cracking up !! help needed

[smiife]

hi guys ,
could someone tell me the secrect of turning sally wattle,
i was given a piece quite a while ago and was told the best way to turn
it was to soak it first,this was my first attempt,i turned this one day and
all was good,, untill the next morning:o:o:o,over night it had cracked up
cheers smiife

[munruben]

Oh dear.:(

[hughie]

Unfinished turning left on the lathe I tend wrap them in a plastic bag.

[cookie48]

Bummer.

[powderpost]

I agree with Hughie.
Jim

[TTIT]

Depends a lot on which 'Sally wattle' your working with. It doesn't look anything like acacia salicina (http://www.ttit.id.au/treepages/sallywattle.htm) which is what we get around here and it never cracks as badly as your piece has. As the others said, slip a plastic bag over it between sessions until you have it hollowed fully then let it dry as slowly as you can - eg: minimal air movement, cool space - works most of the time. I also wrap the rough-out in one layer of newspaper with the orifice left open to try and get the inside to dry at the same pace or quicker than the outside - helps a bit :2tsup: Some timber will behave like yours has no matter what you do - I've got a few on the rough-out rack that may never see the light of day :C

[Sawdust Maker]

ouch

an unintended feature :doh:

[smiife]

hi guys ,
what you have all said is appreciated,i did however
cut 2 pieces about 350mm long ,left them in a bucket
of water for 2 weeks[the water went a horrible brown colour]
then put them both in plastic bags and left them for about
a year under the bench,about 2 weeks ago i got one out and
tried to turn a candle stick, but had the same problem,
after each session i removed it from the lathe and put in a bag with the shavings untill i returned it to the lathe,it finished up with a few
checks which i filled with ca glue as they appeared and all seemed fine:o
i will take some photos of the finished item as it is now .[if you promise
not to laugh] :B:B :roll:
cheers smiife :2tsup:

[Drillit]

Hello Smiffe,
You might find it helpful if when soaking it that you adda desertspoon of dishingwashing liquid. This will help to remove sap etc. If it is pretty green it would be preferable to rought turn and then leave as others have suggested wrapped in its shavings and brown paper for a while, IMHO. John M.

[smiife]

thanks for the suggestions guys here are some more photos of
the latest ''Sally'' project ,photos taken as the cracks progressively
get worse :o :o :o,i think the rest of the timber will go on the
firewood pile :U
cheers smiife :2tsup: