planning cuts in log for making spindle blanks

[Dean Center]

I have seen articles and have had experienced turners advise on how to make bowl and hollow form blanks from logs, but I've never seen or read anything on deciding what size of spindle blanks to make. Does anyone have a reference for determining the least wasteful cuts? Any thoughts on issues other than maximizing volume of wood that you consider?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Spindles are round so there is no such thing as quarter sawn, rift sawn, or flat sawn line there would be with lumber. The grain needs to be straight for best results. A riving knife does the best job for that, a bandsaw is good -- try to cut along the grain lines as best as you can. A chainsaw is at the bottom of the list. Stay away from the pith, and don't use crooked or branch wood. Coat with Anchorseal and dry completely before use. Count on losing some wood near the ends due to checking. Wood for spindles is something that I would rather buy that has been kiln dried.

 

[Mark Mandell]

If you want maximum strength in a spindle, the log should be riven, manually split, to maintain the long axis of the fibers along the entire piece. Put away the chain saw, get out your sledge and wedges, and let the wood "tell" you how it will work best.

 

[Jeff Deutschle]

I went through this same thought process last fall. I had an entire 12" log from my firewood pile that was slightly spalted red maple. I kept two "rounds" about 18 inches long and cut them in thirds long-wise with a chain saw. I then sealed the ends to reduce checking and tied them together in their original positions to dry slowly in the cellarway for a while.

Of course you don't want the pith in a spindle piece, and I figure that the least waste with the largest pieces is from three cylinders stacked as a triangle. (Hope I explained this well).

I plan on turning vases from these pieces.

[Edit]: Like the upper right figure:

 

[Dale Miner]

I chainsaw log sections lengthwise into slabs of the thickness that the stock needs to square when finished, then bandsaw the slabs into squares sections. Use only clear straight grain sections of the trunk from above the stump wood. Start at one side of the log, cut the bark away and leave a flat on the wood the width of the square desired. Make the next cut to leave a slab the correct thickness. Drawing lines on the end of the log is a good idea. Repeat.

When the log section is cut up and the slabs band sawn, coat the ends and stack the pieces with 3/4" spacers between them and allow to dry. The spacers allow for air circulation that speeds drying and prevent fungus growth on the cut faces. Depending on species and thickness, drying may take two or three years. Stock much larger than 4" square may never dry completly to the center. Cutting into squares instead of leaving as slabs speeds drying as if offers more surface area for interior volume.

If cutting into two inch squares, it is easier to cut four inch slabs, and break down into two inch squares on the bandsaw. Two inch squares will usually dry in a year except for the slower drying species.

Often times when prepping a bowl blank, the edges of the half log can be saved to yield spindle stock.

If you are going to make baseball bats or sledge hammer handles, then it is probably a good idea to rive the stock.

 

[bowlman]

Ditto what Dale Miner said. Before cancer and repeated surgeries I regularly use my chainsaw exactly as he described. But since I turned more bowls, I slabbed my wood to 4 or 5 inches thick and anywhere from 10 to 19 inches wide ... if the log was large enough. Whatever was left over was processed into spindles. Some were pretty thick since I love to turn spheres. Others were 3x3 or 2x2. Put them in my shed, stacked and stickered after coating the ends and about 3 inches of the sides. Hardly ever lost any.

 

[hockenbery]

What Dale and Dick said,

Only thought I would add is to consider how to use sapwood.

If I were planning on stool legs. I would avoid sap wood
If I were doing ornament balls sapwood could be a feature.

Al

 

[Mike Brazeau]

I have been preparing spindle wood for the past 7 or 8 years by chain sawing log sections down the pith or just off the pith and then bandsawing to 2"x2" or slightly larger up to 4"x4". Since it is going to be turned anyway, a fence is not even necessary. I seal the ends with melted wax in an old electric fry pan and put the wood blank on a shelf in my basement after dating and weighing. 2" easily dries down in one year or less especially in winter and low house humidity. Have never bothered to rive any spindle wood and have never had failure except when grain was really crazy. I made a simple auxiliary table that mounts on my 14" bandsaw table giving more table out the back of the saw and it makes sawing slightly longer pieces easier. I use a 1/2" x 3 TPI blade and resharpen and reset when necessary. Works great and have lots of cheap blanks for anything from tool handles, to stoppers, ornaments, lidded boxes etc.

 

[john lucas]

I always have trouble with my logs cracking sooner or later. I cut the logs into lengths I can handle on the bandsaw. Then I cut them up into squares that are as long as the log section. I start with as big as I can 6x6 5x5 on down to 1x1 if I can. Sometimes the cracks are bad enough that I have to shorten the lengths. That's fine, these become box and ornament ball blanks. I dip the ends in melted parrafin wax and put them up on the shelf. It's been so successful I now have a storage problem of where to put all of this. I make small finial stock for ornaments as well as longer pieces for tool handles and such. Made a handle for my Plunger yesterday out of a piece of Oak. I do cut smaller bowl blanks and hollow vessel blanks out of this stuff when I can.

