Green wood turning methods

nathansmith · 13 Jul 2015

Hello, just got a load of green birch and chestnut from two storm fallen trees in my local area, have never turned green wood before and was wondering what the different approaches to prepping and turning a green blank. Eg, do you cut out the blank then let that dry or can you cut out a blank and turn it on the same day? All input is much appreciated, cheers

Dalboy · 13 Jul 2015

You can do one of the following.

1 Leave the log as long as possible and seal the ends and then let it dry which will take quite a while.
2 Cut the log into round blanks and again seal the outside again leave to dry
3 Cut the log and rough turn the blank to 10% larger than the size you want seal the outside place in a plastic bag(Turning it inside out every so often) leave to dry. Much quicker than the first two when left to dry.
4 Turn to final shape and let it warp and do its own thing applying finish at the same time, you can get some interesting shapes this way.

With any of the above you still take a chance that it will not split. And make sure you seal them as soon as possible on the same day is best. I normally seal the day I get it as in number 1 above then do one of the other three above

Remember that it takes about 1 year per inch to dry but the thicker the blanks are that will increase and even a 3" blank can take longer than 3 years to dry.

If you go for the roughing out or turning to final shape wear some wet weather clothes and clean up afterwards, especially metal surfaces as some woods can spray loads of water out

Castanea · 13 Jul 2015

To add just a couple of things to Dalboy's suggestions -

The one inch per year is very much a rule of thumb - some woods dry much more quickly than others. I had some sweet chestnut that took years and years to dry, oak isn't in any hurry but ash dries really quickly. Also some woods move a lot when they dry, others much less, some spllit at the drop of a hat, others are more forgiving.

We all do it different ways but I'd be cautious of putting blanks in a plastic bag - I'd go for a paper sack with shavings in so the wood can breath and dry gradually. Some woods are very quick to get fungal stains if they're kept damp.

Finally the technique of turning from wet to finished works really well as long as you want something organic - ie not exactly round! It can be interesting finishing your bowl because it can start moving as you're cutting it. Ideally you want a pretty even thickness throughout so the drying is happening at a fairly even rate throughout. I really enjoy the unpredictabiliy of it and also the feel of the finished bowl. To my mind oval bowls beg to be held more than round ones!

If sap is spraying about watch out for alergies and also wipe your tools down and remove the wet shavings, particularly if you're using sweet chestnut or oak - the sap is pretty acidic.

Ideally you have a lathe and a woodburner so that anything which splits horribly just becomes good fire wood for the winter!

finneyb · 13 Jul 2015

Turning green wood bowl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0t2iZrjuw8
Michael O'Donnell has a good book & DVD on the subject.

I leave mine in a long a length as possible and store vertical with the top covered by a paper bag or similar.
Don't wait for it to dry out turn it wet.
Leave bowl walls 10% of bowl dia.
Leave bowl in a dark cool place for 6 -12 months and then re-turn to final size

HTH

Brian

beganasatree · 13 Jul 2015

Hi nathansmith,
If you would like a quicker drying time then you could use a micro wave,Michel Odonnells book turning green wood shows you how to do this,but do not use the one in your kitchen. I bought a second hand one for the workshop,I also bought a S H electric frying pan ,I put all the old bits of candles in the pan and use this to seal the ends of my wood.
Peter

JimB · 19 Jul 2015

When turning very wet wood I've seen people use a plastic dustbin liners with holes for head and arms. It saves a lot of trouble in the house if you don't wash your own clothes.