wet wood

[morris]

Hello there
just got in with the forestry near me and got some cherry, ash , yew and beech
I have turned a candlestick out of part seasoned oak, a bowl out of wet cherry and a vase with ash, no splits .

I need some advice on finishing them. The candlesticks were fine sanding when dry, but the bowl after turning only 5 mm thick did move while drying, and was moving about all over and nearly impossible to sand and polish on the lathe. Can I finish bowls while wet or should I finish them another way??

any advice welcome
8) :shock:

 

[PowerTool]

Hi Morris

Any wet turnings run the risk of distorting when drying;this can be used to your advantage to add an artistic but natural form - best with very thin turnings.
Choice of timber affects it - I've had seasoned cherry that has moved whilst turning it,so wet cherry is just asking for trouble.. :lol:
Also choice of finish is a consideration - I like to use some form of oil finish (lemon oil is a favourite) to add some moisture to the piece,to help replace what is lost in drying.And remember that sanding generates heat,so aggressive sanding can dry timber rapidly as well.

Hope this helps,

Andrew

 

[Gordon T]

Hey Morris,

I have to agree with Andrew, lemon oil is also my favourite, and use several coats, denibbing between coats. It gives a good finish and aroma.

GT

 

[Bodrighy]

As said cherry is really a pain to dry and can split ages after turning dry if the climate changes Beech on the other hand I have found really stable. I have turned some straight from the tree and it has not split or even warped.d Oak & ash I have no experience of turning wet so can't saya. Genrally the best advice is to either part turn and store till dry and then finish off or paint the end grain with old paint, PVA glue or sealer and be patient.

If you have enough of it experiment and see what happens. :lol:

Pete

 

[greybeard]

IMHO the yew should a) dry quite quickly, and b) if part turned when wet will dry even quicker. My experience is that it is very tolerant, apart from a tendency to develop fine splits/cracks if you sand a bit too aggressively! It definitely reacts quickly to the heat build-up.

Whether part-turned or original the same "one year for every inch of thickness" is a good guideline. And if you can keep up a continuing acquaintance with your forestry suppliers, your mellowing slowly drying 'stash' will grow steadily!

 

[chris lee]

hey i would have to agree with the rest of them wet turning is alot harder and the timbers have to be wisely selected. i have had trouble with alot of my wet turned items most of them have been out of the devil of a wood cherry personaly i hate the stuff but i still turn it wet and leave it in a plastic bag filled with its own shavings inside. i would leave it for a good few weeks and then turn a little away off it again.all of the rest of the timbers that you have listed i have no problem finishing them i just use sanding sealer then a good few coats of organ oil

chris lee :wink:

 

[CHJ]

.......most of them have been out of the devil of a wood cherry personaly i hate the stuff

Agreed Cherry is not the easiest wood to season without splitting, but personally I love the stuff for its close grain and ease of finishing.

............all of the rest of the timbers that you have listed i have no problem finishing them i just use sanding sealer then a good few coats of organ oil

Chris, why do you seal the wood before applying an oil based finish, surely the whole purpose of an oil based finish is to penetrate the wood and add depth to the protection and grain enhancement. ?

 

[TEP]

Sealing the wood with sanding sealer before applying the oil has got me thinking as well. It does seem to go against the whole reason for using a oil finish in the first place.

BUT, I'm always willing to learn so I might try it myself on a small piece just to see what the results are like.

 

[duncanh]

In one of his demos at our club Jimmy Clewes used sanding sealer before applying oil.
If I remember correctly he said that the sealer fills the pores of the wood and when sanded back you have the pores filled and the wood fibres unfinished, ready to soak up the oil. If you don't apply sealer you waste oil by letting it soak into the pores. I've tried it a few times but have yet to be convinced.

Like all techniques, it probably varies a lot between different timbers and I imagine that the technique might work well with very open pored wood.

