Moisture

[Graham Warner]

Hi everyone,

I'm relatively new to the world of woodturning, what I would like to know is what sort of moisture content in a log is acceptable to start turning, I have bought a moisture metre & I have got a few apple logs that are reading between 24 to 32% moisture.

I understand that the lower the content will be better but I don't want to start turning only to find them cracking out within days of finishing

Many thanks in advance

 

[gregmcateer]

Wow.
Can of worms time!
Depending what you're turning, you'll be able to 'wet turn' either rough, e.g. bowl, leaving the walls thick enough to warp, then re-turn it back to round once dry, or turn the walls very thin and even, all in one go, and let the warping occur as a feature.
I recommend trying both and see what you like doing. Both take time to get the hang of and both will probably have some failures.
Likewise, if spindle turning wet or green, it will DEFINITELY warp and may crack, too.
Michael McDonnell has a great book called Turning Green Wood, which ours really helpful.

Hope that helps

Greg

 

[Doug B]

If you want to turn to a finished piece then the dryer the better, with those levels of moisture I’d be tempted to part turn them leaving them over sized, letting them dry & then turning them to a finished piece.

 

[NOTTNICK]

Take care drying them after you've part turned though, they may well split if they dry out too quickly. I put them in a plastic bag with dry wood shavings that I swap over every so often but there are many other methods.
Take care too if you have pith remaining in your pieces as it can really bring on cracking or warping.
What are you hoping to make from your apple logs? Are they large enough so you can get some bowl blanks with the grain running horizontally? Or will you be turning along the end grain?

 

[Graham Warner]

Take care drying them after you've part turned though, they may well split if they dry out too quickly. I put them in a plastic bag with dry wood shavings that I swap over every so often but there are many other methods.
Take care too if you have pith remaining in your pieces as it can really bring on cracking or warping.
What are you hoping to make from your apple logs? Are they large enough so you can get some bowl blanks with the grain running horizontally? Or will you be turning along the end grain?

Thanks for that NOTTNICK some interesting tips there, I have started to turn a live edge bowl today so far so good turning along the end grain.

They originally came from my grandads old fruit farm that was abandoned in 1967, most of the trees are still growing but i managed to find some old bows that had been cut by someone & just left on the ground so had partly dried out, they have been sat in my dry workshop now for about a year

 

[NOTTNICK]

, I have started to turn a live edge bowl today so far so good turning along the end grain.

I have made quite a few live edge apple wood bowls across the grain. You get a really good effect. Here's a couple for instance.

 

[Robbo3]

You can turn wood as soon as it has been felled but be prepared for you & the equipment to get soaked & need a good clean afterwards. The benefit however is that green wood (ie with the sap still in it) is much easier to turn.
The norm is to leave 10 % oversize then control the moisture loss during storage until dry, some 3 to 6 months (or more).

 

[Graham Warner]

Thanks for that NOTNICK & Robbo3, great looking bowls NOTNICK, what do you use to finish them ?

Robbo3 I had great fun a year or so ago slopping through a extremely muddy field to get them, needless to say I wasn't exactly flavour of the month with the boss (wife) when I put them in the car

 

[Robbo3]

There is a difference between green wood, ie with contained sap & wood that has been left out in the elements. Depending on how long it has been cut & where it is lying it could be nearly dry internally but have surface moisture in the outer layers from either rain or wet ground. Every piece is different & should be assessed to work out a plan of attack. Just leaving it under cover for a couple of days could make it easier to work on.

 

[NOTTNICK]

Thanks for that NOTNICK & Robbo3, great looking bowls NOTNICK, what do you use to finish them ?

Hi Graham, I'm pretty sure it was Danish Oil.
Right now I love friction polish on the outside, finished on the buffing wheel.

 

[Linus]

I use a moisture meter as well but it can only give you a guide to the moisture content near the surface. I like to have wood at least 10% throughout if not turning it green. As advised above, I would rough turn it green to 10% oversized and dry slowly as I find fruit tree wood tends to crack just by looking at it too hard