# Turning New Timber



## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

I was lucky enough to be given a large amount of Cypress Pine slabs...12 in all and range from 6 to 10 inches thick with a diameter of around 18 inches. I have painted them with water based house paint on the ends until I can find some proper wood sealer...Probably my question is aimed at Bernie W....WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?....I have turned small bowls, but nothing this size, so be gentle please.The slabs are still sappy....do I turn them while the sap is still present? and then seal and dry? could someone post the whole process from start to stop I have trawled through the forums but no joy....or, have I missed something?......Thanks for your patience.....Regards.....AL


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## jetpilot (Jul 7, 2010)

Al Robins said:


> I was lucky enough to be given a large amount of Cypress Pine slabs...12 in all and range from 6 to 10 inches thick with a diameter of around 18 inches. I have painted them with water based house paint on the ends until I can find some proper wood sealer...Probably my question is aimed at Bernie W....WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?....I have turned small bowls, but nothing this size, so be gentle please.The slabs are still sappy....do I turn them while the sap is still present? and then seal and dry? could someone post the whole process from start to stop I have trawled through the forums but no joy....or, have I missed something?......Thanks for your patience.....Regards.....AL


Hello Al; There is a product PEG 1000 that will stablize green wood, keeps it for shrinking, cracking ect. To learn about this material type in PEG 1000 and
you will get several artical about this product and its use.
jetpilot


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Consider Pentacryl. Expensive but works. Most of the time.
I suspect it is related to PEG1000 if not identical.


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Al when I do pine I let it dry completely before any turning. I don't know how other do it but I find pine especially green a pain in the backside. I can tell you this if turned in the green state it is you will have a mess with the sticky resin and sap. Ask me I know. I have turned Cypress pine and it took me several hours to clean up my tools and my lathe. Most any pine has that sticky resin and it does make a mess. If it were me the only sealer that works well is anchorseal. Woodcraft or Rockler sells it. Also can get if on line from Craft Supply USA or Packard Woodworks. PEG 1000 and Pentacryl are in my opinion used for stabilizing green wood after rough turning or if your wood is punky from spalting and has soft spots but I have cheaper ways around that than the above. IMHO would not be a good solution to your situation. I don't know what kind of lathe you have so don't know what to tell you as far as what size to cut the blanks. The one thing that needs to be done is make sure their is no pith left in the wood. That is the extreme center of the tree trunk. Any wood with the pith left in will always crack. I do have some pine and spruce which is just as bad for the resin sap. They have been drying for almost 1 1/2 yrs now. No cracks but will probably wait another six months to try and turn it as I want it dry. I know that this is probably not what you wanted to hear but that is the way I would handle that wood myself. 

Oh and if you do decide to cut them into bowl blanks and your lathe can handle 18" pieces I would cut them about 4 to 6 inches longer or around 24 inches long. Then I would seal the ends with 2 coats of anchorseal letting the first coat dry and then reapply. I would stack them in a shaded place or building and let dry for however long it needs. 

Hope this helps Al. 

Bernie


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Thanks for the replies fells...since I posted this topic I have found that Caltex sells a product "Log End Sealer" I'll check it out....Bernie...you are on the money with the sap....after I finished painting the ends I had sap runnin down my arms and at the time I thought what a bloody mess this is goin to make on the lathe...you'd have to have a rain coat on!
Ive got a Technatool lathe that has served me well over the last 20 odd years...the only way I can turn the stuff is on the out board end with a couple of bags of cement on the other end to stop the lathe rising..haha
So....end result for the pine is to wait a couple of years until its completely dry?
While we are on the subject...I have also been given some Cedar in the last couple of days,,,whats the story with this? its not Western Red...but a lighter colour.Same thing...wait until its completely dry before turning? OK, once again, thanks for all the input....been good.....Regards....AL


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## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

AL; wood drying: if your wood is 6" thick the rule is it will take 6 yrs to dry (1 inch per yr. thickness) it totally depends where you live & humidity levels, etc Pine has sap whether wet or dry..but the sap doesn't run much when dry..it is still there tho...I use shellac as a sealer to keep the sap in check after turning. good luck


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Thanks Gal turner....you mean the shellac as used for French polishing?...if that is the case it would seem to be a tad expensive on large areas? Regards.....AL


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Sorry gal turner...didnt read your post properly....gotchya now........AL


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Al not sure what kind of cedar you have but I have not run into any that has given me problems. It is very cracky so be careful how you dry it.


