How long is green wood green

[brianhabby]

Apologies in advance if you think this is a daft question but how long is green wood considered green.?.

regards

Brian

 

[CHJ]

I consider it's green until it's down below 12% moisture as far as turnings concerned, even below 8% for movement sensitive pieces.
Mind you it can still be unstable even at these levels when cut as tensions are released.

 

[brianhabby]

Thanks Chas,

So getting it down to 12% would obviously depend on storage conditions. Is there a way to figure out moisture content without a meter?

regards

Brian

 

[CHJ]

Weigh it at regular intervals until it stops loosing weight.
It's then reasonably safe to start shaping into something resembling any blanks you should want.

At this stage try putting a sample in a sealed plastic bag and see if moisture collects on the inner surface.
If it's small enough you can give it, in its bag, a quick burst (seconds not minutes) in the microwave at a low level to see how much moisture is still in there.

 

[Bodrighy]

Chas is right but having said that things I made in Cornwall, a damp county, have since split after moving to Wiltshire which is much dryer. It also depends on the wood. The basic rule of thumb for drying wood naturally is supposed to be a year for every inch diameter but with woods like willow and eucalyptus you can multiply that by anything up to ten. I use a lot of green wood and usually try and turn it into a rough shape then leave it. Left with the bark on etc it is much more likely to split in my experience.

Pete