Marc,

From my experience you should seal the ends of the blanks right now, then
come back are read the rest of my reply.

Best sealant is wax emulsion which you probably don't have. OK is latex
exterior paint, a couple of coats. Slightly less OK is any other paint.

You should turn the blanks within a year for minimum cracking. If you turn
it right away, the wood will be throwing water wet. If you wait 6 months or
so , you will be able to feel that the shavings are damp, but a lot of the
free water is gone.

If you wait to turn them until they are dry, they will be cracked to he//
and gone.

There's lots of information on the internet about turning green wood.

Have fun--and what was your friend's name again???

Old guy


"marc" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a set of 3 maple turning blanks that I recieved from a friend
who works for a tree service company. The 3 blanks are about 6 inches
across and about a foot or so long each. They were cut last week and
appear to be branches. They are all straight and look to be some
clean looking blanks. The bark is still attached. How long should I
wait to let these dry before I attempt to mount them on a lathe and
turn them?? Should I strip the bark off now to help them dry out
better? Most of the turning I have done is with glue ups of various
species of KD stock, so the drying and possible splitting, checking
and cracking that comes with fresh cut logs is new to me. Any one
have any first hand experience with this kind of thing or any advice
you'd be willing to share?? Thanks!!