However, you can pick preparing green wood for turning when they are cutting the tree down. As green wood is very cheap if not free, woodturners who understand the green turning process preparingg save a lot of money on material. When collecting, cutting green wood bowl blanksand turning green wood, preparing green wood for turning 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. Unlike smaller logs or branches, large logs offer some additional challenges, but many more opportunities. When you turn on your lathe use a slow speed and stand clear of the firing zone.

Now to use one of those log sections. The cuts we make tend to be some of the safest for a chain saw. To make them a lot safer, you need a safe way to hold the wood. Some of the saw bucks I have seen by turners appear to have been designed by serious techno-geeks. All those bells and whistles, belts and straps are dangerous and unnecessary. Take a look at the small bucking horse here. It is simple, cheap, quick to make, easy to use, easy to repair after cutting it up with the saw, and it may save a leg.

As it says in the box this signs you up for the newsletter. Hope this helps and thanks for your comment. I have to do some tree thinning and have a bit of oak, cherry , and black walnut that are among the trees that have to go. I would rather not sell or use green wood. Any insight into how to do this is appreciated. Thinning will start in a few weeks. Good question. I would split the larger pieces in half and then seal the end grain. There are several dedicated products available but I have also heard of turners using left over latex paint to seal the ends and slow down the loss of moisture from the end grain.

Hope this helps and have fun with the turning. I am a Preparing Green Wood For Turning Activity novice!!! I was going to cut it into 3 pieces and turn each. But I am now finding that I should split the log down the middle and then cut into pieces for turning.

Is this correct? Am I making myself clear? Thanks for your anticipated reply. Larry the Novice! Great question Larry. Splitting it up allows the wood to dry. The pith, the center part, usually dries at a different rate than the rest of the wood. If you include the pith in your turnings that is where the cracks and splits are likely to show up. The greatest and most rapid loss of moisture is from the ends of the wood or log. Cover or seal them so that the wood dries at a more consistent rate through the entire piece of wood.

Hope this helps. Robin, would you happen to have any pictures of the jig you made for the planet, to get a flat surface? Thank you, and by the way, I love reading all your posts! I have learned so much from you! To put the wood through the planer you need a flat surface. I attached a small board with screws to the rough wood. I also put shims under the wood to help stabilize it.

Once you have put the wood through the planer a few times you will have a flat surface on the wood itself as a reference. Then you can remove the jig, flip the wood, and flatten the other side. I read part one of this series, and that was also helpful for me. I got a handful of rough wood in my shop, and I want to turn them into some beautiful pieces.

Thanks for the guide. I took my time and carefully turned the blank round on the […]. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Menu Skip to right header navigation Skip to main content Skip to secondary navigation Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer. Related Posts: You may also be interested in these posts:.

Next Post: How to top a good wine — make a bottle stopper — A woodturning project ». Thanks for your lovely comments Jenny! Hey Robin, Excellent guide on how to prepare rough wood for turning.

Off to share. Trackbacks […] blank was a bit rough and ready. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Typically, direct sunlight and breezy conditions are not desirable. Covering the blanks with a tarp can help. A humidifier might also help slow the drying of green wood bowl blanks in extremely dry climates.

If you have an opportunity to make several blanks from one source of wood, experiment and see what works best over time. Leave a whole log and a split log intact, seal a split log with Anchorseal, make a couple of cylindrical blanks and leave one, seal another and bag a third. For a complete listing of all equipment mentioned in this article go to the Recommended Green Wood Bowl Blank Equipment page. Making green wood bowl blanks is the beginning of the creative bowl making process and helps foster a deeply satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Nothing is more gratifying than to be able to go to your own pile of various prepared green wood bowl blanks and select your next turned bowl to bring to life. For details of the equipment mentioned in this article see my Recommended Equipment Guide. I have a 75 Acre farm and thanks to two horrible tornadoes in the last 16 months, lots of wood. I love and appreciate the beauty of wood. For Christmas I was given a small lathe.

Thank you for not assuming your reader knows things and not skipping what might seem obvious to experienced turners. You are an awesome teacher and I thank you! Look forward to turning my first bowl — and hopefully finding more articles by you on using the lathe and woodturning tools!

I feel, especially based on all the questions I receive, that green wood is one of the biggest mysteries of bowl turning. Kent, Have you ever used a wood splitter to cut larger logs in half?

How about a WoodMizer portable bandsaw? I have not used a mill saw, but that should work a lot better than splitting, and almost as well as a chainsaw.

Kent, I have a big Cherry Tree crotch that I want to harvest for a bowl. Do I get two bowls out of that or one? I thought that was a faux pas but your pic above shows just one bowl. Thanks for for all your help! If the crotch is large, you could potentially core out multiple bowls beyond the two large ones. It really all depends on how the tree grew, too.

My wife and I are both just beginning to explore the idea of purchasing a nice lathe and adding this pastime to our planned retirement in Thank you for this site and all the efforts you place in to it. It is much appreciated. You are why I make this website! I want to help and show people the answer that need to be covered to learn to turn great wooden bowls. Have you ever Micro-Waved green wood after initial shaping?

Have a source for this subject or opinions? Great article! After cutting on the bandsaw I put the blanks in a paper bag with some shavings from the chainsaw. With most blanks I rough turn them to about an inch thick and put them back in the bag with shavings and let dry from a few weeks to a few months. Once dry I finish turning them. My favorite wood is hard maple. I lose very few blanks to checking with maple. I generally rough out around 50 at a time and might lose two or three blanks out of that batch.

Sounds like a great time-tested and productive process you have going, Greg! Thanks for sharing and Happy Turning! Winter is the best time to collect wood for natural edge bowls.

The bark will usually stay attached longer. However, in general, I collect timber whenever it is available. Username or Email Address. Remember Me. Electric Chainsaws Corded electric chainsaws work well for quick cuts around the shop as they do not emit fumes like the gas chainsaws.

My Gas and Electric Chainsaws working side by side. Bowl Blank Cutting Circle Templates. End Grain vs. Side Grain Bowl Blank Illustration. Bandsaw Bowl Blank Cutting Process. Joy, Thank you for writing and sharing your kind thoughts. Good questions.

Wood Carving Hand Chisel Tool Set Windows Parkside 550w Wood Turning Lathe