Cutting Questions

[hook]

I have just got myself a quantity of wood from felled trees at work. Don't know what type of trees, but there are some nice colours and grain patterns in them. Sizes are around 12 - 15 inches in diameter, lengths around 18 - 24 inches.
When is the best time to "cut them up" to prevent the inevitable checking and splitting as they dry? Is it best done straight away or wait till they dry a bit. Do I just cut them in "slabs"? I'm a begginner at collecting my own wood and use it to practice turning bowls and hollowing vessels.I have already mastered turning ornamental firewood. I will be using a chainsaw for this job. Any help will be greatfully received.

Thanks,

Hook

[ubeaut]

G'day Hook

If it were me I would get them out of the log ASAP. The sooner you do this the less redial shrinkage there will be. This will lessen the likely hood of too much checking due to radial shrinkage.

Seal the end grain of the timber with wax (beeswax or paraffin or a mixture of both) this has the effect of turning off the tap and making the timber dry slower through the long grain rather than the end grain.

If you intend using the slabs for bowls then you can cut them into round blanks and seal the outside rim with wax. (Best done by melting the wax in an old electric frying pan and rollong the rim of the blank in the wax.) If you wish to keep the blanks for turning green then coat the entire blank with the wax.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheers
Neil

[hook]

Thanks for the info' Neil.

How does one post pictures on this BB.
I have seen some good Bulliten Boards from around the world (this being one of the best) where turners "share" their projects by posting pictures of their work.
Is that possible here?
It sure would boost the amount of new posts the site gets.

Hook

[ubeaut]

<font size="5" color="#C6004A">Hook</font>

To add a graphic within your message, just encase the URL of the graphic image as shown in the following example (<font color="#000000">UBB Code is in</font><font color="#FF0000"> red</font>).&nbsp;
<font color="#FF0000">[img]</font>http://www.prime-web.com/Ultimate20/tline.gif<font color="#FF0000">[/img]&nbsp;</font>
In the example above, the UBB Code automatically makes the graphic visible in your message. Note: the "http://" part of the URL is REQUIRED for the [img] code.</p>


<font color="#0000FF">Your other option is to use html codes if you know how or have an editor. I have turned the HTML codes on for use in all forums.</font></p>


<font color="#0000FF">You really do need to have a site where you can store the image/s so as to link to them. Otherwise you can email them to me and I will put them on for you when I get a chance.</font></p>


<font color="#800000">I have used HTML code for this posting. </font><font color="#004F00">I hope this all makes sense to you.</font></p>


<font color="#004F00">Cheers

Neil</font></p>