Thread: Green Log processing

Ever tried turning the bowl green then sticking in the microwave to dry out but whilst still warm, and with oven gloves on bending and squashing the bowl into an odd shape. Sorry if this is off track of what your asking but some food for thought for green logs.

but to seal I think u need something other than acrylic paint.

jaybird
Many gum trees are very prone to splitting and you need to rough turn them ASAP . I would not have worried about trying to seal the blanks . A better method would have been to hold your blanks in a garbage bin of water or wrap them in plastic to stop any drying out until you rough turn them . You should still expect to loose a few though .
Ted

Fumbler, That was the plan.
Ted, It's a big learning curve. I'll see what I can do with some of it in the next couple of days, there are about 4 that look like they may be OK. All wont be lost if it dosen't work out my neighbour has some more firewood.
Thanks

You were right to cut out the pith but I would have left the almost half log sections as is with the ends sealed until ready to rough turn. In fact leave the sections a bit longer than the turning blanks so any checking can be cut off later. The most important thing is to get the log ends sealed ASAP. Before cutting out the pith even. The time of year is also against you as the aim is to slow the drying down to try and prevent splitting. Cool time of year is best but if wood is available at any time then give it a go. Get the wood to as cool a place as possible. At least out of the sun.
It is always going to be a bit of a lottery even doing all the right things and some woods are just bu&&?rs to dry. I have had quite a few large blanks end up as smaller ones and even firewood. Had rough turned bowls end up shaped like a canoe and some crack. It's all part of the joy of turning. A few failures make the successes sweeter.
Regards
John

Acrylic paint is a relatively poor vapour seal on rough cut wood.
Water is good, but my experience with plastic film is if they are left too long they can go mouldy although this can sometimes produce interesting effects in the wood.
Packed damp sawdust is another alternative.
Wax is another option although the amount needed to seal large blanks can get quite expensive.
As already stated, whatever you use expect to loose quite a few.

Thanks again for all the replies, I have learned a lot off the comments, I'm not deterred and will have another go next time all the wiser.

Get yourself a tin of end sealer to be ready for next time. There are other home made preporations and I tried a couple but they involve a bit of messing around. Even PVA glue will do. Good way to use old stock. There have been threads on sealing wood on here in the past if you are interested in some of the tricks used.
Regards
John

It sounds like your timber is from a paperbark going from your description. I have found that a waterbased paint is better for sealing the ends of cut logs

I know the climate is totally different here, but as stated above try to get the logs in the colder months like winter when many trees the sap is not rising as this reduces the chance of it splitting. As you have done cut out the pith if possible either side of it. I seal mine with emulsion paint just as a stop gap so that gives me a couple of days leeway before I then move onto cutting into round. I use PVA glue slightly thinned down and then stack them in stick with good air flow between them this stops mould and the like. They are stored in a cool place out of the sun and undercover. Like I say this works for me but then I don't have the heat like many places have during the hotter seasons.
By the way it is snowing here at the moment

I heat with wood and solar and occasionally have access to a ton of timber that has to be moved quickly or it goes to be ground into mulch. I will cut blocks twice as long as the diameter or a bit more and get them home. In a few days they will show a crack on the ends. I will split using a chainsaw following the biggest crack through the pith, or use a wedge and hammer. I leave them in this condition, stacked in the shade or in a pile, or some on the ground until they grow mushrooms. The mushroomed ones will have spalted wood inside, sometimes very slight, sometimes just right, sometimes rotten.

I have painted the ends with oil base paint, water base paint, and melted candle wax on the ends with a heat gun. I also have done nothing to them after splitting and also left them in the round 4 - 6 feet long. I have cherry, walnut, hard and soft maple, oak, locust, and found on ground timber. They are picked up as and when I find them in all seasons.

Some crack and are used as firewood or are split into quarters and made into long, fat, heavy lathe tool handles. Red oak is the most prone to cracking, even after slow careful seasoning. Some timbers I expect to crack, don't. Some I am very careful to preserve do.

The best outcome seems to be cross stacked in the shade and covered from rain. Tin roofing laid on the top of the pile is enough, weighed down or fastened so as not to have it through your window in a wind.