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Logs good for green bowl turning

M

MICHAEL GOLD

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Dec 29, 2011
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ARCATA,CA
Hi, I live in n. calif. near Oregon. Going to do green bowl turning. As an example of my question; Local logger has some 24" diam. Tanoak cut down about 2 months ago. After cutting 16" off ends, would this log be good for green turning. Is there a general rule for the length of time a log remains good after felling? Will be using Tanoak, Black Oak, & Eucalyptus. Thanks for any help. Michael
 
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Generally there is no limit on how long leave wood set before you turn of piece of wood, I've done it the same day it was cut down and/or waited years.
Generally the longer you wait the dryer it is wood is. A few months, in winter, the wood should still be "green", at least for turning requirements.

I've never tried Tanoak (Tanbark-Oak), but I see it is in the Beech family, based on that I would say you could try it any time.

BTW, if you buy pet supplies at Arcata Pets, the owners are old friends of mine
 
There is nothing more fun than turning freshly cut wood, especially in the spring when the sap is flowing full throttle. It is also the most messy time to turn. Put on a raincoat and plastic on the walls. 😀

This time of the year, green wood turns wonderfully, but without the accompanying bath.
 
Black oak is pretty common stuff out there, showing up in woodpiles in small pieces and lumber yards as well. It's not the same as the "standard" red oak, which is what we tend to think of, because it's so widely distributed. Pa worked with it quite a bit, and things he made look a lot different than what I made of red oak. Sort of yellow-green looking. Should have no problems with durability, for sure, but the logs may develop radial splits if the bark's damaged.

Tanoak is a bit different. I recall it as brittle and short-grained. In the woodpile it was always loaded with looong end checks. Never turned it, but it seemed pretty stable because it didn't have distinctly differentiated rings. Means good things for drying if it were not for those multiple planes of weakness called rays. I'd turn relatively shallow stuff initially to see how it behaves when drying rather than risk what happens to beech when you go deep and vertical.

My experience with the Yuba eucalypts was limited to firewood.

CLEAN your bandsaw and guard all your other tools from the shavings on the black oak, for sure. Makes rust fast.
 
I have only turned one or two bowls recently in the past year from green wood, so I can't offer you much real world experience. Living in Arcata and it's damp coastal enviroment should give you a bit more time to play with the wood. If I had a logging buddy I'd ask him to look out for some Big Leaf Maple, California Bay Laurel (Myrtle wood) or Pacific Yew, my first choices from your neck of the woods. I come over your way a couple of times a year, let me know if you want chat about turning sometime.

Charlie G
 
Pacific Yew is a great looking wood, but you need to be aware that the wood has high levels of natural compounds that make it bug "resistant", so good breathing protection would be a good idea
 
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