Preparing limbs for turning

[stryker1313]

Hi, I am super new to this hobby. I searched the forum for this, but it may be too basic a question. I want to practice basic between center stuff. I have a bunch of limbs from trees that have been felled on my property that range from 2 inches to 6 inches in diam. Mostly pine trees in the last two years. Are these suitable for practice? I'll just be tossing the results in the fireplace! Also, do i need to run them through the bandsaw and square em up before turning? Since I am not saving them, do i need to worry about the pith? THanks, I know these are probably really basic questions, I just haven't found the answers yet.

 

[Ken Grunke]

I would remove the bark if it's at all loose, rather than have it hit you in the face while spinning. Don't know why you would need to square them up unless you wanted to practice pummel cuts, where a spindle transitions from square to round.
My recommendation for beginner''s practice wood is Box Elder, a bit stronger than Pine and no gummy resin.
Have fun!

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

Make sure you only mount straight pieces on the lathe. You don't want to start out trying to deal with an out of balance situation.

I tried turning pine once. I shaped the outside of the piece and then took it off the lathe and took it back to where I found it. I didn't like the smell, the pitch pockets were annoying and the resin all over my tools was a real nuisance.

I also would not burn pine in my fireplace.

Ed

 

[john lucas]

Pine can be kind of sappy to turn. I would not square them up first unless you simply need to reduce the size. If you leave the pith in, there is a very good chance it will crack. It depends a lot on the type of wood and how long it was laying before you turned it.
Limbs are great for practice but I usually toss them unless they are large enough to cut the pith out.l
I have been working on some ideas for turning green wood that still has the pith. Most envolve drilling or boring out the pith. I've had really good results with Christmas ornaments and I'm still putting the finishing touches on a lamp. All of these methods require hollowing so the piece is very thin. Thin wood will warp instead of break in most cases.

 

[dkulze]

Welcome to turning, Stryker.

My recommendation would be to cut the pine into managable lengths, then burn it in a bonfire so that you don't gum up your chimney.

Green pine is one of the worst woods to learn turning with due to the level of pitch and the bark flying all over the place. Also, it's not very stable wood and will tear and splinter all over the place. Finally, unmilled branch wood isn't much good for anything other than practicing technique, and not great for that.

My suggestion would be snagging some small logs of any given hardwood (6-10" diameter), milling them in half then down into squares, and using that. Maple, Box Elder, Cherry, any fine grain wood like that will work very well for practice and burn well also. We have lots of Norway maple around here that grows fast and turns easy for that purpose.

dk

 

[Rick H]

Unmilled branches

I turn a lot of small boxes from unmilled branches. I use branches 6" and shorter so they can be used with a chuck just holding one end. I put the branch between centers and turn the bark off into a nice round. Turn a tenon on one end, then use a chuck to hold it to turn into boxes. I find that under 2" in diameter I have not had a lot of problems with the pith or warping when the wood dries.

 

[MichaelMouse]

A few have touched it without mentioning it directly, but it's a case of preparing yourself and the turning area more than the branches. Leave them alone and out in the cold and damp until you're ready to cut.

In the meantime, get your splatterboards out. The ones you use for turning wet wood of any sort will do. Also get yourself a toothbrush and mineral spirits to clean off the gouge before the pitch bakes on or ignites. Put your scrapers far enough away so that you'll have to think about it before you use them. Pretty easy to tear wet wood with blunt attack angles.

If you're going to mount between centers, make sure you get those fangs embedded to some depth. I like to use two-fanged drives and make a 1/4" saw kerf to make sure that starting shock, a bit of loose, or a hook don't spin the center or feed me the piece. Also makes sense to use that cup center on the other end, NOT the dumb 60 degree. Pay attention to how well it's seated. Wet mushy wood will want you to snug it a couple times more while turning.

Turning thin and drying evenly will actually get you some pretty neat things, even when the wood is not as forgiving as aromatic cedar. BTW, Rick, they're really nice.

 

[john lucas]

Rick Those appear to be cedar. Were the limbs dry when you made boxes. I have always had to either use very dry wood or rough the boxes and then dry them in the microwave. I would be interested in your technique.

