Preparing green wood for use, HOW???

[figuredwoods]

Hi Turners,
Well, it was suggested to me by one of our senior members to go to a dump with a chain saw and get some lumber. That same day, my friend told me about a log at church (new building project) that was either walnut or hickory. He was picking up some (in my truck) and offered to get some for me and split it into whatever sized blanks I wanted. Great friend! He axe split the 16" long, by 14" wide logs into about 6" slabs, per my specs. Now I have about 12 of these babies. Three of them are actually quite cube shaped, as they came from shorter logs, from 12" to 14" square by 5 to 6" thick. Now, my question is what to do with them. I had them stacked outside and will put a tarp over them, so they don't dry out too fast, or isn't that enough? I want to spalt a couple of them, as an experiment. I have lots of spalted oak to use as a medium. Anything you can tell me will be a help. I am very new to this arena, as I have only been turning for a year. I have never turned a bowl, or pen, but now that I have a big lathe, I will start with the bowls. Lead on!! Please! I'll try to add a picture of the log it came from, but we'll see if it comes out. Here goes.

 

[MichaelMouse]

For those sections you won't spalt, get something _way_ more occlusive on the ends than just a tarp. The water emulsion wax sold as a seal would help, so would painting with PVA glue or stapling cardboard. End grain dries 10-15 times as fast as face grain, so you want to slow the loss as much as possible. OTOH, end checks are self-limiting. As soon as the capillary draw from the interior is exceeded by the rapidity of drying at the surface, you'll get some sheltered space inside. For some woods, allowing a couple extra inches either end is enough to avoid checks after trimming, though even these should be protected if you're warm and dry otherwise.

For spalting, you can lay the piece on the ground. Some say end up, but with gravity the way it is, that leads often to a condition where the lower portions of the log spalt to pure punk on the ground, some color for a foot, and then dry. Either cover and keep the upper ends damp, or set an end-coated piece on its side, allowing the lower to spalt, wetting, and putting the up portion down. Tends to equalize.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/agib666/aib66607.pdf

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/producing_spalted_wood.pdf

Can't tell from the picture what it is, but some varieties with resistant heartwood will only spalt in the sapwood. Up here, that's things like cherry and red oak, and some will not spalt much in the interior until the sapwood's crumbling away, like beech. Some go almost directly to muck, like bass. Yellow birch is the all-time champ, becuse the waterproof bark keeps things damp for years.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

....moving this thread to the main subforum

 

[Matt Meadows]

I can tell by the pic that you certainly don't have walnut, it's much darker, sometimes almost black in the heartwood and pith. I can't say for sure what you've got. The bark reminds me of a big poplar but the wood doesn't look like it to me. Sorry!

 

[Jeff Jilg]

If you have any pics of the leaves, flowers, or closeup of the woodgrain it is much easier to identify.

 

[Steve Worcester]

My vote is for ash. But without leaves and or a closeup of bark and grain, tuff to call.

 

[Matt Meadows]

I'll see your ash and raise you a maple.

Is fresh ash a decent turning wood? I know the dried stuff would be like turning cement, but I'm sure folks do it all the time.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Ash is considered a trash tree around here (Austin). It grows fast and tends to die off after 25-35 years. Also it can have medium to large branches split off...and I mean big. I've seen 8" and 12" branches split. Anyhow I digress.

It's one of my favorite woods. It's plentiful because it gets cut down a lot here. And it gets big. The green wood cuts fairly easily on the lathe...easy to rough out. The wood turns well, seasons well, sands well, and takes a finish uniformly. About 25% of the stuff I turn is ash. There are a couple of finished pieces made of ash in my AAW gallery here

Lately I just roughed out some big pieces including a 19"w x 8"h ash bowl. It will dry for about 18 months. And I hope it gets lighter...currently it's 31 pounds. (Actually Theresa probably hopes it gets lighter too). :cool2:

 

[Steve Worcester]

Jeff, I had no idea that's what you look like!
That's a big ash bowl!😉

Next time you get some big stuff to spare, maybe I will have to take a drive and come get some.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Indeed it is a big bowl. Theresa couldn't barely lift it, so I put it in her lap and took the pic.

Spring and early Summer in the Austin neighborhoods is a good wood salvaging season. I don't know why people don't get trees trimmed in the winter when it's nice and cool. Anyhow, ash is plentiful. And often it is 24" or more in diameter.

And that is why I just bought a Harbor Freight crane for the truck. I can't lift those big pieces and have had to pass up some very choice turning stock. But that will soon be solved. The crane has a 1,000 pound limit and I plan to test it on some future tree trimmings! :cool2:

 

[MichaelMouse]

Of course there are many varieties of ash, especially in urban environments where they need not compete with adapted trees. That said, standard old white ash is one of the driest in the log hardwoods that you can get http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch03.pdf. If you're looking to lose much weight, don't count on it. Maybe half.

Six months, tops, to EMC, though if you lived on the gulf coast, you'd probably already be there.

Oh yes, the log in question looks more like ash to me than anything else, but, once again, it's probably planted, meaning it might be anything.

 

[uniquewoodworld.com]

Dang, that IS a big ash bowl!

 

[Angelo]

Ash

The method I use to identify ash is to pass it under my nose. If it smells like bread dough or stale beer, it's ash

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