Hi Guys,
I got a Stihl MS 250 for Christmas... my wife wants me to turn some candlesticks for a wedding gift
Excellent choice, that's my favorite saw, light weight and easy to handle for hours at a time! I keep two of those with 18" bars and I use them for almost all of my chainsawing around the farm, only going for a bigger saw when needed. (But the one I use mostly for preparing blanks for turning is a Stihl electric since I can use it inside the shop with instant on and off and no gasoline required!) Most of my turning is spindles, boxes, etc. and I almost always turn with dry wood. While some people are happy with warped bowls and things turned green, my preference is for round unwarped things!
For me, removing the pith for spindle turning is important most of the time. I don't removed a slab from the middle like people often do for green bowl turning, but just slice the log section along the pith then section further so the pith is removed or at least confined to a corner edge of a blank. Some local species (here in East TN) such as Eastern Red Cedar can be stable even with the pith. Some, like Flowering Dogwood (one of my favorite woods for turning) is so unstable even leaving the darker heartwood in a blank can cause a lot of warping and splitting. We have Sassafras which is very stable, walnut which is not bad, and various fruit woods like cherry and pear which can move a lot when it dries.
Around here, about 11% is as dry as it is going to get outside. Most of my spindle stock is in the air conditioned/heated shop so it often hits 10 or 9%, but 11% is plenty dry to keep things stable.
To have a constant supply of dry wood I try to cut up a little wood every few months and let it air dry. I typically slice up a log section into a variety of turning blanks, coat the ends, and stack them on wire shelves to dry. The drying time depends on the wood and the size. Most of the wood I'm turning now has been drying for years, some for over 10 years, a lot for 7-10 years. I often use the chain saw for rough sectioning then switch to the bandsaw. For log sections less than 12" in diameter or 12" long (the maximum cut on my bandsaw) I usually process the entire chunk with the bandsaw.
I cut the wood into a variety of sizes of turning squares, anchor seal the ends, then set it aside to dry. After drying for a while they often warp out of square. While this in itself doesn't affect the turning, I almost always take the dry blanks back to the bandsaw and square them up. I do this for two reasons - one is to inspect the freshly cut sides for cracks that may have developed in drying. If I find cracks I may section further to remove them, or simply mark them with a red sharpie so I won't be surprised and disappointed later when turning. I also remove any obvious end checks/cracks, then cut thin slices off both ends and bend the slices to check for hidden cracks/checks. I keep cutting until I hit solid wood or in some cases, leave the cracks and mark them with a red sharpie as before. Resawing the blanks square also lets me see what kind of figure and color is in the wood, far easier to see in cleanly cut sides.
One important thing - I write the date on each piece! This makes it easy to keep up with and keeps me from accidentally grabbing a piece of wet wood.
This probably doesn't help with your immediate need for wedding presents. You didn't mention the size you intended - if thin enough you can easily turn the spindles green to the approximate size, let them dry, then finish turn them. They will dry a lot quicker if turned fairly thin. You can also dry blanks or rough turned spindles in a microwave oven. This takes some care but can work very well. Basically you weigh the wood, microwave for a short time then weigh again, repeat. When the weight quits changing, or at least quits changing rapidly, the wood is dry. You have to be patient and careful not to let the wood get too hot or you will have a disaster. You can google "microwave drying wood" or somesuch for a lot of information.
BTW, another possibility for avoiding the pith from a smallish log is to turn the piece in several sections. This might work well for a candlestick, perhaps even with contrasting woods.
Also, as someone mentioned, if the pith is not centered the wood is likely from a limb or leaning tree. The "reaction wood" that the tree grows to deal with gravity can be horribly unstable in some species, warping far more than wood from a vertical log. In this case, I would especially want to let it dry and warp all it will, the turn it dry. It may still have stresses which can cause problems for making lids fit nicely on boxes, but should be OK for most turning.
The entire hobby of processing your own turning wood is easier with a good moisture meter! I got a good pinless meter many years ago and use it constantly, especially when someone gives me wood we trade wood.
BTW, some people, like me, do a lot of wood trading. A USPS flat rate box is perfect for heavy squares of wood, dry or green! If you need a couple of pieces of dry wood right away someone (like me) may be willing to trade. Is your wood Russian Olive (coarse grain, ring porous, fluoresces green) or Olivewood (diffuse porous, creamy with darker streaks, wonderful to turn)?
Hey, I see you are a retired computer geek. Seems like there are a lot of us who also spin wood!
JKJ