 

[Rick H]

Preparing limbs

I cut the trees in the fall to about 2-3 foot pieces. I have used some right away, within 30 minutes of cutting down tree, and others later. They are sitting outside until I am ready to use them. Then I use the bandsaw and cut them into 4-6" lengths to use on the lathe. Now only cut what you can use right away. I find what I cut this morning will split by evening. Keeping the chunks in a plastic bag while waiting to turn I have used them 3 days later with no problem. I chuck the piece between centers and turn them round and cut the tenion. Then I put them in a chuck and make the boxes. Normally get 2 complete boxes from one chunk.
The cedar is nice, but I have also done the same thing with ash, elm, mulberry and any other wood I can find.

 

[dkulze]

Very even thickness and bottom not too thick does the trick. The wood needs to be able to dry evenly, including the center of the base.

dk

 

[Charlie Harley]

As others have said, stay away from fresh pine. The pitch is very unpleasant to deal with and will take away from some of your enjoyment.

Other than that, any scrap hardwood limbs will work great. I started just that way using stuff that fell in a storm on my parents' farm.

Other times I'd get some dry stuff from their firewood stack, practice turning techniques, and then give them back piles of shavings and funny looking pieces. They said it made for great kindling!

I also practiced on stubs of 2x4's that I found sitting around the garage. The dried wood doesn't have the pitch problems of the wet pine.

 

[Burt Alcantara]

A neighbor felled a large pine and I was allowed to take as much as I wanted. Believe me, I took a lot! The wood was so wet, it was literally raining in my shop as the ceiling was coated with sappy water. The sap ruined my face mask and almost ruined my ClearVue cyclone by coating the inside with a thick sappy surface. Now, my ClearVue is a FoggyVue with wood dust stuck all over.

I ended up giving it all away. Put it on the street with a "Free" sign. Took a while before it all went away. Pine is a cold burning wood so it's not that desirable for heat.

The few turnings I made didn't hold up well (cracked). Personally, I dislike the open grain and color. I tried using different stains but no luck.

This is not to say that you won't have better luck and produce wonderful, gorgeous turnings. Just my not-so-good experience.

Burt

 

[georgetroy]

Next to segmented turning my favorite other type of turning is from wet wood, but not to the point of slinging on me. I prefer those limb logs which are say from 3"-9". I currently have Bradford pear, Locust, Sliver Maple and a piece of Hackberry on hand. I can make several vases out of 24"-36" long pieces. I also do not make the cut I want until I'm ready. All ends are sealed with Sealtite. I store the limb logs behind the lathe and just pull them out the shavings when I'm ready.

I take out the pith at the top and the pith on the bottom is super glued. Most vases are hollow turned with a hole size of 1"-1 1/4". I will use a forstner bit to save time and do the depth. Sometimes the depth is step drilled so that I will not have too big of a recess in the bottom. My air compressor is a big help to accelerate drying. Thin walls are good, If I have a split, my option is sawdust and super glue or corian.

There is no practice pieces and no pine limbs are used. When I'm doing demos or training we will end with a project instead of practice pieces.

 

[Paul Engle]

Winter cut pine is not bad unless the winter is in say Floridia or Panama , up here in the NW the sap and water is down and makes for ok turning at least for practice.

 

[Frank F]

Stryker,

If all you want is practice wood, 2x4 cutoffs are great. Rip'em to 1.5" square sections and you're good to go. 4x4 posts also work well. While SPF lumber isn't the most attractive wood to turn, who cares. You can practice all the basic cuts using all the basic tools with lumber. It's cheap and sometimes free. You're after controlling form.

Put it in your lathe, practice you cuts, then pitch it.

And don't limit yourself to only turning spindles with lumber. You can use 2x lumber to practice face work cuts as well. I turned a trivet from a 2 x 6 scrap piece and now it holds my hot coffee cup in the shop. It's a prototype. Someday I might make anotherone with better wood and better form.

When you get sick of turning 2x lumber, get yourself a nice hard wood like maple or cherry to turn. I find it much nicer to turn.

CAUTION: Beware of NAILS, SCREWS, STAPLES, etc. If you get used pieces, make sure there is no metal.

Good luck and welcome to woodturning.

Frank