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

BernieW said:


> Al not sure what kind of cedar you have but I have not run into any that has given me problems. It is very cracky so be careful how you dry it.


G'Day to you Bernie....dont put it in microwave? just let it dry naturally? Regards.....AL


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Well., this turned up today so I suppose I can have a bit of a gloat......this is some more of the Cedar I was given....Regards,,,AL


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Al Robins said:


> G'Day to you Bernie....dont put it in microwave? just let it dry naturally? Regards.....AL


Al both of those logs have the pith left in them so that is going to be a source of trouble as far as cracking goes. All cracks in logs eminate from the pith.

Al I turn my bowls to 10% thickness of the diameter but you probably already know this. After I rough them to 10% I coat them with anchorseal and then store them in a cool dry place. I store mine on the floor in a cool room and not much air movement. I let them dry for a few months. Some don't like that method but I have had excellent luck and have only lost one bowl blank. Of course I have about 50 blanks or more in varies stages of drying. So I always have some that are dry. I turn a bunch of green ones and then maybe a dry one now and then. 

Oh I and I have never tried the microwave thing. First off I think drying that fast would crack cedar in my opinion and second the boss would boot me to the dog house if I used her microwave.


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Ha ha...Thanks Bernie....yes, same response from my wife....the pith in these logs...whats the story there?...I have painted the logs with house paint until I get some log dealer.Will they dry without splitting or am I wasting mt time.....also....here is some more of the same tree....and what do I do with them?.....Regards...AL


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Sorry Bernie...re read your post...so if you have a slab of timber 12 inches in diameter you would turn the workpiece to 1.2 inches from the outside edge...but how deep would you go if the thickness was 6 inches......1/2 an inch roughly to the base?.......also...what do you determine a s "green"? can I turn some of those smaller slabs now?...the tree was felled about 3 days ago
....Regards....AL


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Al you should be able to turn it but even 3 yrs. the wood will probably still be green/wet. It takes 1 yr for every inch of thickness to dry. 

As far as bowl turning. Lets say I have a 12" bowl blank 6" deep. I would turn the walls to around a 1 1/4" thick and the bottom around 1" thick. In other words it would look like a big old thick bowl. I then paint the whole bowl with sealer and set aside to dry. I always make the bottom slightly thinner than the walls because the wood will move and if the bottom is to thick it definitely will crack.


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Thanks Bernie...so, I can turn the smaller blanks to the dimensions you mention, seal them and then put them away to dry?....Still wondering what to do with the larger ones though, Regards....AL


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Al

They call it fire wood if you don't have a lathe the size of your car..  LOL or one heck of a lot pen blanks......

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Al Robins said:


> Thanks Bernie...so, I can turn the smaller blanks to the dimensions you mention, seal them and then put them away to dry?....Still wondering what to do with the larger ones though, Regards....AL


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

That's what I am saying Al. If you lathe will only handle up to 12" then for the big ones you will have one choice and that is to cut them down to your lathe size.


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Bernie and Bj....I've been thinking....why dont we corner the market for Cedar pen blanks for the next couple of decades....lol,....all jokes aside....what I cant turn I will cut down to size and hopefully use the offcuts for Harrys jewelery boxes....they should come up well, going on the colour and grain.......like in another post....nothing wasted here....Regards....AL


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Al Robins said:


> Bernie and Bj....I've been thinking....why dont we corner the market for Cedar pen blanks for the next couple of decades....lol,....all jokes aside....what I cant turn I will cut down to size and hopefully use the offcuts for Harrys jewelery boxes....they should come up well, going on the colour and grain.......like in another post....nothing wasted here....Regards....AL


Al, here are a couple of donated logs of mine, sealed by dipping in molten candle wax by a good friend, using an electric frypan (not his wife's of course!) He also cut up the logs for me. One of the stacks in the first shot has been used making the box shown, plus some waiting for inspiration, the rest is still drying.


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Good one Harry....so all that timber is soaked in candle wax and air dried with poly styrene between....great idea....so, you cut all those while they were still green and sappy? Regards...Al


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