I had a section of some kind of tree that Hurricane Igor lambasted, The
ends were coated and it sat for about 6 moths - most of it in the shed
outside where winter cold had a go at it for several months. I brought
it inside and this week, two months later decided to make a bowl for a
the friend who gave me the wood. (actually brought it from their home
500 miles away!!)

It turned out very nice and I was surprised at how light colored the
wood was...My wife was to deliver it to the friend this weekend. THEN
#$$#@ a small crack appeared and this morning it was split on one side
top to bottom.

I had sealed it and waxed it What happened?? I notice the same thing
happens with Lilac tree here. First time running into this.

Here's before and after:
Keith P

The answer is really rather simple, the piece was not dry and when you
turned it (nice job, bye the way) the tensions in the wood caused it to
split.

The best thing to do with green wood is to rough turn it, leaving the side
walls 1/10 the diameter of the bowl. The put it in a brown paper bag and
put it up on a shelf for six months to a year. I use a postal scale to
check for dryness (or as dry as it gets in my place) and when the weight
quits dropping, I know its dry enough to finish turning.

Deb


Keith wrote:

I had a section of some kind of tree that Hurricane Igor lambasted, The
ends were coated and it sat for about 6 moths - most of it in the shed
outside where winter cold had a go at it for several months. I brought
it inside and this week, two months later decided to make a bowl for a
the friend who gave me the wood. (actually brought it from their home
500 miles away!!)

It turned out very nice and I was surprised at how light colored the
wood was...My wife was to deliver it to the friend this weekend. THEN
#$$#@ a small crack appeared and this morning it was split on one side
top to bottom.

I had sealed it and waxed it What happened?? I notice the same thing
happens with Lilac tree here. First time running into this.

Here's before and after:
Keith P

It's that damn shrinkage factor us males hate so much.

-------------

"Keith" wrote in message ...

I had a section of some kind of tree that Hurricane Igor lambasted, The
ends were coated and it sat for about 6 moths - most of it in the shed
outside where winter cold had a go at it for several months. I brought
it inside and this week, two months later decided to make a bowl for a
the friend who gave me the wood. (actually brought it from their home
500 miles away!!)

It turned out very nice and I was surprised at how light colored the
wood was...My wife was to deliver it to the friend this weekend. THEN
#$$#@ a small crack appeared and this morning it was split on one side
top to bottom.

I had sealed it and waxed it What happened?? I notice the same thing
happens with Lilac tree here. First time running into this.

Here's before and after:
Keith P

On 08/04/2011 04:14 PM, Keith wrote:
I had a section of some kind of tree that Hurricane Igor lambasted, The
ends were coated and it sat for about 6 moths - most of it in the shed
outside where winter cold had a go at it for several months. I brought
it inside and this week, two months later decided to make a bowl for a
the friend who gave me the wood. (actually brought it from their home
500 miles away!!)

It turned out very nice and I was surprised at how light colored the
wood was...My wife was to deliver it to the friend this weekend. THEN
#$$#@ a small crack appeared and this morning it was split on one side
top to bottom.

I had sealed it and waxed it What happened?? I notice the same thing
happens with Lilac tree here. First time running into this.

Here's before and after:
Keith P

I think the wood would dry better if the ends weren't coated.
The water in the wood comes out of the wood from the ends.
This is the reason that even though you split firewood it still doesn't
help it dry any quicker. The water comes out of wood on the ends of the
wood just like it goes up the tree when it is living.



--
All the Best & 73's
Dale Miller, KC2CBD
Tennessee
Ham Operator since 1997
Member of YahooPipesmokers and ASP since February 2005

Registered Linux User: #317401
Linux since June 2003
Ubuntu User #26423




(cut the spam to reply)


VOTE TO REBUILD!
www.twintowersalliance.com
--

On Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:44:16 -0230, Keith
wrote:
I'm guessing that you had 2 problems, green wood and what appears to
be an end grain bowl..
I might be reading the picture incorrectly, but it looks like you
basically hollowed a section of branch, turning end grain..
End grain bowls have a muce higher rate of cracking because they
contain the "pith" or heart of the tree or branch..
The pith is where twisting starts as the wood dries and is usually cut
out of a bowl blank before turning it..
As a general rule, wood takes about 1 year per inch of thickness to
dry.. Sealing the ends will slow the drying time and prevent some of
the cracking..

On the rare occassions that I get green/wet wood, I turn it as soon as
I get it, to final thickness.. The piece is sanded and oiled while on
the lathe and then set aside..
THin turnings will warp, which I want them to dom but will rarely
crack unless the bottom or a lit is left thick..
Glue Clamp it) it back together and let it sit for a few wekks and
see if it continues cracking..



I had a section of some kind of tree that Hurricane Igor lambasted, The
ends were coated and it sat for about 6 moths - most of it in the shed
outside where winter cold had a go at it for several months. I brought
it inside and this week, two months later decided to make a bowl for a
the friend who gave me the wood. (actually brought it from their home
500 miles away!!)

