I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper

On Oct 30, 8:00*am, Casper wrote:
I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper

I suspect your wood is splating/rotting

Personally I've never worked Pear, but I have had better results with
turning fruit wood green

On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:11 -0500, Casper wrote
(in message ):


I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)


some of your bandsaw issues can be traced to the blade itself, and how it is
tensioned, the condition of the wheels, and the way the wood is fed through
the saw. I have cut wet birch and wet pitchy pine with my bandsaw with little
or no problem. My success is partly because of the coarse wide blade I use
for this kind of cutting. About 3/4 inch wide blade, variable pitch tooth
count, averaging 5 tpi. The tires on the wheels are clean and crowned, and
the wheels are true and squared with each other. It might be the case that
your sawblade is too narrow and the teeth are too fine for this job. There
has to be enough space between the teeth, and the depth of the gullet between
the teeth has to be big enough to carry the sawdust through the cut without
jamming or dragging, causing undue force loading on the wheels. the blade
tension has to be enough to keep the blade true and not so much as to hasten
its failure due to breakage. I can reverse my saw to clean the blade with
some spirits on a wad of felt - teeth won't catch or snag the felt. (this is
a very dangerous operation, even with the blade running reverse - keep track
of your fingers)

This is not intended to sound like a diatribe, just a group of possible
problems with a bandsaw, which is possibly the second most useful tool for a
turner, after the sharpening equipment.

Respectfully,
tom koehler


--
I will find a way or make one.

On Oct 30, 8:00 am, Casper wrote:
I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper


Hello Casper,

Drying is the part of collecting wood for turning that can be most
destructive to the turning blanks and disappointing to the collector.
I consider that one has two options: seal the wood and store it on a
shelf out of the weather and sun and allow it to dry slowly or rough
turn the wood to a 10 percent wall thickness and place it on the shelf
to dry using one of several methods available.

Assuming that you have cut the wood into turning blanks as previously
described, the wood should have its end grain part sealed to slow the
drying time and should then be stored on a shelf with little wooden
stickers (little strips of wood about ¬ inch thick and up to 1-1/2
inch wide, I've found that old lath make fine stickers) separating the
blanks so that air can flow all around the wood. Drying occurs best
when the wood is stored out of the weather and sunshine in a location
where it can get sufficient airflow to carry away the moisture. Every
species of wood behaves differently and some of the worst are fruit-
woods and Madrone, with Madrone being one of the most difficult to
season without cracks.

Richard Raffan says that he tosses his newly turned wet wood bowls
into a pile and allows them to air dry for a day or two. He then puts
them into cardboard boxes and puts them on the shelf to finish
drying. He writes the date on the box and waits up to a year before
he final turns the bowls in the box. During the drying process, the
bowl will warp and sometimes crack. I assume that the box keeps air
from drying the bowls too quickly and the cardboard box may absorb
some of the moisture. I've had very good luck putting rough turned
bowls into old paper grocery sacks and placing them on the shelf.
There are several other methods that people are using to dry bowls and
keep them from cracking, namely, microwave drying, boiling, soaking in
dish detergent mixture, and soaking in alcohol. I've tried all of
these with fair results. I recently heard another theory on drying
that violates all of the methods set forth on drying wood. This fellow
says that an old logger friend told him about this method. Dry the
wood while it stands vertically as the tree grew. He says that there
is minimal checking and warping is kept to a minimum. I think he was
drying boards, rather than bowl blanks, but it is worth trying.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

On Oct 30, 8:00 am, Casper wrote:
I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper


Hello Casper,

Drying is the part of collecting wood for turning that can be most
destructive to the turning blanks and disappointing to the collector.
I consider that one has two options: seal the wood and store it on a
shelf out of the weather and sun and allow it to dry slowly or rough
turn the wood to a 10 percent wall thickness and place it on the shelf
to dry using one of several methods available.

Assuming that you have cut the wood into turning blanks as previously
described, the wood should have its end grain part sealed to slow the
drying time and should then be stored on a shelf with little wooden
stickers (little strips of wood about ¬ inch thick and up to 1-1/2
inch wide, I've found that old lath make fine stickers) separating the
blanks so that air can flow all around the wood. Drying occurs best
when the wood is stored out of the weather and sunshine in a location
where it can get sufficient airflow to carry away the moisture. Every
species of wood behaves differently and some of the worst are fruit-
woods and Madrone, with Madrone being one of the most difficult to
season without cracks.

