I made a finial box, the box part is in Cherry which was room dry (been in the attic for over 15 years) and a lid with Finial from Holly, the holly lid fitted snugly into a recess on the pot when it came off the lathe but now it falls out and there is a obvious gap around it, the pot hole seems very slightly out of round, the holly seems perfect, it too is as dry as the cherry by the way, so where did I go wrong? why did the box's hole apparently expand?
Making finial Boxes
- Thread starter KimG
- Start date
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Wood moves Kim,
Even dry wood has stresses, that get relieved when parts are removed, also the wood could have absorbed moisture when moved from attic. Best to part turn, let it rest for a day then continue, even with dry wood.
Even dry wood has stresses, that get relieved when parts are removed, also the wood could have absorbed moisture when moved from attic. Best to part turn, let it rest for a day then continue, even with dry wood.
CHJ
Established Member
I think it's more than likely your holly will have shrunk and being close grained probably stayed reasonably round as I assume it is spindle turned with no cross grain.
The cherry will be the normal movement as expected with a natural movement toward oval as the shrinkage/expansion varies dependant upon the grain orientation, as loz says wood moves.
Boxes done in end grain are more likely to stay round but will change size with humidity levels.
The cherry will be the normal movement as expected with a natural movement toward oval as the shrinkage/expansion varies dependant upon the grain orientation, as loz says wood moves.
Boxes done in end grain are more likely to stay round but will change size with humidity levels.
Thanks for the pointers, I was aware of timbers ability to move some, but was surprised to see it so pronounced in such dry wood. I will follow your advice Loz and rough it out first.
Both bits as I think Chaz is right too.
Both bits as I think Chaz is right too.
tekno.mage
Established Member
When I make boxes I always rough them and leave the roughed parts as long as possible (often in the airing cupboard to make sure the wood is really dry) before finishing the box. Despite these precautions I have found that some woods still move quite a bit dependant on the temperature/humidity of where they are kept. Holly is a particular nuisance for moving (aside from being difficult to dry without splitting). I have found that Walnut is a really stable wood when dry - I've even got a couple of boxes I made from dry walnut a few years ago without roughing and the lids still fit perfectly!
