Branch Question
 

Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up this tree
Mark

Branch Question
 

Any turning with the pith included is likely to be a failure. Also, any
attempt to dry the branches with the pith included is likely to be a
failure. So, I think a lot of us turn down such projects because of the
limited chance for success.

I've done some treen from small branches -- spoons, spurtles -- both
spindle work where you don't need much wood. Maybe a candle stick would
work.

When a hollow form is done spindle-wise and includes the pith, sometimes
problems can be alleviated by drilling out the pith in the bottom,
letting the piece which was turned green dry and then plugging it.

Overall, though, I find dealing with small branches more trouble than it
is worth.

Bill

Woodborg wrote:
Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either
side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the
LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in
diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood
their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle
turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the
different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree
Mark

Branch Question
 

"Woodborg" wrote in message
...

Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either
side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the
LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in
diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood
their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle
turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the
different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree


You make smaller things, including bowls with the pith out, but certainly
not limited to them. Branch wood is best turned to final thickness green,
because it has that reaction wood on the ground side which can take control
if left to any thickness.

If you try to dry a branch, maintaining the integrity of the bark is
critical. It will split rapidly radially without it. This also means it
will dry slowly, so expect limbs other than willow to spalt inside the bark.
Even that's not a bad thing. Cut 'em long, stack aside and save some
branches as you turn others green. Willow's all but bullet-proof in drying.
Small willow branches make exceptional Christmas ornaments, being light at
the outset.

Some examples of branch turning.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...ch-Upright.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...f-4-inch-B.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=26749816.jpg

Branch Question
 

Woodborg wrote:
Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either
side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the
LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in
diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood
their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle
turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the
different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree

I use a lot of material that size, for both spindle and bowl turning.
Mostly I will cut it up and dry it first, though I am not familiar with
drying any of the willows. But you could probably turn some nice little
snack bowls from green wood. I like hemispherical snack bowls for eating
peanuts etc while I watch TV. Something that fits nicely in the hand.

Really small stuff you could try twig pots (a weedpot with most of the
bark intact, just the base and the neck ares turned), or mushrooms.

I have a feeling that willow is quite a bland looking wood, so it may be
a good candidate for embellishments like coloring, pyrography, carving,
piercing... Get creative!


--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
http://chipshop.blogspot.com - a blog for my customers
http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com/TheToolrest/ - a blog for woodturners

Branch Question
 

1) Cut either side of the Pith - but leave most of the hartwood. A 6"dia
branch should yield you a couple 3-3/4" high blanks.

2) Cut just to one side of the Pith. Turn that asap. And trim the upper edge
to take off as much of the pith as looks to crack, maybe only 1/4" if you're
lucky. Then turn the other half, again asap. You should get a 3" and a
2-1/2" high from a 6" branch (less what you do to the bottom.)


Woodborg wrote:
Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either
side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the
LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in
diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood
their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle
turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the
different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree
Mark

Branch Question
 

On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 08:20:06 +0000, Woodborg
wrote:

I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree

Turning logs/limbs in the endgrain, intact, is exactly what the LDD
process was developed by Ron Kent for, turning Norfolk Island Pine.
While willow obviously isn't the same tree, there is certainly
precedent for it working on an endgrain bowl. I have used the LDD
method with some success, ___as per Ron Kent's Instructions___, on
elm, maple and maple endgrain pieces.

As soon as you possibly can after the tree is cut, rough turn your
bowl, per the insttructions, drop it in the solution, let it soak,
finish turning, sand and finish and let 'er dry. If you've got enough
wood to do it with, you might try an experiment by doing one in the
soak and doing one without the LDD and see if either of them crack.

Anyhow, don't let the naysayers turn you aside from your quest. But
if you _do_ find that you can't one finished w/o cracking, you could
still take a length of one of the limbs and turn a wing bowl, which
would look nice also and would still give you something useful.

--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

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Branch Question
 

On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 08:20:06 +0000, Woodborg
wrote:


Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either
side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the
LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in
diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood
their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle
turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the
different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree
Mark

Most of my boxes, goblets and bud vases are from branch wood... turn them deep
and thin and bag them for a while...
Also, an 8" branch should be fine for turning 3 or 4" shallow bowls or plates..

If all else fails, cut them as long as you can and let them air dry for a year
or so... the ends will crack, but the rest should be ok..
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

Thanks all for your quick replies. I will be attacking the tree sometime next week and as i'm having the week off, will try the ideas above.

I got my lathe at the end of October and have been exprementing ever since. Apart from a basic CD send out by Robert Sorby which shows the basics of how to use the tools, all of my turning is trail and error, with as much info taken from this forum espacially the use of LDD.