Richard Raffan says that he tosses his newly turned wet wood bowls
into a pile and allows them to air dry for a day or two. He then puts
them into cardboard boxes and puts them on the shelf to finish
drying. He writes the date on the box and waits up to a year before
he final turns the bowls in the box. During the drying process, the
bowl will warp and sometimes crack. I assume that the box keeps air
from drying the bowls too quickly and the cardboard box may absorb
some of the moisture. I've had very good luck putting rough turned
bowls into old paper grocery sacks and placing them on the shelf.
There are several other methods that people are using to dry bowls and
keep them from cracking, namely, microwave drying, boiling, soaking in
dish detergent mixture, and soaking in alcohol. I've tried all of
these with fair results. I recently heard another theory on drying
that violates all of the methods set forth on drying wood. This fellow
says that an old logger friend told him about this method. Dry the
wood while it stands vertically as the tree grew. He says that there
is minimal checking and warping is kept to a minimum. I think he was
drying boards, rather than bowl blanks, but it is worth trying.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

If you had turned that wood two years ago when you got it, you would
have had dry bowls a long time ago, rather than slit and rotten wood
as you have now.
The best you can do now is take what you have left that is still worth
turning and rough turn it now, then place those pieces in a brown
paper bag and place that at a cool place so it can dry at a slow rate
and not split hopefully,(make sure there are no splits in the wood to
start of with)
6" bowls should have 1/2 " walls about or maybe 5/8", and the walls
evenly thick all the way down,
Good luck ;-))
Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum4.html


Casper wrote:
I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper

If you had turned that wood two years ago when you got it, you would
have had dry bowls a long time ago, rather than slit and rotten wood
as you have now.
The best you can do now is take what you have left that is still worth
turning and rough turn it now, then place those pieces in a brown
paper bag and place that at a cool place so it can dry at a slow rate
and not split hopefully,(make sure there are no splits in the wood to
start of with)
6" bowls should have 1/2 " walls about or maybe 5/8", and the walls
evenly thick all the way down,
Good luck ;-))
Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum4.html


Casper wrote:
I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper

Several things come to mind.

1. Where did you store the wood? That will make a difference as to
how they dry. If the space it too enclosed or if the wood is left out
in the weather then mold and/or rotting could be a problem.

2. What do you want to make out of these pieces? If you want to turn
bowls then turn them. You could turn them to your finish thickness
right off. In this process they would probably warp a little but that
is OK. Or you can turn them to a thickness of 10% of the over all
diameter, reseal them with wax, and then let them finish drying for
about 6 months or more. At that point you can put them back on the
lathe and finish them.

3. If you are going to use them for spindle turning then it might be
good to cut them into long strips that are square on the ends. They
will dry faster that way.

4. I have turned pear wood. When it is slightly wet it is a delight
to turn. Turns like butter. When it is dry it is very very hard. It
will still turn OK but you will spend extra time sharpening your
tools.

Good luck,
Ted J
thelathentlog.com

some of your bandsaw issues can be traced to the blade itself, and how it is
tensioned, the condition of the wheels, and the way the wood is fed through
the saw. I have cut wet birch and wet pitchy pine with my bandsaw with little
or no problem. My success is partly because of the coarse wide blade I use
for this kind of cutting. About 3/4 inch wide blade, variable pitch tooth
count, averaging 5 tpi. The tires on the wheels are clean and crowned, and
the wheels are true and squared with each other. It might be the case that
your sawblade is too narrow and the teeth are too fine for this job. There
has to be enough space between the teeth, and the depth of the gullet between
the teeth has to be big enough to carry the sawdust through the cut without
jamming or dragging, causing undue force loading on the wheels. the blade
tension has to be enough to keep the blade true and not so much as to hasten
its failure due to breakage. I can reverse my saw to clean the blade with
some spirits on a wad of felt - teeth won't catch or snag the felt. (this is
a very dangerous operation, even with the blade running reverse - keep track
of your fingers)

This is not intended to sound like a diatribe, just a group of possible
problems with a bandsaw, which is possibly the second most useful tool for a
turner, after the sharpening equipment.

Respectfully,
tom koehler

Yes, there certainly are bandsaw issues. The bandsaw is my
father-in-law's. It's an old Rockwell-Delta that he keeps in his
garage next to the door. There is no insulation or heat and he usually
works with the door open, so it has a fair amount of rust. He got it
used and doesn't seem to be interested in caring for things much past
keeping them out of the rain. His drill press is in his barn, which
has a caved in roof and collapsing floor and it's heavily rusted.

While I was sawing, the blade jumped the wheels twice and parts
usually keep slipping a bit and require you to stop sawing and tighten
them back up evey so often. We already changed the blade once and the
second is showing definite signs of loosing it's edge. All his backup
blades are either dull, rusted or both.

Since I don't have room for one of my own, I'm not picky on where I
can get things done. I'm glad he let me use it. I've tried to convince
him to clean it up a bit but he just doesn't want to spend the time.
I've offered but he declined. So I use it as carefully as I can and
figure I'll just forgo getting much fresh cut wood anymore. I'll have
to be more selective about what I keep, turn and carve.

