood air drying time is roughly one year per inch of thickness.

 

[Don Wade]

Bois D'Arc is very dense and therefore takes forever to dry and though it makes beautiful works, it often cracks after time and will darken in time as well. It is hard as a rock for working and I have broken many saw blades on it in the past.