Woodturning (rec.crafts.woodturning) To discuss tools, techniques, styles, materials, shows and competitions, education and educational materials related to woodturning. All skill levels are welcome, from art turners to production turners, beginners to masters.

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Camoman
 
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Default remove bark off a tree log

What is the best way to take the bark off. Do I have to remove the bark off
the log before I turn it or can I just turn it off. Is this to hard on the
chisels or not? And can you recomend some good turning books to get so I can
learn better ways and skills. Thanks


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Ecnerwal
 
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In article ,
"Camoman" wrote:

What is the best way to take the bark off. Do I have to remove the bark off
the log before I turn it or can I just turn it off.


You'll often save headaches by removing it before turning. Specifically,
dirt collected in the bark tends to dull your tools faster than cutting
clean wood, and chunks of bark flying off can hurt. Neither means that
you can't, or even "shouldn't" turn with the bark on, just things to be
aware of. Depending when the tree was cut, and how fast you get to it,
bark removal methods range from "falls off by itself", through "peels
off by hand" up to "cut off tediously with a drawknife".

--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by
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mac davis
 
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On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:17:00 -0500, "Camoman" wrote:

What is the best way to take the bark off. Do I have to remove the bark off
the log before I turn it or can I just turn it off. Is this to hard on the
chisels or not? And can you recomend some good turning books to get so I can
learn better ways and skills. Thanks

I find that it depends a lot on what type of tree it is...

Some have a thin bark that is a PITA to take off before turning, so I leave it
on..

Walnut bark is pretty easy to pry off, and saves a lot of cleanup later as it
flies all over the shop in large sections if you leave it on..

I've been turning a lot of green pine lately, and I'm using a chisel and rubber
mallet to remove as much bark as possible, to avoid the mess and shower of
water... pine sap is bad enough to deal with, but wet, sticky bark all over the
lathe, chisels and shop are not a good thing.. *g*



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing
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robo hippy
 
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I use both a hand axe, and a flat bar nail puller with hammer to pry
and chip off the bark. If I don't take it off, I make sure to stand out
of the line of fire when turning until all of the bark is off.
robo hippy

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res055a5
 
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a log cabin builder i know uses a spud (very large chisel about 4 feet long)
on pine.
i used to use a drawknife if the tree was green, but if the tree has been
cut any length
of time this method really sucks. turning "bark on" can produce some pretty
pieces,
but if you do then expect some out of balance turns and to sharpen tools
more often.
i wonder how sawmills do it? i think they have a machine that gnaws at the
bark ...kind of
grinds it like a coffee grinder.
rich
"Camoman" wrote in message
...
What is the best way to take the bark off. Do I have to remove the bark

off
the log before I turn it or can I just turn it off. Is this to hard on the
chisels or not? And can you recomend some good turning books to get so I

can
learn better ways and skills. Thanks






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mac davis
 
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On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 16:53:35 GMT, "res055a5" wrote:

a log cabin builder i know uses a spud (very large chisel about 4 feet long)
on pine.
i used to use a drawknife if the tree was green, but if the tree has been
cut any length
of time this method really sucks. turning "bark on" can produce some pretty
pieces,
but if you do then expect some out of balance turns and to sharpen tools
more often.
i wonder how sawmills do it? i think they have a machine that gnaws at the
bark ...kind of
grinds it like a coffee grinder.
rich


I've only toured one saw mill, but it seemed to me that most of the bark was
removed with high pressure water...
It was maybe 20+ years ago, so I could be "mis-remembering".. *g*



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing
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George
 
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"res055a5" wrote in message
news:jsJSd.18320$uc.6938@trnddc01...

i wonder how sawmills do it? i think they have a machine that gnaws at

the
bark ...kind of
grinds it like a coffee grinder.
rich


Debarkers are pretty much burr mills. Log is rotated into rotating burrs to
clear off the bulk of the bark.

My answer? It's one sharpening at most, so what's firm can stay there until
I cut it away. I stay safely out of the line of fire.

Then there's birch, where the flapping mess can whip your knuckles raw
before you can reach the switch to turn off the lathe.


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Will
 
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res055a5 wrote:
a log cabin builder i know uses a spud (very large chisel about 4 feet long)
on pine.
i used to use a drawknife if the tree was green, but if the tree has been
cut any length
of time this method really sucks. turning "bark on" can produce some pretty
pieces,
but if you do then expect some out of balance turns and to sharpen tools
more often.
i wonder how sawmills do it? i think they have a machine that gnaws at the
bark ...kind of


There is a "de-barker" in sawmills and wood processing plants. Some I
have seen do indeed "gnaw" at the bark and shred it -- more or less.

The de-barker may be a little expensive for in-home use.



grinds it like a coffee grinder.


Close enough... :-)


rich
"Camoman" wrote in message
...

What is the best way to take the bark off. Do I have to remove the bark


off

the log before I turn it or can I just turn it off. Is this to hard on the
chisels or not? And can you recomend some good turning books to get so I


can

learn better ways and skills. Thanks






--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek
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res055a5
 
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I've only toured one saw mill, but it seemed to me that most of the bark

was
removed with high pressure water...
i wonder if the home version pressure washers will remove bark? it would

be
cold work sometimes of the year, but what a savings on your back! when i
used
a draw knife, it took quite a while to clean a 20 foot log and the work was
easy because
the log was fresh fallen, but you did have to do a lot of deep
bending/kneeling. maybe
all that could be avoided by putting the log up on saw horses, etc. on some
species
you could probably peel away some of the sapwood with a high pressure
washer.
and by wetting down the log you could probably help prevent some
checking...at the
lumber mills i've been to they use sprinklers to keep the logs wet or float
them in ponds.

Do lumber mills cut off logs to standard lengths before sawing them into
rough boards?
if so, then that might be a source of turning wood.
rich


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George
 
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"res055a5" wrote in message
news:K83Td.55530$uc.27389@trnddc04...

Do lumber mills cut off logs to standard lengths before sawing them into
rough boards?
if so, then that might be a source of turning wood.
rich


Some do. Especially veneer mills. What you're looking for are the ones with
"BE" spray-painted on the ends. That means "Birdseye!" They're normally
only 10" long trims. They also have the centers of peeled veneer logs, but
that's rarely worth more than the firewood price.

At least here the practice of allowing civilians to carry away trims has
fallen prey to liability concerns. The trims have to go through a reseller,
which makes them older, more end-checked, and if compared to the price of
cordwood, expensive.


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