On Feb 7, 10:18*pm, Chade wrote:

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've decided not to try to turn it
on a lathe, just cut and polish a slice for use as a clock.

By "slice", I'm guessing you mean a transverse disk. You have pretty
much no chance of this drying without splitting (anything over 4"
diameter). The reasons are slightly complicated to explain in detail,
so if the usual pinheads could please go and read Bruce Hoadley before
arguing, we'd all save some time.

You might want to make some backup slices. Then when they've split,
you can bandsaw them into radial segments and rejoin them to make a
fair approximation of a disk.

Any ideas how long it will take to dry?

A year an inch of radial thickness for long timber. A summer for short
stuff.

I've got some coppiced Ash pieces to take down. There about six inches
thick. If I sealed the ends with PVA as soon as they were cut would
they dry okay? I'd like to turn them but if I split them they would be
pretty thin.

I use wax emulsion for sealing, but PVA is probably OK. Certainly if
that's what you've got handy. Some people use emulsion paint.

Ash logs are going to split at the ends, so you'll lose some length.
However ash is so dry straight off the tree that it's fairly easy to
dry otherwise and you might keep logs of this size intact. It's so
well behaved that it's even one of the few timbers you can turn with
the pith intact, just keep it buried in the middle and don't expose
it.


There is also what is definitely a Lime tree that a friend wants me to
fell, it's tall, straight and without branches until about half way
up. Though this is thicker, a good eighteen inches. If I wanted to
prepare it for carving would I still need to quarter it as well as a
PVA coat for the ends?

Lime is much more stable. I've two foot diameter logs of it in the
woodshed that are just rounds (about 10 years old now) and no
splitting. Must uses do want to lose the pith though, so halving it is
a good move. Make good use of it though, it's too good to waste. If
you can't use it, sell it to carvers.