Hi all, I've just discovered this newsgroup and, being a newbie to turning,
I'd welcome some advice on seasoning wood. I've acquired some logs which
were cut in April 2008. They are of Ash and Maple. The biggest Ash is 10
diameter x 15 long (inches) and the biggest Maple is 7 diameter x 11 long
(inches). So far all I've done is seal the cut ends with paraffin wax.
Since I intend to make bowls with the logs, would it be better to split them
lengthwise and seal the cut faces now? Or leave them alone for a couple of
years and do the preliminary cutting when the logs are seasoned? Thanks in
advance.

On Fri, 4 Jul 2008 14:13:48 +0100, "john" wrote:

Hi all, I've just discovered this newsgroup and, being a newbie to turning,
I'd welcome some advice on seasoning wood. I've acquired some logs which
were cut in April 2008. They are of Ash and Maple. The biggest Ash is 10
diameter x 15 long (inches) and the biggest Maple is 7 diameter x 11 long
(inches). So far all I've done is seal the cut ends with paraffin wax.
Since I intend to make bowls with the logs, would it be better to split them
lengthwise and seal the cut faces now? Or leave them alone for a couple of
years and do the preliminary cutting when the logs are seasoned? Thanks in
advance.

Salt and a little lime juice?

I usually cut as many blanks out as I can while the woods green.. that's when
you want to turn it, IMO...

Best advice that I could give is to go he
http://aroundthewoods.com/firewood01.shtml

Darrell's da man!


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Jul 4, 5:13 am, "john" wrote:
Hi all, I've just discovered this newsgroup and, being a newbie to turning,
I'd welcome some advice on seasoning wood. I've acquired some logs which
were cut in April 2008. They are of Ash and Maple. The biggest Ash is 10
diameter x 15 long (inches) and the biggest Maple is 7 diameter x 11 long
(inches). So far all I've done is seal the cut ends with paraffin wax.
Since I intend to make bowls with the logs, would it be better to split them
lengthwise and seal the cut faces now? Or leave them alone for a couple of
years and do the preliminary cutting when the logs are seasoned? Thanks in
advance.

Hello John,

I normally cut the wood to about 2" longer than it is wide and split
it down the middle to remove the pith, then seal the ends. If I have
time, I'll rough turn all of the wet wood with about a 10 percent wall
thickness of the diameter. Then put it on the shelf to dry for a few
months. You can seal the end grain portion of the rough turned bowl
with end grain sealer, put it into a paper bag, or simply put it on
the shelf. If you stack them, put the bowls top down with stickers
between to allow air to flow to all surfaces. Make this as cool of a
place as possible, not sunlight on them. When they stop losing weight,
final turn them and finish them.

Welcome to the newsgroup and good luck with your turning.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

Cut them lengthwise with a chainsaw or band saw ASAP making sure that
you cut out the very center. Sealing the faces won't hurt but is not
as necessary. Cutting out the pith/center and sealing the ends is.
If you leave them whole they will crack from then ends for sure.

This link shows is a photo of Bill Lancaster ripping logs for bowl
blanks. You can see the blanks in the upper left of the photo:
http://www.heirloombowls.com/process_03.jpg

If you can swing it get a copy of Bill Grumbines first video on
turning a bowl. He is methodical on taking you through the process.
Here is the link:

http://www.wonderfulwood.com/

This process is also outlined at the a website called Around The
Woods. The link is below. Scroll down the page and their is a short
video to watch.

http://aroundthewoods.com/firewood01.shtml

If you leave the logs whole and let them dry then the likelihood that
they will split is much greater. Another possibility is to learn to
rough them out as a thick bowl first, seal them and then let them
dry. Or you can go ahead and turn the bowls thin right away.

Good luck,
Ted

In article ,
"john" wrote:

Hi all, I've just discovered this newsgroup and, being a newbie to turning,
I'd welcome some advice on seasoning wood. I've acquired some logs which
were cut in April 2008. They are of Ash and Maple. The biggest Ash is 10
diameter x 15 long (inches) and the biggest Maple is 7 diameter x 11 long
(inches). So far all I've done is seal the cut ends with paraffin wax.
Since I intend to make bowls with the logs, would it be better to split them
lengthwise and seal the cut faces now? Or leave them alone for a couple of
years and do the preliminary cutting when the logs are seasoned? Thanks in
advance.

Split them, but don't worry about the face. You split them to avoid the
log splitting where you DON"T want it to split. Many of us rough turn
green to about 1-inch of wall thickness, let dry, then re-turn to final

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

John,
You'll be waiting years if you are trying to season the wood in whole form.
I usually turn the wood while it is green. It turns really nice while green,
big long shavings flying off over your shoulder. You can then allocate some
part of your shop as a drying area or build yourself a small kiln. Then,
depending upon how you decide to dry things, and who you ask, you might be
waiting anywhere from 3 months to 1 year for the bowl blank to become dry.
Some turn the green wood to a finished form and thickness. Their bowls
aren't perfectly round when they dry but they are still wooden bowls and
they sell several of them.
As Mac pointed you to, Darrell's website is a wonderful source of
information. The fellows (and ladies) here are also a great source and,
whether they'd admit it or not, they are waiting for people to ask a
question so they can help. The arguements on this db aren't as heated and
nasty as on others I've been on, no one gets really mean. Everyone presents
their information and disagrees, but keeps it social in nature. Feel free to
post and ask questions.

Welcome to the addiction.
JD (Kentucky)

--
He that will make a good use of any part
of his life must allow a large portion of it
to recreation.
- John Locke

"john" wrote in message
...
Hi all, I've just discovered this newsgroup and, being a newbie to
turning, I'd welcome some advice on seasoning wood. I've acquired some
logs which were cut in April 2008. They are of Ash and Maple. The
biggest Ash is 10 diameter x 15 long (inches) and the biggest Maple is 7
diameter x 11 long (inches). So far all I've done is seal the cut ends
with paraffin wax. Since I intend to make bowls with the logs, would it be
better to split them lengthwise and seal the cut faces now? Or leave them
alone for a couple of years and do the preliminary cutting when the logs
are seasoned? Thanks in advance.

Hi John,

Great advice by all. You definately want to turn the ash while green. Very
nice turning wood while green. Very very hard once dried. Btw, great score
on the logs. It's also required that you share such a score with everyone
here on the rec! I'll be waiting for the delivery of mine.Welcome and
remember to have fun.

Dan

"john" wrote in message
...
Hi all, I've just discovered this newsgroup and, being a newbie to
turning, I'd welcome some advice on seasoning wood. I've acquired some
logs which were cut in April 2008. They are of Ash and Maple. The
biggest Ash is 10 diameter x 15 long (inches) and the biggest Maple is 7
diameter x 11 long (inches). So far all I've done is seal the cut ends
with paraffin wax. Since I intend to make bowls with the logs, would it be
better to split them lengthwise and seal the cut faces now? Or leave them
alone for a couple of years and do the preliminary cutting when the logs
are seasoned? Thanks in advance.

Hi all, thanks for the good advice. What a friendly helpful ng this is.
Regards
John