spritzing

[Bill Weaver]

Do any of you full or most of the time turners spritz your work as you turn it, to help the wood behave and not dry out? I saw something in a video that I think was the fellow sprayed water from a spray bottle on his work as he was turning.

Any thoughts? or Any experience with this.

Thanks Bill

 

[john lucas]

When I turn green wood bowls to finish, especially thin ones, I spritz them all the time. It keeps the wood from moving so you can do more finish work on it. If I don't spritz it the wood moves and I can't go back and touch up problem areas. Of course if I turn fast enough and clean enough I don't have to do that. On small bowls I don't usually spritz them but on bigger ones, always.

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

I often do when finish turning green wood very thin, for example hats or thin-walled vases. This helps prevent cracking if the project cannot be completed quickly. I have never considered spritzing dry wood.

Dennis

 

[hockenbery]

First i live in a humid area so drying is not as fast as it would be in parts of the west.

I spritz any green wood that is going to be on the lathe for more than 20 minutes for the hollowing.
These are usually hollow forms which I spray about every 5 minutes with tap water in plant mister.
I don't want the thin part to start moving while the thick part won't let it and risk a crack.

Green bowls I seldom mist because they aren't on the lathe that long.

If I have to leave a green piece on the lathe for an interruption I mist it and wrap it in a plastic bag so it won't dry before I get back to turning it.

I also use the water spritzer as my first cure for slightly punky wood. It swells the fibers and maybe lubricates the cut a big and quite often results in a clear cut without tearout.

Al

 

[Bill Boehme]

I sometimes spray hackberry because it seems to have a greater tendency to crack than others. It seems to me that only very wet wood needs to be sprayed.

 

[Bill Weaver]

Thanks to all you guys.

I have some Bradford Pear that has been cut for say 2 years. (Neighbors tree) I have band sawed some pieces lately and maybe they would set for a couple days before roughing out etc. some have cracked and others have been just perfect. I don't have a moisture meter so am guessing at content but the wood looks really dry and shavings are really dry. do you think i could bring these back to life while finish turning?

Note: Riverside is suburb of Dayton (sw Ohio)

 

[john lucas]

It probably is still not totally dry. The very rough ball park for drying is 1 year per inch. It's usually less on wood that has been cut but if it's over 3" thick it probably still has enough moisture to move. On wood that old I probably would not use the spritzer. I usually do that with wood that is very fresh.
Waiting a few more days won't do a thing for the wood. It is common for furniture makers to bring wood into the shop and let it stabilize to that environment. Woodturners generally don't need that kind of accuracy unless your a segmented turner.

 

[Mark Mandell]

When all I had to turn was Jersey Black Oak, I had a 1 quart spray bottle in a holder on the TS end of my old lathe. SOP was cut & spray, Cut & Spray. Made hollowing a bowl way easier.

Fortunately, I don't turn firewood anymore 😀

 

[Bill Boehme]

Thanks to all you guys.

I have some Bradford Pear that has been cut for say 2 years. (Neighbors tree) I have band sawed some pieces lately and maybe they would set for a couple days before roughing out etc. some have cracked and others have been just perfect. I don't have a moisture meter so am guessing at content but the wood looks really dry and shavings are really dry. do you think i could bring these back to life while finish turning?

Note: Riverside is suburb of Dayton (sw Ohio)

Bradford Pear seems to dry faster than most wood. My opinion is that there is no need to wet it given what you have said about its dryness. The purpose of spraying it is to keep the moisture content about the same as when you started turning. Wood does not revert back to a prior moisture state (i.e., having bound water) as a result of misting it. And, I doubt that there are any other benefits to wetting wood that is mostly dry. As John said, there may be some moisture, but it will mainly be in the center area which will likely be removed anyhow. I have turned a few pieces of Bradford Pear. It turns nicely and was not too bad about moving. I turned a BP hollowform that was green so I did mist it a few times. Before going to lunch, I sprayed it heavily and wrapped a plastic bag around it. When I came back it was fine.

 

[Steve Worcester]

if you think it is green and you are going to turn to a finished thickness, spritz! Spinning wood spins out the moisture, in addition to heat from the cutting process. Has wood steam whilst turning. Maybe it was my (then) aggressive style.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Maybe it was my (then) aggressive style.

SsMOOO Kin'!!!!

😀😀

 

[Bill Weaver]

Well i brought in a couple more and they cracked in about 12 hours of setting in my work area in basement. Now I suppose that coming in from enclosed patio "temp in Ohio" right now is playing with me on this. Being they have had time to warm up in the house.
Thanks for all the advice, I'll not spray these and turn out to finish dry and just see what nature may bring out.
I do have some fresh cut Maple that i need to turn green, turn three small pieces the other day and I'm hooked on green wood turning.......NICE😀

 

[hockenbery]

Well i brought in a couple more and they cracked in about 12 hours of setting in my work area in basement. Now I suppose that coming in from enclosed patio "temp in Ohio" right now is playing with me on this. Being they have had time to warm up in the house.
Thanks for all the advice, I'll not spray these and turn out to finish dry and just see what nature may bring out.
I do have some fresh cut Maple that i need to turn green, turn three small pieces the other day and I'm hooked on green wood turning.......NICE😀

You can turn frozen wood. No need to let it thaw.
The trick with green wood is turn the blanks soon after preparation or put them In plastic bags.
Just don't leave them in plastic for more than a few days or they may begin to rot.

Have fun
Al