# Preparing Wood For Turning



## Captain (25 Oct 2011)

I recently felled two Horse-Chestnut Trees and iv kept some behind for woodturning (Bowls). Being a newcomer to woodturning I wanted to know how to prepare the wood for turning (ie) stripping the bark - Seasoning - time scale and so on! 

Thank you


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## CHJ (25 Oct 2011)

Do not remove bark, you need to slow the peripheral moisture loss down not speed it up.
Seal the ends with wax or old paint to reduce the speed of moisture loss.
Keep the logs as long as possible so that any end splits that form are a smaller percentage of the whole.

The whole object when trying to dry logs is to slow the rate of surface loss down to match the speed that the inner moisture can migrate out to replace it, if not outer wood shrinks whilst core is still swollen and splits will occur.

If Logs are big enough, you can split down the middle through the pith, this will speed up drying and reduce the risk of unwanted splits as the half log can curl back from the split face as it dries.

When the wood has been stored long enough to get moisture down in the 20% region it can be cut into smaller lengths but unless you intend to turn it whilst still 'green' then never cut it shorter than a third longer than the diameter to allow some safety room for end split propagation.

Always seal the endgrain immediately it is cut, summer wood will start splitting in minutes, winter wood will start in hours.
Horse chestnut tends to be a rather bland soft wood, beware of spalting, it can look attractive but if it starts to show Black mold then the wood can just take on an unattractive grey cast.


Timescales: Unless you take up green turning or partially rough turn pieces to speed up drying then expect to keep logs in the dry for 2-3 years minimum before they are somewhere near 'safe' to handle.

Slabbed timber is usually reckoned to take a year per inch thickness, logs can take longer due to need to reduce moisture loss rate to avoid splitting

If you rough turn to shape then leave enough material to allow for cross grain shrinkage, a 12" diameter bowl for instance is likely to shrink an 1" across the grain resulting in an oval form that needs enough wood left to true up, this can also result in some ingenious methods of re-mounting to finish off.


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## Melinda_dd (27 Oct 2011)

silly question but would keeping it in a garage be ok or is that too dry.... Would it start drying too quick. With the ends sealed of course. And can you use neat pva... Is the diluting just for cost effectiveness


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## CHJ (27 Oct 2011)

Garage should be fine, no problem with neat PVA.
It's really a try and see what happens for anyone new to drying wood. Air changes, temperature, humidity all play a part so no two places or peoples experience are exactly the same.

If pieces start splitting try placing in old paper sacks ar cover with sheeting to raise the local humidity around the wood.


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## wasbit (27 Oct 2011)

Keep the wood as long as possible for as long as possible (length & time). 

I've had some success with tying a plastic bag/carrier bag over each end & storing upright. Mainly branch wood, but all varieties.

Smaller diameters are bundled together with a bag over the ends

The bags have to be taken off & turned inside out every couple of days to start with reducing to once a month as the moisture content drops.

Regards
wasbit


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## Melinda_dd (27 Oct 2011)

CHJ":2aukohtv said:


> Garage should be fine, no problem with neat PVA.
> It's really a try and see what happens for anyone new to drying wood. Air changes, temperature, humidity all play a part so no two places or peoples experience are exactly the same.
> 
> If pieces start splitting try placing in old paper sacks ar cover with sheeting to raise the local humidity around the wood.



Cool thanks.
was suppose to pick some beech up tonight but someone got there first!!! :evil: 
I did manage to get 2 branches for mushrooms and half a trunk slice which has some really nice spalting in it (the tree was felled today as it had a serious problem!!)
Not as much as the tree surgeon promised me but hey... should have got there quicker!
I've taken it to my lock up garage which i have no water sorce at hence the neat pva question, and had nothing to carry water in to get some there.
The slice... I've coated the top and bottom....biggest surfaces. Is that what everyone else would have done? I really would like to dry this bit properly so it's useable.
(the eucaliptus I lazily didn't do anything with till tonight, but it's already split... slapped some pva on that too, figured I may get something to use from it)


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## CHJ (27 Oct 2011)

Wish you luck with that lot.

Slices are just about the worst section you can have of wet/green wood to try and dry, I've never managed it. **

Likewise I have some lumps of eucalyptus that are too heavy for me to lift on my own, they have been stoping the badgers from digging under a section of the veg plot fence for a couple of years.
Despite my best efforts, including splitting some, storing some in a water butt and just about every other method I could think of it all went very starry eyed.
Another batch of smaller stuff that fooled me into a eureka moment as staying intact after a couple of years proved to be full of voids from internal shakes when I tried to use it.

**Slabs 50-100mm thick cut lengthwise are another matter, move and bend but rarely split if endgrain is sealed.


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## chipmunk (28 Oct 2011)

Chas, All,
On the same topic do you have any experience with Holly? I know it's supposed to be a bit of a pig to season but by generously PVA'ing the ends, quartering it and removing the pith I seem to be having reasonable success drying it without checking but it is going a dullish grey colour in patches on the cut faces.

Any tips on keeping it white please?- it was pristine when it came down.
Many thanks
Jon


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## CHJ (28 Oct 2011)

Presume it was harvested with summer sap flowing, greying is a common problem, it can take on some interesting colour blends though. Winter harvested is less prone.
Only suggestion is in future make sure logs or timber sections are stacked vertically, don't know the technical reasons but assume moisture drains better before the sugars start to work their magic.
I know this is regularly done with sycamore planks for the same reason.


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## Paul Hannaby (28 Oct 2011)

I would have thought that sealing the ends would stop moisture draining if stacking vertically.


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## chipmunk (28 Oct 2011)

Just did a search and found this post suggesting lemon juice...

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/holly-t33285.html

May give it a go, as well as waiting until winter.
Thanks
Jon


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