Thanks for the advice tho. I'm hoping I can afford to expand my shed
next year and get my own bandsaw, but until then I have to make due
and deal with this current wood as best I can. At this point, if I can
at least salvage some of the pear, apple and cherry, I'll live without
the ash, walnut and others as they are easier for me to get than the
fruit woods and I like them carved.

`Casper

Hello Casper,

Drying is the part of collecting wood for turning that can be most
destructive to the turning blanks and disappointing to the collector.
I consider that one has two options: seal the wood and store it on a
shelf out of the weather and sun and allow it to dry slowly or rough
turn the wood to a 10 percent wall thickness and place it on the shelf
to dry using one of several methods available.

Assuming that you have cut the wood into turning blanks as previously
described, the wood should have its end grain part sealed to slow the
drying time and should then be stored on a shelf with little wooden
stickers (little strips of wood about ¬ inch thick and up to 1-1/2
inch wide, I've found that old lath make fine stickers) separating the
blanks so that air can flow all around the wood. Drying occurs best
when the wood is stored out of the weather and sunshine in a location
where it can get sufficient airflow to carry away the moisture. Every
species of wood behaves differently and some of the worst are fruit-
woods and Madrone, with Madrone being one of the most difficult to
season without cracks.

Richard Raffan says that he tosses his newly turned wet wood bowls
into a pile and allows them to air dry for a day or two. He then puts
them into cardboard boxes and puts them on the shelf to finish
drying. He writes the date on the box and waits up to a year before
he final turns the bowls in the box. During the drying process, the
bowl will warp and sometimes crack. I assume that the box keeps air
from drying the bowls too quickly and the cardboard box may absorb
some of the moisture. I've had very good luck putting rough turned
bowls into old paper grocery sacks and placing them on the shelf.
There are several other methods that people are using to dry bowls and
keep them from cracking, namely, microwave drying, boiling, soaking in
dish detergent mixture, and soaking in alcohol. I've tried all of
these with fair results. I recently heard another theory on drying
that violates all of the methods set forth on drying wood. This fellow
says that an old logger friend told him about this method. Dry the
wood while it stands vertically as the tree grew. He says that there
is minimal checking and warping is kept to a minimum. I think he was
drying boards, rather than bowl blanks, but it is worth trying.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net


Fred,

Thanks for the reply and information.

I've turned wood green but I turn more dry. Unfortunately I am very
confined on workspace, including storage. My un-cut wood must remain
outside until I have more room inside.

I have two places I can store outside, one covered and blocked on one
side and the other uncovered but blocked on two sides. I had it stored
in another location but was forced to move it due to rules in my
living area. Next year I hope to expand my shed and include a better,
albiet limited, drying/storage spot. Until then it's stacked, spaced
and sealed at both ends.

I've tried turning bowls and bagging them with some luck. Again, this
is all about space for me. It is certainly easier and fun to turn
green, but I do really enjoy turning dry and finishing right away.

Since I've started caring, it's even more frustrating being space
limited. I fear if I can't get my shed expanded soon, I may be forced
to give up some hobbies and tools. An unhappy prospect.

Another person recently told me about standing the logs upright. I'm
going to try it with some of the wood and see how it works. Mother
nature isn't wrong too often.

I've actually put my cut wood into cardboard boxes to slow and even
the drying process. It certain works with smaller pieces and that's a
big help to me.

I'm also now ustilizing plastic crates for spacing and stacking and
hopefully that will help too. Can't hurt and the crates were free.

Thanks again,
`Casper

I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

Wood in the log dries slowly. Figure at least a year per inch of
thickness, maybe more. 2 1/2 years is not much drying time for 6" of
thickness. Now you know why we rough turn. You get your bowl or hollow
form wall down to an inch or less and it will be dry in a year or less and
you still have enough wood left to true it up after it is done warping.
If you are trying to dry some thick carving blocks, that's going to take a
great deal of patience.

Soren Berger is a champion of drying cabinets (a simple kiln) to speed
things up considerably. People use them with great success. It's just a
box 3 feet square and as tall as you want. It can be made from wood,
heavy cardboard, an old refrigerator, whatever. Put some shelves in it
made from sticks, old oven shelves, any kind of lattice that allows free
air movement. My box is 4 feet high and made from styrofoam insulation
panels. Drill ten 1 inch holes in the sides near the top and bottom and
put a 60 watt light bulb in the bottom. This creates a gentle warming and
air circulation - emphasis on gentle.

I seal the outside endgrain on bowls and hollow forms to reduce the risk
of cracking. Bowls go top down, base up. Weigh the blanks every few
weeks on a sensitive scale. When they stop losing weight, you are done.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

I suspect your wood is splating/rotting

Yes, some pieces are showing spalting. Pieces with moderate to some
with little to almost none. I had hoped to avert this but the tree, as
I later found out, was rotting on the inside when it was cut down.

