Thread: Lillypilly species: Syzygium smithii; (Acmena smithii) Australian grown Gold Coast

Dip the ends in liquid wax, or at the very least paint them with acrylic paint, a couple of coats. Whatever you do - seal the ends pronto to prevent splitting.

I wouldn't be following the old-timer's advice, I'd be putting it under the house or similar. It needs to be dried, not wetted.....

We have lillypilly's on our garden verges ,I have had some stored from years ago that I also thought would be good for handles .Although I have'n sealed it which really is a must do as Brett has suggested, it is quite stable with only some small checks in it.
I do remember an old bloke who told me that back in the day butchers used to submerse their newly cut butcher blocks in water for anywhere between 5-10yrs sounds unbelievable, but was necessary to stabilise the block & leach out the cellulose .Some of those butcher blocks on a sawdust floor stood the test of time as those of us with years on us may recall being dragged along when Mum was doing her meat orders.

I did a few rough turned bowls from a big Lillypilly but haven't finished them yet (it's only been 10 years LOL). Like any fruit tree it does love to crack. Normally I would be at least quartering it, seal the ends and an inch down the sides to have any chance of avoiding the cracking, leaving it to dry in an area away from the heat. That may not leave you with a piece large enough, so soaking in water is an option, but it does take a long time. You can add some chlorine to the water to help with smell but you will still need to change the water every couple of weeks.

Do as FF describes in #2. The most common practice and the most reliable for wood carvers.
Seal the ends with something, anything.
The objective is to slow down the (rapid) rate of water loss from the cut ends.
This reduces, but may not eliminate, checking/splitting.

Then use a draw knife to strip off the bark for 2 reasons. This speeds up the rate of water loss from the sides.
There are all kinds of bark beetles that like to bore into the juicy wood beneath the bark.

Outdoors, under cover and not cooked in a shed, you can expect the wood to dry down to the "Equilibrium Moisture Content"
at a rate of about 1" thickness per year. In fact, that should settle between 12% and 15% EMC.
If you don't want to spring for a Moisture Meter which can only measure surface, number and
weigh the logs and write it down. When you see a constant weight, you're done.

13cm you say? I'll guess 3 years and 4 would be even better.
The next step is to add to your wood inventory every year and label everything.

Any cut timber open to the atmosphere is going to degrade it's MC,I have heard of woodturners who have turned bowls whilst in a green condition ,but have left significant thickness to finish off with once the MC has stabilised.To stabilise the MC content they would bury the unfinished bowls in sawdust/shavings to minimise any contact with the open air ,thereby allowing the shavings to slowly draw the moisture out over a period of a year.
I have not tried this myself ,however it does give another use for shavings & sawdust if volume permits.

Originally Posted by John Saxton

...bury the unfinished bowls in sawdust/shavings to minimise any contact with the open air ,thereby allowing the shavings to slowly draw the moisture out ...

I would not do this for Lillypilly, it will just end up one big mouldy mess.