First, thank you so much for putting all this effort in to writing these articles. Sign up using Email and Password. So work with a few logs at a time. Air flow is important to control the rate of moisture loss. I've taken bowls out after four months and still found them quite true when chucked up and none of those bowls have subsequently cracked best green wood for turning questions, but I'm not sure how this would work for a super-thin second turning, or very green wood, etc.

It is like a wooden cabinet lined Best Green Wood For Turning Emoji with plastic, with small adjustable vents like on a cheapo charcoal grill. He allows them to stay relatively moist for a period of weeks, loosly wrapped in plastic sheeting. There is often a wet rag or open water cup in the cabinet. By slowly allowing the moisture to escape the pieces change shape slowly, thus avoiding cracking.

So a 10" bowl would be rough turned to 1" wall thickness. Then pack the rough turned bowl in shavings in a paper bag, and set it aside to dry in a controlled fashion. The key though is consistent thickness. Another thing to consider if you're cutting your own bowl blanks-- consider taking the pith out.

In some woods, pith dries at a different rate than the other heartwood and definitely different than the sapwood. If you're buying bowl blanks, the pith is likely already cut out.

I've only done this a couple times, but I have good luck turning a rough form as TxTurner notes and then setting the bowl aside for a few months.

My technique is, I keep all the shavings from the bowl I just turned and stuff those, along with the rough bowl, into a plastic shopping bag that I tie off. I'm careful to pack the bowl in the center of the bag, so there's plenty of moist shavings evenly surrounding the bowl.

I also don't tie the bag so it's airtight - I leave a little gap at the tie so air can circulate. I check on the bowl every two months or so; this lets me know if I can proceed, and also helps rotate the shavings around inside the bag By the way, "know if I can proceed" is still a thing I'm not totally sure about. I've taken bowls out after four months and still found them quite true when chucked up and none of those bowls have subsequently cracked , but I'm not sure how this would work for a super-thin second turning, or very green wood, etc.

I know one turner who just puts them in the loft of a shed, and another who has a "green room" where he just puts all his turnings for drying. I'm not sure if he just calls it that, or if he has an actual humidity-controlled green room like what some people use for growing plants.

I've also heard several turners talk about wrapping up each piece in a paper bag. I have turned a few green bowls cross grain after turning I sand them down.

Thinking of getting Wood Juice to put on some to see how that works. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How can you stabilize green wood after turning it on a lathe? Ask Question. Asked 6 years ago.

Active 1 year, 5 months ago. Viewed 6k times. Improve this question. Ast Pace 3, 1 1 gold badge 13 13 silver badges 31 31 bronze badges. Allow them to stabilize prior to planing? Many species of timber, in green form, turn buttery smooth and surrender gracefully to the bowl gouge. Wet green wood turns more efficiently and cleaner than dry wood. Free flying dust is reduced making the air a bit safer to breathe. Shavings from green wood come off large and curly producing little or no dust.

My favorite thing about beautiful free green wood is you never know where it will come from next and what species it might be. It could be a storm that makes literal tons available, or a friend calling to let you know about a recently removed specimen.

When collecting, cutting green wood bowl blanks , and turning green wood, we the creators of the final wood turned bowls, get to decide where we would like to cut the wood and in what direction and to what final size. We are engaged in the entire process from the source to the final turned piece. This is not possible when purchasing dried bowl blanks, as someone else has already made all those decisions long ago.

Turning green wood is a hands-on process that places the woodturner in charge and at the helm from start to finish.

Massive amounts of experiential knowledge are gained when turning green wood bowls. Turning skills specific to each tree species become engrained into our hand, eye, and tool coordination. In many ways, we truly honor the very nature of the tree as we gracefully and elegantly lift it from the process of decay and set it on the stage of appreciation, for generations to come. A lot of good information here. I have been turning for about twenty years off an on but just recently got into green turning.

Have you ever run across something like this? It has a very pretty grain. Thanks for sharing. I have not tried this technique, but it kinda makes sense.

If those fibers are soaked they have a tendency to raise up. Every tree species will react differently, but it sounds like locust fibers rise up in this soak. Good to know. I tried something today. Sanded with 40 grit and used a bull nose scraper with no success. I thought what can I fill with, so I had some sanding dust on shop floor and mixed with titebond glue and spread over the whole bowl. Will put back on lathe and sand and see if it comes out smooth.

Once you are comfortable making clean bowl gouge cuts, depending on the wood, you might be able to start sanding with or grit paper.

Happy Turning, Kent. I put a glue sawdust mix and let dry for 24 hrs. Put back on the lathe and sanded with 40 grit and used a heavy nose scraper. Sanded again with 60 up to It finally is smooth.

First, thank you so much for putting all this effort in to writing these articles. So I did. Almost all of the pieces I turn crack. Some very beautiful pieces of wood, one more recently a truly beautiful piece of Rainbow Cottonwood, have become totally ruined due to cracking. Maybe you can offer some advice.

I live in Colorado. It is ARID here! I mean, it is really dry most of the time. So, very dry here. I was so enthusiastic earlier this year when I got going, that I was buying wood left and right. There are also some woods you just cannot seem to find kiln dried at all, they only seem to be sold green. Not to mention all the other benefits you mentioned in your article about green wood.