Personally I've never worked Pear, but I have had better results with
turning fruit wood green
Ralph

I've turned green, and it's fun and certainly easy, but I prefer
working on a piece start to finish right then. Since I am also using
this wood for carving, I prefer it dry for that as well.

Thanks to everyone for all the info and input. Under my constraints I
guess I'll have to keep air-drying wood to a minimum

I was hoping someone knew of a product or home-made remedy that I
could use to heal up the cracks or at least prevent them from getting
worse and potentially splitting the wood. Will Pentacryl do that??

`Casper

On Oct 31, 2:25 pm, Casper wrote:
I suspect your wood is splating/rotting

Yes, some pieces are showing spalting. Pieces with moderate to some
with little to almost none. I had hoped to avert this but the tree, as
I later found out, was rotting on the inside when it was cut down.

Personally I've never worked Pear, but I have had better results with
turning fruit wood green
Ralph

I've turned green, and it's fun and certainly easy, but I prefer
working on a piece start to finish right then. Since I am also using
this wood for carving, I prefer it dry for that as well.

Thanks to everyone for all the info and input. Under my constraints I
guess I'll have to keep air-drying wood to a minimum

I was hoping someone knew of a product or home-made remedy that I
could use to heal up the cracks or at least prevent them from getting
worse and potentially splitting the wood. Will Pentacryl do that??

`Casper


Hello Again Casper,

I don't think there is anything that will heal the cracks. Personally,
I don't like to work with cracked wood. Wally Dickerman posted a cure
for bowls that cracked after turning. Wally said that he soaked
cracked bowls in a 50 percent mixture of water and white glue. I've
only tried this once. I had rough turned a 14 inch salad bowl to be
given to a friend as a house warming present. I went to final turn it
and it had a crack almost 3/8 inch wide at the rim. I didn't have
another piece of suitable wood. So I tried Wally's process. I let it
soak for two days. I took it out and the crack was still open.
Disgusted, I threw it on a pile of lumber. It was rained on for a
couple of days. It was about a week when I started to pick it up and
trask it. Surprise! The crack had closed up. I let it dry for a few
days and then final turned it. There was only a hairline where the
crack had been. Several years later, now, the bowl is still getting
lots of use without cracking again.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

In article ,
Casper wrote:
I have two places I can store outside, one covered and blocked on one
side and the other uncovered but blocked on two sides. I had it stored
in another location but was forced to move it due to rules in my
living area. Next year I hope to expand my shed and include a better,
albiet limited, drying/storage spot. Until then it's stacked, spaced

Anything you can manage in the way of a top cover on the second pile
that's rigid will be a big help. Tarps and plastic appear to cause more
problems than they solve in the usual "draped over the pile"
arrangement, as they trap moisture as much or more than they keep it off.

The rotting, spalting and failing to dry are heavily impacted by not
keeping the wood out of the weather. I have nicely stacked piles of
"firewood" out in the weather which, due to not getting them under cover
and not getting them burned, have in 6 years turned into nicely stacked
piles of rotten wood - despite being cross stacked off the ground with
plenty of airflow. I wasn't intending for them to sit for 6 years when I
stacked them, of course. But wood stored out in the weather will rot,
unless the weather is a desert climate, perhaps. If you have wood you
consider valuable, you might want to consider renting some dry storage
space for it if your situation prevents making dry storage for it at
home. If it's not worth renting space for, it wasn't that valuable after
all...Depending exactly what constraints you are facing, sometimes an
enclosed trailer can get past annoying rules better than a shed can, and
buying one may prove cheaper than renting space in the long run.

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

Thanks for all the input. I've lost a fair amount to rot but I have
salvaged a fair amount. Hopefully it's now in a better location.

I've got about 6-10 logs left to cut but decided to leave them till
spring. I've put those inside my father-in-law's old corn crib, out of
the weather but where they should get good air circulation. With luck
those will dry out more and be ready to cut in the spring.

The stuff I already cut up I sorted and am currently using a piece of
the pear to carve a goose. It's coming out ok so far but I have found
a few tiny veins of punkiness. I haven't decided how I want to handle
them yet. I may leave them as is, seal them in or I might even clean
out the veins and put in some fancy ground stone or something. It'll
depend on how the rest of the wood looks once the carving is done.

So I've learned more this year about natural wood drying and log care.
Next year I'll know better how to cut, clean, plan, etc., so I can
start having ready wood every year. I'm really loving turning, scroll
sawing and carving but I think I've run out of hobby room.

Thanks for the wood/log education. Everyone here is a great and
appreciated wealth of knowledge.

`Casper