I just got my hands on 500 lbs of fresh cut Golden Rain Tree wood. Also, I have never turned that type of wood, is it any good?
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How much time before it is too late to end seal green wood?
- Thread starter TwistedDave
- Start date
Golden Rain Tree is common in Austin but I've never acquired any. You just need to seal the ends and any large knots from recent branch cutoffs. At some point you will need to slice it in half, or get it turned. If you leave it round for a long time it will eventually start to dry and it will crack. Half rounds are less prone to splitting.
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If you have the means to move logs of 6 feet and up the wood will keep quite nicely for several months. Checking rarely goes deeper than 4" into the endgrain of the log and major surface cracks won't apear for at least several months. Humidity is on your side and here in florida a log will most like rot before cracking severly.
Wood will begin checking from the endgrain and near the pith within minutes or hours becuase the engrain allows rapid moisture loss. Sealing fresh cut endgrain surfaces slows the moisture loss and reduces the ammount and severity of checking. Ripping the logs into blanks without the pith or cutting in half throught the pith should be done quickly. wood left in the round will pull away from the center creating more pith cracks and shrink more around the circumference than accross the radius creating long deep cracks along the bark edge.
Most of the time I need to cut pieces into ones I can move. which means sealling as soon as possible.
My general rule is to allow for 2" of end grain checking by cutting blanks 4" longer than the piece requires. I then cut the final blanks just before putting it on the lathe.
Happy Turning,
Al
Wood will begin checking from the endgrain and near the pith within minutes or hours becuase the engrain allows rapid moisture loss. Sealing fresh cut endgrain surfaces slows the moisture loss and reduces the ammount and severity of checking. Ripping the logs into blanks without the pith or cutting in half throught the pith should be done quickly. wood left in the round will pull away from the center creating more pith cracks and shrink more around the circumference than accross the radius creating long deep cracks along the bark edge.
Most of the time I need to cut pieces into ones I can move. which means sealling as soon as possible.
My general rule is to allow for 2" of end grain checking by cutting blanks 4" longer than the piece requires. I then cut the final blanks just before putting it on the lathe.
Happy Turning,
Al
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The real answer is before the end grain gets below the fiber saturation point. That's about 30% moisture by weight. Once it gets there, it might begin to check if the draw from the interior of the log is less than the loss rate to the atmosphere. As the wood begins to contract with loss of bound moisture, it makes end checks. As they grow into the end of the log, they find moisture, and cease cracking. That's what Al's talking about. The species of wood and the relative humidity will combine to limit the penetration of end checks.
You can tack some plastic or cardboard loosely over the ends, even a heap of wood shavings will help create a continuous draw situation which allows the wood to dry while controlling the checks.
Radial checks, caused by leaving the wood in the round and allowing the exterior to shrink, are not affected by coatings. They're the ones that can ruin your whole piece, so leave the bark on to slow the loss from sapwood, which is wetter than heartwood anyway. Nice breathing shade helps too.
When you take the log up the middle, take a bit of water or mineral spirits to wipe on and examine for heart checks. They start at the pith, and are often very difficult to see. Look at both ends of the piece and try to cut the part of the crack you can see out, even if you have to cut twice, half inch apart. A heart check can close up on you, becoming almost invisible, only to reappear after you've put half an hour into roughing a piece. Been a long time, but had one pop on me yesterday or day before, making a bowl that will have to be an inch shallower.
You can tack some plastic or cardboard loosely over the ends, even a heap of wood shavings will help create a continuous draw situation which allows the wood to dry while controlling the checks.
Radial checks, caused by leaving the wood in the round and allowing the exterior to shrink, are not affected by coatings. They're the ones that can ruin your whole piece, so leave the bark on to slow the loss from sapwood, which is wetter than heartwood anyway. Nice breathing shade helps too.
When you take the log up the middle, take a bit of water or mineral spirits to wipe on and examine for heart checks. They start at the pith, and are often very difficult to see. Look at both ends of the piece and try to cut the part of the crack you can see out, even if you have to cut twice, half inch apart. A heart check can close up on you, becoming almost invisible, only to reappear after you've put half an hour into roughing a piece. Been a long time, but had one pop on me yesterday or day before, making a bowl that will have to be an inch shallower.