Hello Russ

I think your right on that "urban legend", yes apple does warp, crack,
etc., but in my experience like you say not more than a lot of other wood.

What seems to make a great deal of difference though is how or where it
grows, in the commercial apple orchard tree where with heavy feeding
shaping and heavy load of fruit make for more build (grown) in tension
and stress, where as for a tree grown wild this is not the case and
there is less stress release and warping, anyway apple is one off my
favorite woods , it can have some beautiful grain and color, sometimes
with spot burls and curly grain.

I usually rough turn and stuff it in a paper bag for a few weeks to a
few months depending on the drying conditioning, apply CA on any spot
that is cracking prone and keep a close eye on the drying progress the
first couple of weeks and finish turn in 1 to 2 years

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Russ Fairfield wrote:
I hate to disagree with everyone, but Apple wood seems to have developed an
"urban legend" around a nasty behavior. I have never found that Apple takes any
more caution than many other common turning woods, and there are a lot of other
woods that will warp and crack more. Maybe I am just lucky.

My experience with Apple has been to let it do all of the movement and cracking
BEFORE turning it on the lathe. I do this by cutting it into lathe ready round
bowl blanks and coating them 100% all over with AnchorSeal or other wax. Get
the AnchorSeal good and thick by applying additional coats before it has a
chance to dry. Then set it in the corner of the shop until next year.

Don't try to make the blanks too big or too thick. 10 and 12" diameter and 4"
or less thickness would be the maximum, and stay away from the pith.

You will lose a few of them, but the results are worth the wait. Dry Apple
turns and sands easily.


Russ Fairfield
Post Falls, Idaho
http://www.woodturnerruss.com/