Seasoning wood for turning...

[PAC]

Just been out this morning and managed to gather my first pieces of hardwood timber - chestnut and maple. Just looking for some advice on how to season the wood. I've heard that the conditions should be dry, cool and still. Would a garage be ok and should I seal the cut ends with varnish, wax or something to prevent rapid moisture loss? The maple is in two 4ft lengths about 3 inches in diameter. The chestnut is in 3 lengths about 3 foot long and 10-12 inches diameter (left over from a professional felling some months ago). The chestnut is already radially cracked at little at the ends.

 

[cornucopia]

hello, you cannot fully dry wood in the log.
it depends what you wish to do with it, but to prevent further cracking keep it out of direct sunlight and reduce the airflow around it.
I don not bring wood as fresh as you describe into my garage as it is too warm and dry for it.
I leave mine outside under a sun shade shelter, if i want fairly dry branches for goblets i leave them outside for two years then inside for a couple more.
I have never had much luck with chestnut it tends to go too soft very quickly.

 

[PowerTool]

Hi - out of interest,what sort of chestnut - sweet or horse ?
I've found sweet chestnut normally dries well;with something 10-12" diameter,I would cut it into 12" or so lengths,then split them in half through the pith,seal the ends and store outdoors but under cover.
It's also best if dried - if you turn it green,it has a very high tannin content and will rust your tools/lathe if you do not clean it up rather quickly..

Andrew

 

[cornucopia]

my bad experince has been with horse chestnut :roll:

 

[Paul.J]

I bought a whole trunk of Horse Chestnut off my tree surgeon friend,that he had had for some time.It was dry and had some lovely figuring/spalting in it.Have a look a my piccys on my web and there are plenty of HC turnings there.
I did find it to be a softish wood but it did turn and finish nice

 

[PAC]

with something 10-12" diameter,I would cut it into 12" or so lengths,then split them in half through the pith,seal the ends and store outdoors but under cover.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew. Should I seal the split length of the wood as well as the ends? Can I seal with oil-based household paint or is it better to use something else?

So glad I joined this forum - there's a wealth of information here!

 

[PAC]

Have a look a my piccys on my web and there are plenty of HC turnings there.
I did find it to be a softish wood but it did turn and finish nice

Wow, lovely pieces! Can't wait to learn how to turn a few bowls and goblets!

 

[greybeard]

The actual rate of drying varies by wood, by thickness, etc etc - there are no 'standard rates'........but there is one generally accepted rule of thumb. This says "one year per one inch thickness", which is great for planked timber but not a lot of use for branches/logs!
The most problematical bit of the log/wood for drying is the pith - which is why Andrew suggests splitting anything over about 10" diameter. Anything less than 10"...leave it and hope for the best!

The reason for sealing the ends (you should only seal the ends) is because the moisture races out of the ends at about 4 times the rate it crawls out through the bark. It's all to do with the cell structures and how the tree grows - "up" or "down" the trunk is how the moisture flow was designed.

You can use almost anything to seal the ends, but bear in mind that you're trying to equalise the moisture loss rate, not to make the ends air/moisture tight! So it doesn't need to be a perfect finish. But most seal finishes will 'breathe' anyhow.
A wax seal is traditional (no idea why, anyone know out there?), and there are a number of wax/paint proprietary products available, but any paint will do (I always reckon a pastel eggshell adds a certain something to the wood stock ambience.........oops).
I've experimented with PVA, and I thought it was quite successful (waste of time - and wood! - diluted, just use it straight from the tin/tub), but the amount of split logs I'm finding recently makes me think it's got more to do with the actual wood!!

Good luck! - and happy future turning

 

[Bodrighy]

If you turn the wood wet into blanks then keep them in paper bags or wrapped in newspaper it will help to soak out the water / sap. Change the paper fairly often. There are a number of other methods such as soaking in meths which are supposedly pretty effective tho' I've not tried them

Pete