Pros turn wood wet. So wet that the apron drips.

We (semi-pro want to be) pre-form e.g. going to have a bowl with 1/8"
walls then make them 1/2" or 3/4" and get it down - pack it in a paper
bag and seal it up - slow dry. Or microwave slowly with low power to
drive out the water. Sometimes you plasticize the wood and you can
shape it into odd shapes. Best done once turned to thin finished size.
Then hand sand or slow machine to clean up any staining..

Martin

On 12/11/2016 9:28 PM, wrote:
Is elm a wood that always has inherent cracks? Or does not really ever dry? Guessing there are some woods that no matter how long the wood dries, still aren't suitable for turning.