 

[Bill Boehme]

....... Made a handle for my Plunger yesterday .......

John, you certainly elevated the status of the plumber's helper with that fancy handle.

 

[Dean Center]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I didn't explain my conundrum very well.

When you've got the half log up on the band saw table and you're staring at the end, how do you decide whether to make one bigger blank and waste the edges, or 2 smaller blanks, or one medium sized and 2 smaller, or turn it into a snakes' nest of pen sized blanks, or .... ? (And don't get me started on: How do you decide whether little cracks in the end are short checks or longer cracks? If it's a crack, how do you work with or around it? What about remnants of branches?)

 

[Joe Greiner]

Ditto what Mark said.

Avoid the cracks by splitting along them. No saws. Ernie Conover ("The Frugal Woodturner") recommends a froe, if you can find one.

 

[Sergio Villa]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I didn't explain my conundrum very well.

When you've got the half log up on the band saw table and you're staring at the end, how do you decide whether to make one bigger blank and waste the edges, or 2 smaller blanks, or one medium sized and 2 smaller, or turn it into a snakes' nest of pen sized blanks, or .... ? (And don't get me started on: How do you decide whether little cracks in the end are short checks or longer cracks? If it's a crack, how do you work with or around it? What about remnants of branches?)

I generally cut the half logs to sizes that suit what I usually turn trying to maximize the sizes. I do waste (firewood) the edges and go from there.

 

[hockenbery]

Ditto what Mark said. Avoid the cracks by splitting along them. No saws. Ernie Conover ("The Frugal Woodturner") recommends a froe, if you can find one.

froe: does is guarantee straight grained wood.
A froe can be quicker than a bandsaw on woods like walnut
This will be the strongest for tool handles, stool & chair legs
Thin finials need straight grain too

pepper mills, some boxes, balls... you don't need straight grain

Al

 

[Dale Miner]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I didn't explain my conundrum very well.

When you've got the half log up on the band saw table and you're staring at the end, how do you decide whether to make one bigger blank and waste the edges, or 2 smaller blanks, or one medium sized and 2 smaller, or turn it into a snakes' nest of pen sized blanks, or .... ? (And don't get me started on: How do you decide whether little cracks in the end are short checks or longer cracks? If it's a crack, how do you work with or around it? What about remnants of branches?)

Dean,

Deciding what to make? Tough call as it will be a while before the wood is useable for spindle stock and who knows what will be holding one's interest a year or so later. I suppose the size of the half log has something to do with it. Like stated earlier, I generally cut spindle stock from larger trunk sections the size of which make using half log section impractical. If smaller (8" to 10") dia logs were used, I would saw with the thought in mind to get the best stock from the half log, and not be concerned with getting the most stock. However, my locale has a lot of free wood so wasting some to get prime stock is not a concern. Availability in your area may be different.

As to checks in the end; If the wood has been cut a few days and has small checks, I just wax the ends checks and all, and will saw the checks off when the stock is dry and ready to turn. To determine when the checks are removed, saw about a half inch from the end and inspect. If the check is visible, another half inch, etc. Once the checks are no longer visible, saw a thin slice about 3/32" thick from the end a slightly bend the slice. If a crack is present but not visible, bending will make the check readily apparent.

If the log sections have been cut for a longer period and the checking is heavy, a decision to best use is made, and sometimes best use is firewood. If the heavy checked wood is going to be saved, 2" or 3" of the end is chainsawn off and the end inspected for checking. Repeat until the checking is gone. If the log sections have started to develop splits lengthwise along the log, then sawing or splitting to incorporate the pith cracking with the perimiter cracking will help with yield, but I usually relegate wood that has degraded that far for heating unless being intentionally saved for spalting.

For me, braches are avoided unless they have some interesting feature, and if so would be used for boxes or other twice turned items.

 

[hockenbery]

Dean,
I missed your clarification.

Like Dale said the process starts with the whole log.
I get one good blank from a log section for a bowl or hollow form.

For bowls symmetry of grain is important to me
For hollow forms ( I hollow through the face grain) I look for rim features and center the future opening at those top center of the half log.

Flat sided log I would think about doing a cut rim bowl with the rim at the flat side of the log.

Oval log I would think about a wide shallow bowl
Or a tall natural edge bowl.

I work a lot with the sap ring either how it will be in the finished piece or maybe excluding it.
I look at both ends of the log section. Many trees have a twist or other variation in the grain in a 2-3 foot length.

You can carry a wood crayon and sketch the profile of the bowl or hollow form on the end of the log.
I cut wood a couple times a year with our turning club and we always do some sketches for the club members
After a while you do mental sketches and then when you get home - " what was I thinking with this blank? "

So when you go to to the bandsaw the trick is to remember what you intended when you cut the blank. Or come up with a pleasing alternative.
To me it is rim contour for natural edge and grain symmetry.

I like bowl to have the center bottom straight above the pith.

Al