Wood identification Please

[gaz8521]

Got these two lumps the other day
Can anybody tell me what they are and if they are any good for turning

Thanks Gaz

 

[cedarwood]

Well they look like a fruit wood to me possibly Cherry

 

[user 17340]

I agree with cherry. I got some smaller diameter logs with that same orange/red ring. It splits quickly so get on the case to stop that; turns well but mine lost a little contrast in the colours as it dried. Good luck

 

[joethedrummer]

Hi Gaz,,,,
If those paving slabs are a foot square then the logs are about that size, they sure look like nice pieces of wood, but you need to hop on it a bit to seal the ends "cos if it is cherry, in my experience it splits like a bu,,er,, I got some plum logs recently that look very similar in colouring and bark as your pieces,, It will be interesting to get confirmation from some of our experts,,,
,,,,joe,,,

 

[procell]

I managed to get hold of some logs very similar looking to those back in the summer. I was told they were Sergeant cherry by the tree surgeon I got them from. I can confirm it will split very easily unless sealed as the end grain. Also if turned wet it will change shape in hours. My suggestion, although I am far from being an expert would be to seal it and then put it somewhere cool and dry for a few years to let if dry naturally.

I can upload a picture of a small piece I rough turned wet to see what happened to it. Its both cracked and changed from round to oval.

 

[procell]

As mentioned above some pics of what happened to wet turned rough bowl.

splitting caused by shrinkage

The oval shape is not an optical illusion
The other half of the same log just left in shed. May be useful if I ever take up making toothpicks.

Several logs I was given. some are Sergeant Cherry. some are Eucalyptus and a couple of silver Birch

 

[Woodmonkey]

That's definitely cherry. I would cut it into bowl blanks, seal the edges with wax then let it dry.

 

[gaz8521]

Thanks for all the replies- logs are all sealed and I'll put them in plastic bags ready for when I get my lathe back ( but that's another story)
Never seen cherry like that before so can't wait to get going on it

Thanks again all

Gaz

 

[woodfarmer]

As it happens I have a need to seal quite a lot of green pear wood and hopefully later walnut. Is this the right ( or at least a good thing to use?) if not can you recommend something better from screwfix.

Regards

 

[bellringer]

As it happens I have a need to seal quite a lot of green pear wood and hopefully later walnut. Is this the right ( or at least a good thing to use?) if not can you recommend something better from screwfix.

Regards

If you are looking for something to seal timber with i use candle wax which i melt in a pan the dip the ends in

 

[gaz8521]

I use A PVA sealer from B&Q which I put on neat, not the cheapest but it works for me

Gaz

 

[woodfarmer]

I use A PVA sealer from B&Q which I put on neat, not the cheapest but it works for me

Gaz

Thanks GAZ, but it has to come from screwfix as they will post to France.
This is about 2/3rds what I need to seal.

nearly a cubic metre.

 

[bellringer]

I use A PVA sealer from B&Q which I put on neat, not the cheapest but it works for me

Gaz

Thanks GAZ, but it has to come from screwfix as they will post to France.

using waste ends of candles is cheaper also you must be able to buy PVA glue in France

 

[woodfarmer]

I use A PVA sealer from B&Q which I put on neat, not the cheapest but it works for me

Gaz

Thanks GAZ, but it has to come from screwfix as they will post to France.

using waste ends of candles is cheaper also you must be able to buy PVA glue in France

posts crossed in the net

I would need rather a lot of candle ends, and in France pva sealer is about £50 a tin as far as I have been able to track any down. Screwfix deliver orders over £100 for free.

 

[bellringer]

using waste ends of candles is cheaper also you must be able to buy PVA glue in France[/quote]

posts crossed in the net

I would need rather a lot of candle ends, and in France pva sealer is about £50 a tin as far as I have been able to track any down. Screwfix deliver orders over £100 for free.[/quote]


not that many i have just finished sealing 9 bowls blanks 90 pen blanks and 4 spindle blanks and it made no dent in my 1/4 7 inch pan full

 

[Woodmonkey]

Look on eBay for wax pellets you can get 5kg for less than £20, that will do a lot of sealing.

 

[woodfarmer]

Look on eBay for wax pellets you can get 5kg for less than £20, that will do a lot of sealing.

Thanks for the advice , however you must remember I am in France where a different set of economic rules seem to apply.
The cheapest wax pellets I could find was £4.75 a kilo PLUS £14.00 postage. The other two pages of adverts DO NOT ship to France at all.
Most of the blanks are about 40-50 CM (16-20 inches) square and half that deep, so I would need a big container.

So Is this http://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-pva-5ltr/57248 suitable, as it is not expensive and I can make up the order to have free shipping. Even http://www.screwfix.com/p/unibond-contr ... 5ltr/55221 which dilutes 4:1 is £15 per 5 litres. BUT are these suitable? I hope to spray the wood to make it easier.

regards.

 

[bellringer]

you can use emulsion paint which you must be able to buy in France

 

[Woodmonkey]

I'm not sure whether those would create a waterproof seal or not? As previous poster says emulsion paint will work, even better would be bathroom latex paint. Don't forget you're not covering the whole blank, it's just the end grain u need to seal

 

[Neil Farrer]

I'm going against the flow, and I'll put my bottom dollar on the fact that the wood isn't sergeants cherry. Typically the tree has dark reddish brown shiny bark with the typical lenticels of the prunus family running at right angles to the tree, ie horizontal, this has neither. If it was sergeants cherry I would suggest that efforts to save it are futile, as a relatively fast grower, it is in danger of splitting at the outset.

The common name of the tree begins with h, now if know that's not too helpful but I can't remember the name of the tree to save my life, but I'll try and recover my memory with the help of a few reference books in the morning. Sadly though I wouldn't save any of it if I got it, it splits very quickly regardless of how much you try to retard or equalise the drying.

I wouldn't recommend the use of candle wax to seal wood, it doesn't work. It does not adhere to the end grain particularly well and will crack and fall off as the wood starts to inevitably move.