For valentienes day (she couldn't wait till Tuesday) my loverly other half has brought me a days turning one to one tution, which i hope to take sometime next week and learn a bit more.

I only have one problem with woodturning, its too addictive g

Branch Question
 

Woodborg wrote:


Upto now i have been turning bowls from large diameter logs, cut either
side of middle to remove heart wood, rough shaped then dipped in the
LDD. My question is for the smaller branches of less than 8" in
diameter. How do you use these, because if you remove the heartwood
their wood be nothing left. I would guess these would be spindle
turned, but do you have to have them completly dried to stop the
different drying rate from middle to out side?
I'm asking this as my dad has a willow tree thats a bit tall and needs
reducing by 50 percent and i would like to make something out of the
small logs because it brings back memories as a small child climbing up
this tree
Mark



I'm going to go against the grain a bit on this one. I've turned a fair
number of odds and ends with the pith In - I'm pretty tight with a
dollar. Among those odds and ends are some willow mushrooms with bark
left on the base and cap - I usually do these by turning offset between
centers and then chucked to give a bit of angle to the stalk. You can
also get a nice oval base and cap by using the whole branch. Some of the
willow was air dried in the shed with zero protection on the ends - I'm
not recommending this, but I had only a small amount of checking on the
ends. I suspect that there are a number of species of willow, but the
wood I turned was a bit 'muddy' though it had an interesting color
variation - mostly yellowish.

Since this the wood is free and not real high quality, it is a perfect
opportunity for you to experiment. Have fun making memory markers!

LD

Branch Question
 

"Lobby Dosser" wrote in message
news:419Hf.243$CZ4.159@trnddc05...

I'm going to go against the grain a bit on this one. I've turned a fair
number of odds and ends with the pith In - I'm pretty tight with a
dollar. Among those odds and ends are some willow mushrooms with bark
left on the base and cap - I usually do these by turning offset between
centers and then chucked to give a bit of angle to the stalk. You can
also get a nice oval base and cap by using the whole branch. Some of the
willow was air dried in the shed with zero protection on the ends - I'm
not recommending this, but I had only a small amount of checking on the
ends. I suspect that there are a number of species of willow, but the
wood I turned was a bit 'muddy' though it had an interesting color
variation - mostly yellowish.


Nice to hear someone else turns tilt-stem mushrooms. Do you do oval stems
too? The combination fascinates people. The thick bark is also an asset on
branch bowls.

Your experience with drying willow is spot on. Unless you put it out in
bright sun to dry, it's going to survive. Turned about twenty feet of a
trunk that fell across the drive a few years back, and the wood was anything
but ordinary-looking with the adventitious buds and the shimmering grain
reversals that make it hold together so well when drying. It is by nature a
sponge, so it demands a lot of finish to show off best.

After the first year I began metering out the rest of the willows, not
knowing when the next would fall. Had people asking for it.

It's also as good as butternut in carving and pyrography, as someone
mentioned.

Branch Question
 

On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 19:16:58 +0000, Woodborg
wrote:


Thanks all for your quick replies. I will be attacking the tree sometime
next week and as i'm having the week off, will try the ideas above.

I got my lathe at the end of October and have been exprementing ever
since. Apart from a basic CD send out by Robert Sorby which shows the
basics of how to use the tools, all of my turning is trail and error,
with as much info taken from this forum espacially the use of LDD.

For valentienes day (she couldn't wait till Tuesday) my loverly other
half has brought me a days turning one to one tution, which i hope to
take sometime next week and learn a bit more.

I only have one problem with woodturning, its too addictive g

only one?

wait a while and you'll add several.... like expensive, compulsive, time
consuming, etc...

I've spend about $6,000 in the last 2 years... still cheaper than hitting the
bars at night, though.. *g*
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

Branch Question
 

"George" George@least wrote:

Nice to hear someone else turns tilt-stem mushrooms. Do you do oval
stems too?

Hadn't thought of doing that. I'll have to try it. First time I left the
bark on and got oval cap and base I had a Gleeful Happy Feet Moment!

The combination fascinates people. The thick bark is also
an asset on branch bowls.

Your experience with drying willow is spot on. Unless you put it out
in bright sun to dry, it's going to survive. Turned about twenty feet
of a trunk that fell across the drive a few years back, and the wood
was anything but ordinary-looking with the adventitious buds and the
shimmering grain reversals that make it hold together so well when
drying. It is by nature a sponge, so it demands a lot of finish to
show off best.

AHA! That may be my 'muddy' problem - not enough finish. Thanks for the
tip.

Branch Question
 

mac davis wrote:

I've spend about $6,000 in the last 2 years... still cheaper than
hitting the bars at night, though.. *g*


Or hitting the bars And gambling. :o)