I also find a certain enjoyment turning green wood. KD is fine, and not having the cracking is great, but there is something about green wood. The way it cuts, the clean, curly shavings and chips you get off a green blank, the significantly lower amount of dust for me, this is a big bonus as I seem to be very allergic to wood dust! So my question is…is there anything I can do, to be able to turn a green piece of wood, in a very arid climate, and avoid having every piece regardless of species, it seems crack DURING turning.

I hear your frustration. Try to get locally harvested wood but in smaller quantities. You will need to immediately turn ALL of the wood you get because of the dryness you describe. So work with a few logs at a time. Cut the logs about two times longer than their diameter. Accept that the ends will crack, but with the extra wood, you can trim that off when you are ready to turn.

As soon as the logs are split and ready to be shaped into bowl blanks, you have to also be ready to turn them down to final size or twice-turned roughed size. Even if only for a short time. If you need to take even a brief break, place a plastic bag tight around the blank before stepping away. Turn the complete bowl at one time. You can not turn the outside and then wait to turn the inside later, it will crack in your environment.

Your goal is to keep as much moisture in the wood as possible. As soon as a blank is turned to very even wall thickness throughout, then mist it again and place it in a brown paper bag.

If the shavings from that turning are even a little moist, use them to line the bag and cover the bowl. This will help retain moisture in the bowl. Roll the top of the bag shut. Check the bag every day or two and replace it with a fresh bag if moisture is still present. Put the bags in a cool dark space with very little air movement.

A crawl space is ideal. These steps should render better results, but you still might get some cracking. Remember it also has a lot to do with the tree species as well. Work in small batches and experiment until you find a technique and type of wood that works best for you.

Think of the bowl blanks you create as grocery store produce. You need to take care of them and store them according to their needs, or they will spoil. Thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough reply. I have considered misting the blanks. I actually even considered using some trip system tubing and misting sprayers, along with a basic low volume pump, to set up an automatic powered mister to just keep the blanks wet while I turn, as some times it seems even stopping to find the spray bottle and mist them allows enough time for the wood to crack although, I think that was the Cottonwood, so maybe it was the species being problematic as well in that case.

I removed the was from the top and bottom and rounded them. The moment they started to crack, I anchor sealed the end grains, but left the rest of the wood unsealed. The cracking stopped immediately…and, the blanks are clearly losing moisture. Much lighter now, as I rounded these a couple months ago. So I may also just try rounding some of the green blanks I have, seal the end grains, and let them air dry for a while, and see how that goes as well.

I am curious…have you ever tried kiln drying your own wood? Worthwhile effort to say pick up an old free fridge and convert one into a kiln? Or just a waste of time? I do wonder if the ability to control temp and humidity might help here in my dry state….

If you are going to twice-turn, you will want to turn a thick-walled complete bowl essentially with the tenon still attached. The only reason I mention this is because if the center is solid and not removed at all, the moisture and tension is concentrated in that core and will easily crack end-grain and much more.

You may be coring this properly already. As for a kiln, I do have an insulated box with a light bulb. A full kiln that would apply measurable heat is too much and will most likely make many cracked bowls.

Stay tuned. I have actually done both. I seem to have problems either way. Some woods have been horrible…like the cottonwood, within minutes of starting to round a square blank, and this was after it sat and dried for around 6 months and was already air drying before I bought it , it had tons of checking and some of the checks were already splitting into cracks. I decided to finish rounding it, and by the time I was done, it was full of cracks along the end grains and was basically useless.

I ended up finishing the bowl, as the wood was actually BEAUTIFUL, but it was ruined and unsellable within 10 minutes or so of first putting it on the lathe and starting to round.

Needless to say, its been a great source of frustration. I suspect it is probably a combination of both. Anyway…I look forward to your upcoming fridge kiln video! They seem pretty simple, basically a light bulb, a fan, some controllable venting… I do value the knowledge you in particular bring to the table though, Kent, so I look forward to your insights. Thank you for it all! I suggest turning only small batches of wood at a time.

Turn one blank from start to finish and do so in under two hours tops. Your environment is your dryer. What you need to focus on is finding a tree species that is a bit more forgiving and will allow you to turn it before cracking. If you take even a 5-minute break to go to the bathroom, cover the bowl blank on the lathe with a plastic bag.

The end grains of the blank are drying so fast they are forced to crack. Keep the end grain wet at all times. As soon as you finish turning the piece, apply an oil or shellac finish to further hold moisture and slow the drying process.

Treat this time as an experiment. Work with different woods. Have you turned any aspen yet? In your dry environment, think of the bowl blank as a special needs ICU patient that will die without moisture.

Great question. I like to use a jam chuck to re-true the tenon. You can use a jam chuck shaped to fit in the interior of the bowl, or a flat padded jam chuck. Username or Email Address. Remember Me. Wet and Dry There are two broad categories of bowl blanks, green or wet wood and dried bowl blanks. What is Green Wood Before we go too far, it makes sense to define green wood. Dry Wood Understanding With either the passage of time or the use of a kiln, wood is dried or seasoned.

Equilibrium Did you notice the definition of dry wood above? Turning Green Wood Bowl Cracks. Turning Green Wood Bowls Thin. Sounds great! Hi Kent, First, thank you so much for putting all this effort in to writing these articles. Thank you so much! Jon, I hear your frustration. All the best to you and Happy Turning, Kent. Hi Kent, Thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough reply.

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