Dave Koegler

[Dave Koegler]

Greetings.

I'm a recently retired doc and, after a lifetime of doing procedures, now learning new ones on a lathe. Nothing big yet. A King 12x18 1 HP, variable speed reversible with bed extension, carbide tips of varying sizes after rough gouging branches.

I have developed a deep respect for an 89 year old widowered country doctor friend who is a turner and has created beautiful masterpieces. Every time I drive out to this friend's home in his town, I learn something. Because of him, I have developed a similar admiration for forum members who are experienced and have a wealth of wisdom that they freely share.

When we were in medical training, there used to be a well-worn phrase "See one, do one, teach one." Actually, it was more refined than that, but there is something uplifting about that concept of mentoring.

Almost all of my output is for our kinds and grandkids, from Harry Potter wands to small hanging Christmas tree lanterns with timed LED candles, to rolling pins, to Christmas trees. Hardly any cracking with these smaller diameters. But now I am happily stuck in the world of lidded boxes. I watched many Youtube videos before my first try, among them several Mike Pence clips. And that first was from a still green Linden limb about 3 inches in diameter. I can't believe the gratifying soft crunch as the lid is pushed down into place.

So I have been collecting wet birch, elm, mountain ash, and some dried Russian olive limbs, 3 inches in diameter, donated by friends. I've cut them into 9 inch lengths.

Here is my biggest challenge. Southern Alberta is fairly dry. I am concerned about cracks. As soon as I turn these larger pieces smooth, within 24 hours, the curse begins. I do not want to wait 2 years to dry before roughing them, because at this age I could croak anytime. So I followed the principles from a detailed scientific article on the topic to quickly dry the blanks.

It is NOT a good idea to nuke for 4 minutes, weigh, cool, nuke for another 4, weigh, then think I could try it the third time and go off to do something else. Don't ask me why. But I can tell you that it resulted in my buying a used microwave and limiting episodes to 1-2 minutes, spread out over a couple of days. High temps boil the interior fluid, widening pores, even creating new pathways via ruptures.

This does work well, especially in some species. Bit I still experience cracks, and even applying CA glue to them doesn't seem great.

This brings up the question. I have about 30 nice chunks ready to rough turn. With each one, should I immediately tenonize, part and core with a good-sized Forstner right after turning, then put in a Ziplock with shavings for a couple of weeks, then second turn?

You can say that I should have patiently let longer portions dry after painting the ends, and you would likely be right. I would be grateful for your opinions on this, especially for green wood being used for lidded boxes.

Thanks very much in advance.

Dave

 

[Alan Weinberg]

Welcome. You’ve asked a lot of questions. Many answers are available in prior threads if you do a search.

Try Anchorseal on the end grain—seals end grain and slows drying and cracking.

I’ve microwaved—usually after rough turning a piece to 10% width of the diameter.

A Ziplock baggie will lead to mold.

Continue to learn from your mentor. And join a club. Books, AAW, YouTube are all great. There’s a recent thread on best channels for YouTube.

I’m also a retired surgeon. With woodturning, it’s more like, “see one, do 100, teach 1.” This hobby isn’t easy. But it’s great.

 

[Dave Koegler]

Thanks for the kind rapid response and advice.

When I have searched on a good number of sites, there are, as you say, many answers. I'll buy some anchor seal. Some of this birch is spalted, and I don't want to lose that.

Love the 1/100/1! And your rig. My 89 year old friend has the same brand.

I was a GI and loved the challenge of ERCP's, but I sweat much more when I'm inside a turned box and feel things starting to catch!

 

[Alan Weinberg]

Thanks for the kind rapid response and advice.

When I have searched on a good number of sites, there are, as you say, many answers. I'll buy some anchor seal. Some of this birch is spalted, and I don't want to lose that.

Love the 1/100/1! And your rig. My 89 year old friend has the same brand.

I was a GI and loved the challenge of ERCP's, but I sweat much more when I'm inside a turned box and feel things starting to catch!

I posted a thread on how a hollow form is so much like a TURP except we don’t spin the patient at 1000 rpm. https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/hollow-forms-and-prostate-surgery.22505/#post-240500

 

[Dave Koegler]

That is a crackup!

 

[Chris Fairbanks]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Dave Koegler]

Thank you. Appreciated.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome aboard, Dave.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Welcome, Dave. What I'm about to relay, I learned at www.turnawoodbowl.com.

Microwaving: I wouldn't use high for 4 minutes. I haven't microwaved blanks, but I used to microwave finished wet pieces before finishing. My approach is to microwave on defrost for 2 minutes, turn it over and do another 2 minutes on defrost. Let it cool for an hour (could be less) and repeat until it stops losing weight. For small pieces I might go 1:30 instead of 2:00.

What you are looking for is a drying box. You can make one with insulated housing sheathing for less than $100. The trick is finding incandescent light bulbs. LEDs don't get hot enough to work. You should be able to dry rough-turned blanks in 6-8 weeks. Here's a video on it:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVP1eATu2P8
. And here's an associated article from Turn a Wood Bowl: https://turnawoodbowl.com/drying-green-wood-bowls-6-methods-success/.

 

[Dave Koegler]

Thanks, Kent. I learned my lesson and have been going the 2-minute route. There is a science to it, but so many variables: species, amount of moisture, dimensions, relative humidity, but it's nice to hear that there is a role for MW. The wood drying box looks like another really good alternative.

Appreciate the resources and advice.

 

[Dave Koegler]

Does this plan make sense? 1. Take the 20+ 10-inch cut limbs, cut any ends off that have early cracks, dip the ends in good end grain sealer, perhaps 2 coats. 2. When I rough turn, immediately tenonize, part and core, and gently microwave or dry box them, sealing any newly exposed end grain. 3. Stabilize any found minor cracks with CA, then finish. Sounds OCD, but actually ADD here...

Thanks again.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Welcome to the forum. Of note do not place green turnings in plastic bags unless you want spalting. For me it is
1. turn to 1/10 of diameter wall thickness
2. place in bag with shavings from bowl for about 2 weeks ( open bag at least every other day
3. remove shavings and put bowl back in bag
note: I do weigh bowl every 2-3 days. When weight stays stabil it is time to finish turning.
One more note on boxes: everyone I know makes boxes from dry wood. Wet wood and boxes lead to problems.

 

[Dave Koegler]

Thank you very much.
Everyone you know makes boxes from dry wood.
Nobody I know, other than me, makes boxes from wet wood.
Might be a message here.

I turned about 10 hanging lanterns from wood that was a bit wet (caragana, Russian olive and mountain ash), and my first box from Linden that was quite wet, with good results, but moving to larger diameters may mean painting and waiting 2 years, or paying for commercially dried blanks. I need to be more patient (but at my age I could croak before these things dry enough) and maybe not be so much of a cheapskate.

I gave away the best, but you can easily see that I have a long way to go in technique and finishing. But I appreciate the help and encouragement, and especially the sense of humour here!