I can't remember if he used cellulose or acrylic sanding sealer. Whichever one it was it was quite diluted

Duncan

 

[CHJ]

........
Like all techniques, it probably varies a lot between different timbers and I imagine that the technique might work well with very open pored wood.
....Duncan

Agreed Duncan, I am currently working with some Elm and Oak that give me a far superior finish (In my eyes anyway) if treated with Shellac sealer and friction polish than using Cellulose sealer but the Cherry I have looks and finishes better with Cellulose, Melamine or Acrylic.

I have wet sanded with shellac sealer to fill pores and burnished with a finishing oil impregnated cloth, sort of rough mans french polish action to good effect, I guess it's a case of suck it and see but I would not consider sealing before oiling as the norm because I would assume you are only getting a thin glazed surface protection.

 

[duncanh]

One thing I forgot to suggest - if you want to sand the surface and finish in one day but don't want to wet sand (eg if using yew or laburnum with different coloured sap wood) then it's possible to do so using a method demonstrated by Jimmy Clewes (yes, him again!) that I've mentioned before and used successfully many times...

when you've finished turning remove any dust and shavings from the area of the lathe,
spray the surface with a light coat of meths,
set light to the meths,
turn the lathe by hand to make sure the flames cover all parts equally,
repeat until the surface is dry enough to sand.

Make sure that the meths have gone out before you spray more on (yes, I've done it once :shock: )
Make sure that you have a fire extinguisher handy in case things go wrong

And don't blame me if you accidentally burn down your workshop

Duncan

 

[chris lee]

hey

my reason for sealing the wood before i oil it is that the fibres are then stopped from lifting to the surface and leaving the item with a bad finish.

the only sealer i use is spirit based and i will only use that as i had alot of problems with all the rest i have tried to use. they all blistered and left a really bad finish on my items

chris 8)

 

[CHJ]

.......my reason for sealing the wood before i oil it is that the fibres are then stopped from lifting to the surface and leaving the item with a bad finish.

My response to that Chris I'm afraid is that you are masking a problem which is the result of only partially completing an oil sequence finish, it is normal for the fibres to lift after initial oiling, it is then a matter of cutting these back, most often when the oil has partially hardened and continuing with further coats.

 

[chris lee]

the sequence that i have been doing when i want to oil my items seems to be really good and leaves a super finish.

but every one has a different way of working.

chris. :!:

 

[morris]

thanks for all the advice, up to now, only one piece has split, a candlestick made out of oak, was my fault the top of it was too thick and I finished it of too soon.

Does a oil finish leave the piece shine??

I need to try different finishes

thanks again

 

[PowerTool]

Does a oil finish leave the piece shine??

Depends which oil - the three I use are food-safe oil,lemon oil,and finishing oil.
Lemon oil is a matt finish,food-safe is fairly neutral,but finishing oil can be built to a great shine;you probably need four or five coats,ensure it has dried properly before re-coating,and a light de-nib with fine webrax between coats.

Andrew

 

[chris lee]

yes the oil does give it a really glossy finish but this can only be accomplished by applying many of coats.

some of my items that i have coated in danish oil have a really glossy finish on them.i was coating them around every 6 hours but before i applied the next coat of oil i sanded the item with 4000grit sant paper. i then apply the next coat of oil this may have went on for around a week or so.

chris 8)

 

[morris]

Hi there
I have turned a few more pieces over the weekend. weighed them, wrapped in newspaper , weigh them weekly and see how they dry.
I have left them in the garage or should I bring them into the house??
left the bowl a bit thicker so I can turn this again once dryed.

Morris

 

[CHJ]

......I have left them in the garage or should I bring them into the house??
......

The warmer the surroundings and the lower the humidity the quicker they will dry, it is a case of finding a place that achieves the drying without undue splitting, obviously the faster they dry the more risk.
Having said that I have very few failures of pieces with external wrapping (centres open) even when placed in a hot conservatory position.