Advise regarding green pear wood

[monkeybiter]

I'm after a little advice, I've just cut down a few limbs of pear approx 60mm diameter. Coincidentally I have a need to turn some goblets. I can make do with slender, but can I use the the pear? If I turn it green will I get splits at the rim or maybe on the edge of the base? Can I microwave it? If so is there a reccomended method, or do I just wait untill SWMBO pops out then chuck a lump in?

Any advice will be gratefully received.

 

[jurriaan]

You'll never know if it'll split without trying it. I'd say, offhand, that you'd have to turn it rather thin, like 1/16".
If it still splits, try turning it thinner. If it's that thin, why microwave it? It'll be dry in a few days anyway.

 

[monkeybiter]

a few days?

 

[jurriaan]

If it's 1/16" thick, and you keep it indoors, yes - I'd guess so. At least over here, in the Netherlands, the sun is shining and spring is in the air.

 

[Roger C]

Mike turn the bowl 1/16 and the stem 1/8 - 3/16 and the same for the foot. the goblet should be dry by the time you have sanded it
Are you not going in to spring now the temperatures are rising Regards Roger C

 

[boysie39]

Mike turn the bowl 1/16 and the stem 1/8 - 3/16 and the same for the foot. the goblet should be dry by the time you have sanded it
Are you not going in to spring now the temperatures are rising Regards Roger C

Hi Roger ,Indeed we are going into Spring in a big way at least in my part of the world .Have gust seen a couple of Swallows which are almost two weeks early here . It's 2.40 pm 27th March I have never had them this early before.
Glad there were two as the old saying is One Swallow does'nt make a Summer .

Mike ,I wish you luck turning to 1/16" and sanding :mrgreen:

 

[monkeybiter]

Mike turn the bowl 1/16 and the stem 1/8 - 3/16 and the same for the foot. the goblet should be dry by the time you have sanded it
Are you not going in to spring now the temperatures are rising Regards Roger C

Gulp! :shock: 1/16" thick, 1/8" stem! Ireland will be dry by the time I manage that

Still, I'm up for a challenge [as long as nobody's looking] so I'll give it a go. Thanks for the suggestions.

Re. the microwave question; dry wood gives me more room to manouvre timewise. It can take me ages some days.

 

[monkeybiter]

Mike turn the bowl 1/16 and the stem 1/8 - 3/16 and the same for the foot. the goblet should be dry by the time you have sanded itRegards Roger C

Mike ,I wish you luck turning to 1/16" and sanding :mrgreen:

I'll need it! [no offence meant ccasion5: :wink: ]

 

[Roger C]

Mike if SHMBO alows you to use the micro wave turn to1/8 bowl and 1/4 stem and foot. When mw place a cup with a little water in and 1min on high let cool and repeat. A nother way is on defrost no need for water Rgards Roger C

 

[Jonzjob]

Good luck with it Mike. I have reciently turned a green plate from beech and got a shower whilst doing it. I turned it down to about 1/8" and chucked it into a plastic bag and just screwed the top round to close it. Every couple of daze I turned the bag inside out. Did that for a week or so and it seems quite stable now.

Eugene, I think that you will find that the correct saying is "One swallow does not a summer make, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy. Harry Stottle (Some old Greek bloke) :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Could be yours is the Irish version? :? :? :roll:

 

[monkeybiter]

I've had success with the placcy bag method in the past, and have enjoyed turning freshly felled greenwood [ie very wet] but lately I've been getting cracks developing at the rim while I'm still turning. Too bloody slow is my guess!
I'll let you know how it goes, later in the week.

 

[chill]

try spraying with water whilst turning it to stop it drying out too quickly, hth,

 

[boysie39]

Good luck with it Mike. I have reciently turned a green plate from beech and got a shower whilst doing it. I turned it down to about 1/8" and chucked it into a plastic bag and just screwed the top round to close it. Every couple of daze I turned the bag inside out. Did that for a week or so and it seems quite stable now.

Eugene, I think that you will find that the correct saying is "One swallow does not a summer make, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy. Harry Stottle (Some old Greek bloke) :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Could be yours is the Irish version? :? :? :roll:

We never or hardly ever although sometimes we do just to make it perfectly clear to whomever we are conversing with but that could be by the written word or spoken word and sometimes by signing although the other persons may not be familer with signing , use any more words than are nessisery to explain ourselves although we had a fellow over here from Greesland called Arsie Stottle who may have been related to the bloke you know got rid of him could'nt milk a cow or anything . :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[CHJ]

Fruit woods are notoriously difficult to dry I'm afraid and the fact that you only have 60mm diameter branch material means that you have very few options.
There will be a significant proportion of sapwood and if the branches were anywhere near horizontal then the core will be off centre.
Trying to dry will involve drying it as slowly as possible, keeping the immediate environment as even a humidity gradient as possible, inside a heavy paper bag for instance.

Alternate is to turn very thin and even thickness whilst green and watch it distort, with luck it won't split, thick sections and uneven thicknesses will more than likely result in splits.

One of the things to try and avoid is the core material, something almost impossible with your wood dimensions.

You could try turning a green goblet in three sections.
Cup-Stem-Base.
On the cup and base drill out the very core area to reduce core split propagation risk.
Turn suitable spigots on stem to fit holes in cup and base.

 

[CHJ]

Microwaving is best done in a spare unit, one mistake in the kitchen unit and you will be the one popping out, permanently.

Whether you use full power or defrost is not the deciding factor, 'cook' time is, we are talking seconds not minutes.
You need to heat the wood just enough to cause it to steam, putting it inside a plastic bag is a good indicator.
Remove from bag each cook and allow to cool and any surface moisture to evaporate, then repeat until no more moisture is seen in bag or if you want to be more critical the weight of the piece does not reduce, but you do need some accurate scales for this on small pieces.

Best drying method is to build up your stocks so that you have months or better still years for it to dry out naturally, I have found that even after rough turning from green it is better for me to handle if left to dry slowly rather than trying to force it.