Sycamore cut down, what bits are best for turning?
- Thread starter Eifers
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All of it can be used, just depends on what your aiming to make and the size will dictate what you can make.
First job though is to cut it up in a manner that will keep splitting to a minimum as it dries especially on the big stuff, if you leave it as is the ends will soon be a mass of splits from the outside towards the centre. I hope that my picture appears somewhere here, it's a disc about 10" diameter that I cut off the end of a trunk, I ran the chainsaw down to the centre and left it as an experiment. The chainsaw kerf was parallel at the time so you can see how much it has moved during drying. You don't want to cut it that way with a view to turning a bowl.
I'd cut it into lengths (the same length as the diameter plus a bit) and then split/saw them down the centre to make two rough bowl blanks. Seal the ends if you like and put them somewhere that they're not going to dry too quickly.
You're probably itching to make something straight away, if so roughly turn and leave to dry, it's going to move a lot.
HTH.
First job though is to cut it up in a manner that will keep splitting to a minimum as it dries especially on the big stuff, if you leave it as is the ends will soon be a mass of splits from the outside towards the centre. I hope that my picture appears somewhere here, it's a disc about 10" diameter that I cut off the end of a trunk, I ran the chainsaw down to the centre and left it as an experiment. The chainsaw kerf was parallel at the time so you can see how much it has moved during drying. You don't want to cut it that way with a view to turning a bowl.
I'd cut it into lengths (the same length as the diameter plus a bit) and then split/saw them down the centre to make two rough bowl blanks. Seal the ends if you like and put them somewhere that they're not going to dry too quickly.
You're probably itching to make something straight away, if so roughly turn and leave to dry, it's going to move a lot.
HTH.
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I was going to say, for turning I thought it was more a case of what can't you use 
The usual advice with green wood is to cut to smaller pieces and then coat the end grain with something to slow the drying down. If it's not too much of a faff use melted wax for this, it's the best thing for the job by far. Wax type doesn't matter, so no going melting down the expensive beeswax dinner candles! The cheapest paraffin wax as used in tea lights will do you.
BTW worth mentioning that some of the smaller branches can be used for tool handles and if need be you don't have to wait for the wood to season. So cut down a few pieces to shorter lengths and boil in water for about an hour and you're good to go.
The usual advice with green wood is to cut to smaller pieces and then coat the end grain with something to slow the drying down. If it's not too much of a faff use melted wax for this, it's the best thing for the job by far. Wax type doesn't matter, so no going melting down the expensive beeswax dinner candles! The cheapest paraffin wax as used in tea lights will do you.
BTW worth mentioning that some of the smaller branches can be used for tool handles and if need be you don't have to wait for the wood to season. So cut down a few pieces to shorter lengths and boil in water for about an hour and you're good to go.
Coat the ends quickly, it doesn't much matter with what - old paint, varnish, any wax, pva.
If you have loads, you could leave some somewhere to spalt - sycamore without crotches or any unusual growth can be very plain.
If you have loads, you could leave some somewhere to spalt - sycamore without crotches or any unusual growth can be very plain.
Awesome! Thanks fellas..i'll try and find something to paint the ends.. might use some waxoyle ive got left over. Dont have a chainsaw yet so will have to leave the bigger pieces. Would be at it all day trying to cut them with a bowsaw. Will try splitting a few and see how i get on. Thanks for the advice, brilliant
custard
Established Member
Sycamore stains easily, and furthermore the stain seems to spread deeply into the timber. Generally timber is planked and stored flat with wooden battens, called stickers, in-between the boards to allow the air to circulate. If you do this with Sycamore you'll be left with a nasty black marks where the stickers were. Consequently the accepted drying practise for best quality Sycamore is something called "end rearing", you lean it up against a wall, with the bottom kept up off the ground on a brick or a piece of slate.
In terms of sealing the end grain just use any old paint you've got lying around. It's true that you'll find some ultra high premium timbers sealed with wax, but it'd look a bit odd with Sycamore, mutton dressed as lamb sort of thing.
Here's a board of exquisite, jet black Ebony, and a board of very rare Bog Oak, both of these have the end grain sealed with wax. But the board of (still very fine) Walnut just has painted ends. You'll find that's the more common practise.
In terms of sealing the end grain just use any old paint you've got lying around. It's true that you'll find some ultra high premium timbers sealed with wax, but it'd look a bit odd with Sycamore, mutton dressed as lamb sort of thing.
Here's a board of exquisite, jet black Ebony, and a board of very rare Bog Oak, both of these have the end grain sealed with wax. But the board of (still very fine) Walnut just has painted ends. You'll find that's the more common practise.
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Woody2Shoes
Impressive Member
custard":1taapegv said:
I had no idea what it was called (...sounds faintly rude... :shock: ) but I did exactly this with a bit of sycamore three winters ago - without really knowing why I did it. I just used some scrap white emulsion paint on the ends - and when dry, wrote in pencil on it the species, date and place of origin - before "end rearing" it on a piece of old carpet in the shed.
This thread has made me want to go out to the shed and see how it's getting on! I recently made a nice pencil box out of some plum wood I cut about the same time (I dried that in a slightly more conventional way).
Have fun, cheers, W2S
Woody2Shoes
Impressive Member
swb58":290tbmfq said:
A very interesting experiment - shows why this a situation where taking (out) the pith is actually a good thing!
acewoodturner
Established Member
Sycamore doesn't spalt as in the way beech and elm does. It goes a horrible grey colour and has grey flecks through out the board.phil.p":2c6v22rs said:
I actually mill all my timber with an Alaskan mill and kiln dry it myself. When I am doing sycamore I add a few extra buckets of water in the kiln because I prefer it a light brown colour. My mate who is a furniture maker just shakes his head when he sees it.
It doesn't get the vidid lines that beech gets, but it can get some wonderful colouring - I've turned some.
I take your point, though - it's probably more miss than hit.
I take your point, though - it's probably more miss than hit.
acewoodturner
Established Member
Its obviously fine if you are going to stain or dye it which I have seen some excellent examples on this site and others. I have planked up some syc which has green and brown stripes and is stunning but thats not spalted syc. It was on a perfectly good and thriving tree which was on a windblown tree. We planked it up about a week after the storm.
I planked up an unusual syc a few weeks ago and is due out the kiln in the next day or 2. It was totally covered in burrs and had some amazing figure. We planked it at 2 inches thickness and I cant wait to see it. I will post up some photos of it.
Mike
I planked up an unusual syc a few weeks ago and is due out the kiln in the next day or 2. It was totally covered in burrs and had some amazing figure. We planked it at 2 inches thickness and I cant wait to see it. I will post up some photos of it.
Mike
