Bald Cypress

[Sam Fleisher]

I pruned my bald cypress tree a little bit today and saved the limbs.

My thought is I'll use it for small turnings like snowmen or similar.

Since I've made this mistake before about saving wood that turns out useless I thought I'd ask about what to expect. I looked at that wood data base page but that really doesn't do me any good when you really don't know what you're reading.

So.. I left them 4-5 feet long 2"-4" diameter. Should I let it dry first like that or start turning my army of snowmen now? Am I wasting my time and I'll just be making smaller kindling? Throw it away now?

There's another project on my lathe at the moment so I didn't want to turn a trial piece of cypress.

 

[Wally Crawford]

Never turned cypress limbs, but did a couple bowls out of some 4" thick drops that I was given. The wood turns easily and cleanly with sharp tools. My drops were bone dry, so I cannot comment on movement and drying.

As always, protect the cut ends and try a couple green, let the dry and see what happens.

 

[Brian Gustin]

4 inches, you want to let it dry with bark on? Probably 15 to 20 years before it's really dry, judging by the one piece of 4" diameter Maple limb that a neighbor had stashed in the rafters of his barn for over 20 years, after cutting about 10 inches of the ends off to get to unchecked wood, (he wanted me to turn him some candle holders) there was still enough moisture at the middle to give a 13% MC reading compared to 10% at the ends.... (same Meter same day readings.) So if you want it to dry first you either have to slice out the pith and then wait a year or two, or you'd need to plan on cutting off considerable end length and a very long drying period... or what I'd do is turn it green , and try to create projects that may remove most of the pith (or turn it away in the case of goblets, etc) - I'd probably leave the whole branch sit as-is (maybe paint or end seal the ends) and only cut off sections when I have a project I'd be turning right away... trying to minimize the amount I'd have to discard from end checking.

 

[Jon Minerich]

Brian,
Cypress is quite common down here in Mississippi. I have turned quite a bit of it. It turns similar to pine. I would cut it up into 6 inch lengths (or whatever length you want), dry it in your microwave, and turn it dry. Green cypress has a tendency to get fuzzy when turned and seems more prone to tear out than dry. it Is also difficult to get a good finish on green cypress. Here are some pics of a few of my cypress turnings.
Jon