• January Turning Challenge: Thin-Stemmed Something! (click here for details)
  • Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to John Lucas for "Lost and Found" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 13, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Anyone ever turn crab apple...?

Z

Ziffy

Joined
May 10, 2005
Messages
67
Likes
0
Location
Watertown, CT
Although the New England Nor'easter that hit New England on Halloween was pretty devastating to hundreds of thousands of people, I actually scored big time on wood. I got 4 big White Birch logs, 16 - 18" in diameter and about 24" in length. Maple coming out my butt, but also some dogwood, magnolia, and 2, four foot long, 8" diameter flowering crab apple logs. Looks really nice but it appears to be kinda brittle. Just wondering if I should take some extra precautions in turning it...

Thanks,

Ziffy
 
I have some from a huge crab apple that died a few years ago in our back yard. I gave most of it away and saved the rest until recently. Here is what I found ....

I may have waited a bit too long. It had spalted beautifully, but it has also become almost as light as balsa and a bit punky. I started turning an end-grain bowl about ten inches diameter a few weeks ago and I was getting nothing but pecks in the soft wood (the effect almost looked artistic). I was determined to save the wood so I bought a can of Minwax Wood Hardener. It soaked it up like a dry sponge. It was still a bit too soft where I want to put a tenon so I soaked that part with thin CA. I sure hope that this works because the wood hardener and CA has made this piece of wood sort of expensive. Hopefully, I will have time next week to see how the treatment worked.
 
crab apple

It has a beautiful rich brown heartwood, and as Bill mentions does spalt nicely, with creamy streaks in the brown-Have a hard time telling it from spalted Mt ash. has nice crotch figure. Regular apple is nice but may have more tendency to split while still in the log state. (in my experience). Gretch
 
Gretch Flo said:
It has a beautiful rich brown heartwood, and as Bill mentions does spalt nicely, with creamy streaks in the brown-Have a hard time telling it from spalted Mt ash. has nice crotch figure. Regular apple is nice but may have more tendency to split while still in the log state. (in my experience). Gretch
Click to expand...

Gretch, I can second your experience with apple splitting. I left the base too thick over night for a green apple wood bowl that i was turning. I couldnt have split it any better with an axe
 
Apple of any kind is hard to keep,😱 it cracks fast and allot. I even tried cutting it in half from the log form sealed it with 3 coats of Anchor seal and they still cracked. One of the guys I turn with puts his apple in a barrel of water 😱and changes the water I think ever 2 or 3 weeks.
 
Ziffy

Glad to see you turning again. Crab Apple is great wood to practice your green turning on. Aim for 3/16 to 1/4" and let it warp. I took down a tree for a friend this fall and made several 5 to 8" shallow plate from the many crotches in the tree.

Frank
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top