It turned out very nice and I was surprised at how light colored the
wood was...My wife was to deliver it to the friend this weekend. THEN
#$$#@ a small crack appeared and this morning it was split on one side
top to bottom.

I had sealed it and waxed it What happened?? I notice the same thing
happens with Lilac tree here. First time running into this.

Here's before and after:
Keith P

"Dale Miller" wrote
I think the wood would dry better if the ends weren't coated.
The water in the wood comes out of the wood from the ends.
This is the reason that even though you split firewood it still doesn't
help it dry any quicker. The water comes out of wood on the ends of the
wood just like it goes up the tree when it is living.


Coating the ends controls the rate of drying. Too fast and the wood will
crack. It does not matter with firewood.

On 08/05/2011 05:00 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Dale Miller" wrote
I think the wood would dry better if the ends weren't coated.
The water in the wood comes out of the wood from the ends.
This is the reason that even though you split firewood it still
doesn't help it dry any quicker. The water comes out of wood on the
ends of the wood just like it goes up the tree when it is living.


Coating the ends controls the rate of drying. Too fast and the wood will
crack. It does not matter with firewood.

So if you coat the ends it drys slower?


--
All the Best & 73's
Dale Miller, KC2CBD
Tennessee
Ham Operator since 1997
Member of YahooPipesmokers and ASP since February 2005

Registered Linux User: #317401
Linux since June 2003
Ubuntu User #26423




(cut the spam to reply)


VOTE TO REBUILD!
www.twintowersalliance.com
--

"Dale Miller" wrote in message
On 08/05/2011 05:00 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Dale Miller" wrote
I think the wood would dry better if the ends weren't coated.
The water in the wood comes out of the wood from the ends.
This is the reason that even though you split firewood it still
doesn't help it dry any quicker. The water comes out of wood on the
ends of the wood just like it goes up the tree when it is living.


Coating the ends controls the rate of drying. Too fast and the wood will
crack. It does not matter with firewood.

So if you coat the ends it drys slower?


Yes. When wood dries too fast it is more likely to dry unevenly so, it is
more prone to crack, check, etc.

On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:21:44 -0500, Dale Miller
wrote:

On 08/05/2011 05:00 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

So if you coat the ends it drys slower?

Yep.. Think of a log as a bundle of straws, with the open ends as the
end of the log.. Evaporation through the straws is fast and
(theorecically) causes more stress which causes cracks..

If the ends of the straws are plugged, the wood has to dry through the
sides of the straws, which takes much longer and hopefully prevents
most cracking..

On 08/06/2011 11:05 PM, Mac Davis wrote:
On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:21:44 -0500, Dale Miller
wrote:

On 08/05/2011 05:00 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

So if you coat the ends it drys slower?

Yep.. Think of a log as a bundle of straws, with the open ends as the
end of the log.. Evaporation through the straws is fast and
(theorecically) causes more stress which causes cracks..

If the ends of the straws are plugged, the wood has to dry through the
sides of the straws, which takes much longer and hopefully prevents
most cracking..

Another consideration is reaction wood. I've had kiln dried wood stop
my table saw blade (1.5 hp, wired for 220 v). Even when dry the
internal stresses may manifest themselves as wood is removed...

--
Kevin Miller - http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357, http://counter.li.org

On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:20:37 -0800, Kevin Miller
wrote:
snip
Another consideration is reaction wood. I've had kiln dried wood stop
my table saw blade (1.5 hp, wired for 220 v). Even when dry the
internal stresses may manifest themselves as wood is removed...

Good point.. I've had problems ripping pine 1x12 that had a warp..
Binds the blade as the board untwists..

A lot like clay. I do ceramics. The thicker the pieces of course the
slower the drying.
I think what may happen is uneven drying so that some areas being thinner
dry out quicker and change shape while other areas that are thicker are
slower drying.
We cover our clay pieces with plastic and might even wet areas to slow the
drying out and make it dry evenly.
I would think that this may be similar to wood since I also work with wood.
just my 2 penny's
john

"Dale Miller" wrote in message
...

On 08/05/2011 05:00 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Dale Miller" wrote
I think the wood would dry better if the ends weren't coated.
The water in the wood comes out of the wood from the ends.
This is the reason that even though you split firewood it still
doesn't help it dry any quicker. The water comes out of wood on the
ends of the wood just like it goes up the tree when it is living.


Coating the ends controls the rate of drying. Too fast and the wood will
crack. It does not matter with firewood.

So if you coat the ends it drys slower?


--
All the Best & 73's
Dale Miller, KC2CBD
Tennessee
Ham Operator since 1997
Member of YahooPipesmokers and ASP since February 2005

Registered Linux User: #317401
Linux since June 2003
Ubuntu User #26423




(cut the spam to reply)


VOTE TO REBUILD!
www.twintowersalliance.com
--

Just the painted ends dry slower so the drying rate matches the rest of the
wood body.

1-----------
"jloomis" wrote in message ...
So if you coat the ends it drys slower?


2-------------------
"Dale Miller" wrote in message
...
Coating the ends controls the rate of drying. Too fast and the wood will
crack. It does not matter with firewood.