I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

THumphr wrote:
I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

Just depends on how dry it actually is. Until you cut into it there's
not really any way to know. I suspect that if it's dry enough that you
don't need to treat it, that it's already checked. If it's still solid,
I'd treat it like green wood. Be a shame to put a bunch of sweat into
it now then lose it down the road.

What kind of wood is it?

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
Registered Linux User No: 307357

Terry
I would treat it as green timber. Even if dry, it will have stresses that
need to rest out before finish turning.

--

God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com


"THumphr" wrote in message
...
I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

In article ,
THumphr wrote:

I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

It's neither wet and green nor dry and seasoned. Standing deadwood is
often somewhat brittle, and may have lots of checking going on as well.
As with most free wood, turn some and pay attention to what happens.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

Kevin,
It's mostly Oak with some Osage Orange mixed in.

-Terry
On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:17:01 -0900, Kevin Miller
wrote:

THumphr wrote:
I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

Just depends on how dry it actually is. Until you cut into it there's
not really any way to know. I suspect that if it's dry enough that you
don't need to treat it, that it's already checked. If it's still solid,
I'd treat it like green wood. Be a shame to put a bunch of sweat into
it now then lose it down the road.

What kind of wood is it?

...Kevin

Hi Terry
It depends a lot on how long the trees have been standing dead, and
also the size of the logs and of course the local climate, as in dry
or wet, lot of sun or rain, and fence row wood is mostly right in the
open, no shelter from anything.
Some wood if the climate is right will be spalting and some just will
not, but all will start splitting and those splits can go deep enough
to render the wood almost useless for turning but the smallest stuff
or just some spindles.
Friend of mine brought me some Osage that had been cut back as they
where leaners at the edge of a bush, one or two years before, and as
he was cleaning up the trail there he cut those bottom ends off and
brought them to my place, they where only oh, 8 inches or so thick,
and yes they had some splits in them, now Osage is pretty rare around
here and I do want to make some small turnings from it, wish he had
cut them down before they all splitt though.
Anyway get that wood home and have a look in what shape it is, and if
still useable seal the wood etc, just like green wood, that's what I
would do.
And start roughen out those bowls, before the wood all splits to heck.

Have fun and take care and please let us know how you made out
with it.
Leo Van Der Loo






On Mar 6, 4:51 pm, THumphr wrote:
I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

"Ecnerwal" wrote in message
...
In article ,
THumphr wrote:

I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

It's neither wet and green nor dry and seasoned. Standing deadwood is
often somewhat brittle, and may have lots of checking going on as well.
As with most free wood, turn some and pay attention to what happens.


Pay attention in more ways than one. Standing dead has been exposed to some
severe environmental stresses that can ruin your day. Chief among them are
checks which opened up when there was dry enough weather on sunny days and
have subsequently closed, sometimes invisibly, with the higher relative
humidity of the present.

I'd take a _wet_ rag to the endgrain and watch for wicking, which even a
closed crack will do, and then keep my eyes and ears peeled even after that
for warning clicks or hollow tap sounds. Depending on the beauty and rarity
of the piece you're working, you can glue and turn or practice and burn the
splitters.

Turn one to a finish thickness of about 3/8 and set it in the condition you
would for drying. Within a week it should tell you all you need to know
about the general condition of the rest of the stock.

What's the differerence between a tree that's standing dead in the woods
and a tree lying dead off the ground in your back yard? I dunno, but
maybe my friend, it's "blowing in the wind".

Not the same thing as standing dead trees, but I found that N.I.Pine
blown down in a hurricane has defects that a properly felled tree
doesn't. What's your experience with blow downs? Probably varies with
the timber.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

You didn't say how big these trees are, but a falling branch will hurt, or worse. Chain saw vibrations can bring bown some big stuff, depending how long dead. Be very careful.
"THumphr" wrote in message ...
I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

"Arch" wrote in message
...
What's the differerence between a tree that's standing dead in the woods
and a tree lying dead off the ground in your back yard? I dunno, but
maybe my friend, it's "blowing in the wind".

Not the same thing as standing dead trees, but I found that N.I.Pine
blown down in a hurricane has defects that a properly felled tree
doesn't. What's your experience with blow downs? Probably varies with
the timber.


If it's down and in contact with the ground, the moisture will go down by
gravity and be maintained by proximity to the ground. Can make a difference
in how you want to prepare your blanks, as you can get one that's loaded to
one side, with all that can mean in out-of-balance conditions. I've been
caught a few times, and even knowing this, sometimes cut the piece for
size/figure advantage and turn slowly through the problem. I've even used
it to my advantage by laying pieces on the ground and rotating periodically
to gain more even spalting by putting the bottom up, where drying will halt
the spalt and gravity and the ground start the opposite side going.

Standing dead gets its main influence from capillary draw, secondary from
southern exposure which tends to loosen the bark on that side and promote
radial checks.

On Mar 6, 4:51 pm, THumphr wrote:
I've got some dead standing timber tat I'm going to be cutting out of
my fence row. Does this need to be treated as green wet wood or can I
turn as is?

-Terry

Lots of good advice from others and I can add some more from a recent
experience. The local township was forced to trim/remove some dead and
partially dead Norway Maples. So I scavenged several manageable logs
up to about 14' dia and threw them in the back of my SUV. On the drive
home I was horrified to see big black carpenter ants crawling all over
the roof lining when i looked in the rear view. Once i got home I had
to fumigate and all the logs, which were from several different trees,
had large nests in them. Managed to get enough wood for goblets from
the logs but the wood certainly wasn't free! I finish turned down to
less than 1/8" bowl thickness and applied wipe on poly. Had very
minimal movement and no cracking as there was no pith in the half logs.