Plum wood drying
 

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the bottom
of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the tree. It is
2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes. Can I rough
turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the process, not the wood
though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Thanks for any help.

Bob Darrah
--

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon

I rough full-length cylinders and use anchorseal on the ends to hold them
until I'm ready for boxes or goblets or such. Not that they're ever ready
in the lump for an immediate box. I still rough and either touch a low
power in the micro, or leave for a couple of relaxing days before final fit.
seem to end up with fewer surprises that way.

Microwaving is boiling from the interior out. It muddies the colors a bit
much for my taste. Never boiled from outside in, but suspect from the kiln
operators experience it'd do the same.

"Bob Darrah" wrote in message
...

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the
bottom
of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the tree. It is
2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes. Can I rough
turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the process, not the
wood
though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Thanks for any help.

Bob Darrah
--

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon

Are you saying you have a piece of plum tree that is 2 feet x 2 feet x 1 1/2
feet in size? Nice piece of plum! Have never seen a plum that large!

Regardless, the smaller pieces that I have turned were pepper grinder
bodies. I had the large (imho) branches of about 3 inches in diameter from
a recently pruned plum tree. (Hmmh! No double entendre meant!) In any
event they were very green. I submersed them in LDD after I had cut the
rough lengths and after a couple of days turned the first one over a period
of a day and a half, re-immersing them in LDD between turning sessions.
Finished them up with wood sealer. Have used them for two years now and no
cracks or warping.

Leif
"Bob Darrah" wrote in message
...

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the
bottom of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the
tree. It is 2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes.
Can I rough turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the process,
not the wood though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Thanks for any help.

Bob Darrah
--

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon

I looked at that measurement and almost put 18 inches. But I didn't and I
got the result I feared. The tree was very old and had grown about 2 feet in
diameter. It has some beautiful reds in it. He cut it down because it
dropped seeds instead of fruit. Just a seed with plum skin.

I would love to try the ldd process but am allergic to the perfume they put
in them. There were two or three that offered sent free but that didn't last
long.

Any ideas how I can work with ldd with my problem? Does the wood take on the
smell of the perfume in ldd?

My wife and daughters would be ever thankful for finding a way around this.

Which ldd do you use?

I've thought about driving up to see you use this process firsthand.

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon

"Leif Thorvaldson" wrote in message
...
Are you saying you have a piece of plum tree that is 2 feet x 2 feet x 1
1/2 feet in size? Nice piece of plum! Have never seen a plum that large!

Regardless, the smaller pieces that I have turned were pepper grinder
bodies. I had the large (imho) branches of about 3 inches in diameter
from a recently pruned plum tree. (Hmmh! No double entendre meant!) In
any event they were very green. I submersed them in LDD after I had cut
the rough lengths and after a couple of days turned the first one over a
period of a day and a half, re-immersing them in LDD between turning
sessions. Finished them up with wood sealer. Have used them for two years
now and no cracks or warping.

Leif
"Bob Darrah" wrote in message
...

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the
bottom of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the
tree. It is 2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes.
Can I rough turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the
process, not the wood though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Thanks for any help.

Bob Darrah
--

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon

In article ,
"Bob Darrah" wrote:

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the bottom
of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the tree. It is
2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes. Can I rough
turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the process, not the wood
though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Beautiful! I've had a few opportunities turning plum and the greatest
success with boiling for an hour to 90 minutes. The wood has also
retained it's reddish-purply and not muddied.

(I think the size of the tree you got is a NW thing. The plum I've
turned has been similarly large.)

--
"To know the world intimately is the beginning of caring."
-- Ann Hayman Zwinger

I just turned a piece of plum wood. Picked it out of a friend's wood pile.
Heartwood didn't split, sapwood split horrendously. This was after it sat
in my basement for a year.
"Owen Lowe" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Bob Darrah" wrote:

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the
bottom
of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the tree. It
is
2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes. Can I rough
turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the process, not the
wood
though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Beautiful! I've had a few opportunities turning plum and the greatest
success with boiling for an hour to 90 minutes. The wood has also
retained it's reddish-purply and not muddied.

(I think the size of the tree you got is a NW thing. The plum I've
turned has been similarly large.)

--
"To know the world intimately is the beginning of caring."
-- Ann Hayman Zwinger

Bob: The LDD that I use is Costco's housebrand (Kirkland). Unfortunately,
it contains perfume, as I am almost certain all of them do. There might be
a hypoallergenic one available, but I haven't run across it nor, to be
honest, have I looked for one. There might be some residual perfume in the
turned wood, but the finish effectively seals that. Recently had a
discussion with an individual who couldn't get the Costco brand and used
Ivory LDD. Claims it was not successful. The only LDD I would claim does
the job is Costco's brand. Why? Don't know!

As to driving up to see me "perform" my LDD magic, it would be a waste of
time! I haven't turned in about two years due to back problems. I am just
a humble hobby turner who wishes he could spend more time in the shop, but
standing for any length of time and/or bending over a lathe puts me out of
commission quickly.

That plum wood sounds like it would be great for turning, although like most
fruitwoods, it will probably be pretty active!

Leif




"Bob Darrah" wrote in message
...
I looked at that measurement and almost put 18 inches. But I didn't and I
got the result I feared. The tree was very old and had grown about 2 feet
in diameter. It has some beautiful reds in it. He cut it down because it
dropped seeds instead of fruit. Just a seed with plum skin.

I would love to try the ldd process but am allergic to the perfume they
put in them. There were two or three that offered sent free but that
didn't last long.

Any ideas how I can work with ldd with my problem? Does the wood take on
the smell of the perfume in ldd?

My wife and daughters would be ever thankful for finding a way around
this.

Which ldd do you use?

I've thought about driving up to see you use this process firsthand.

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon

"Leif Thorvaldson" wrote in message
...
Are you saying you have a piece of plum tree that is 2 feet x 2 feet x 1
1/2 feet in size? Nice piece of plum! Have never seen a plum that
large!

Regardless, the smaller pieces that I have turned were pepper grinder
bodies. I had the large (imho) branches of about 3 inches in diameter
from a recently pruned plum tree. (Hmmh! No double entendre meant!) In
any event they were very green. I submersed them in LDD after I had cut
the rough lengths and after a couple of days turned the first one over a
period of a day and a half, re-immersing them in LDD between turning
sessions. Finished them up with wood sealer. Have used them for two
years now and no cracks or warping.

Leif
"Bob Darrah" wrote in message
...

I want to turn some plum that a friend gave me. It is a piece off the
bottom of the tree just below where it split into two sections of the
tree. It is 2X2X1 1/2 feet in size. I want to cut small piece for boxes.
Can I rough turn and then boil or microwave until dry. I know the
process, not the wood though. Is one better than the other for plum?

Thanks for any help.

Bob Darrah
--

Bob Darrah
West Linn, Oregon