Green wood

[paulkane1]

I am a novice turner,Could someone kindly give me some advise on how to treat Green Wood.I have been turning some Green Wood,from some local trees, After I turn some of the cuttings,the next morning,there is a split in the wood.Is there any method of Treating/Storing/Curing, Green Wood ,to prevent splitting happening,and has anyone on this Forum.found a method,so that the wood can be fully turned in the shortest time possible,from cutting? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.


                  Paul

[davidbrac]

Paul,

hi this subject has been covered many times and it would be worthwhile searching the forum under the following subjects 'drying' 'green wood'

Basically you have two options rough turning the objects and sealing the ends with wax or a similar product and leaving to dry on a cool place for a year or two. you will then need to return the object to finish.

Or turn very thin objects (about 3/2mm thick) and let them dry naturally. There is a great book/video on this subject called Turning Green Wood by Michael O'Donnell

Hope that gets you started

[Les Symonds]

Hi Paul...I agree with everything that Paul has advised....this is a massive subject and there is much written about it, so do a search and you'll find copious amounts of info....but one piece of useful information from the start is that it pays to avoid including the pith of a log in your first few turnings, so practice with logs that have split through the pith...this avoids much of the differential in stresses as the wood dries, and so the finished piece is somewhat less likely to split.

Les

[ru55ell1]

The smaller the pieces of wood the less likly it is to split. Try converting the wood to spindle blanks and then you will have some material to use in a relativly short time.