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petemacsydney
6th December 2016, 06:33 PM
Hi all
Hope i'm using this thread thingamyjig properly. i'm headed to a mate's farm on the weekend. he has that much downed timber and stuff he needs to cut that i will end up with a truck load of timber to bring back to Sydney for future bowl turning projects. I imagine some will be turn ready, some partially matured and some years off.
I've been reading up on sealing the ends of bowl blanks to help reduce cracking. i'll be chainsawing the blanks out of logs and am curious as to what you good folk use to seal the ends?
I've read wax, outdoor paint, latex paint, wood glue - all sorts of things seem to be used.
I'd prefer not to go out and buy the most expensive product off the shelf if there are cheaper and just effective methods, but then again, perhaps that is naive of me?
Any feedback you may have on this subject will be much appreciated!
Also, if i have posted this thread in the wrong place, can you tell me please as i'm not sure i'm doing it right! lol
thanks all!
p

Christos
6th December 2016, 09:26 PM
Couple of things to consider. Not knowing what type of vehicle you have I thought that I might start by stating the obvious, don't overload it. :B

In regards to sealing I use what I have plenty of and that is paint. The logs that have come my way are free and if I am not able to process them quickly I seal the ends with paint. I generally put on a heavy coat and apply another coat in a few weeks time if I still have not processed them.

When I split the logs and cut up blanks I may paint the end grain just as an added concern.

This by far not the best option but as these are free and the wood is not highly valuable species I don't see the need to wax them.

Woodturnerjosh
6th December 2016, 09:41 PM
I always cut the pith out straight away and in addition to sealing them (I use slightly watered down cheap PVA glue) I also wrap them in a tarp. This seems to really slow down the moisture loss until I can rough turn them and then seal them again and stack them away for drying.

Skew ChiDAMN!!
6th December 2016, 09:52 PM
Like anything, long term success costs. For blanks I really, really want to keep I like to use Mobilcer C, which I paint on as soon as the log/blank is cut. But... $$$. :(

Wax is almost as effective and much cheaper, but more of a PITA to apply and consequently better suited for when you're processing a batch of blanks. (In which case a temp sealant between cutting and finding the time to apply the wax is a good idea!)

I'll resort to left-over paint (preferably an enamel or good acrylic) when neither of the above are an option and failing even having any of that to hand I've turned to polystyrene dissolved in turps.

IMO almost anything that seals without penetrating too deeply is better than nothing, so long as it's applied ASAP after cutting. After all, you can always trim the wood back a bit and recoat with something more effective when you can finally get your hands on it! :D

The important thing is to seal ASAP and make sure you remove the heart/pith.

petemacsydney
7th December 2016, 08:30 AM
thanks all, great feedback. really appreciate your help and comments!
ive decided i will start with some enamel as that is what i have ready for the weekend. like anything i will continue to learn :-)

orraloon
7th December 2016, 11:01 AM
I agree with the others have said and will only add a couple of points that can be a bit frustrating to the wood collector.
Free wood is great and has to be grabbed when it is available but summer is more problematic due to high temps and humidity changes. Try and store it under cover if possible but out of the sunlight if that is all you can manage. Cooler the better.
Sapwood has a bad habit of going moldy so I have had nice big blanks having to be recut into smaller ones.
Rough turning green wood to return later is the best approach but even then there will be some that just dont want to play the game as some woods have a lot more shrinkage than others.
Anyhow have fun with it and like you said learn as you go.
Regards
John

powderpost
7th December 2016, 11:32 AM
Pete, can I refer you to the thread, http://www.woodworkforums.com/f132/killed-basic-steps-timber-drying-quality-product-210314, written by a professional miller. He knows what he is talking about. You probably do not want boards, but the principal is similar.

Jim

John.G
7th December 2016, 08:10 PM
Your biggest issue with bowl blanks or other large sectional sizes is always going to be end splits during drying. Particularly with good bowl blanks because the grain stuff going on that makes it a good bowl blank also increases the chance of drying stresses bad enough that it wants to tear itself apart. Sooooooooooooo...

Popular wisdom is to paint the whole blank to slow drying. Which would be fine except that if we paint the whole thing then it cant dry which is self defeating.
Now if I am trying to dry large sections... and I got some pretty big cross sections banked up drying...I dont paint the whole thing. Just the ends, and a strip one paint brush wide around the ends. But I also saw them long to allow for some loss to end splits (so my nominal 3.6 meter large section boards are actually 3.8m) as insurance.
Oh... and I bang a couple of nailplates into the ends because that pretty much stops any splits that do develop from walking in to far. Problem solved.:2tsup:

But the real secret with end splits is not to let them start and that means getting the end sealer on fast. If you can already see drying splits then you're too late.

petemacsydney
7th December 2016, 08:48 PM
great stuff, thanks again folks. i'll see what i come up with this weekend - hopefully a mix of good long term, medium term and hopefully some ready to turn (at least for practice bowls anyway) :)

NeilS
9th December 2016, 10:12 AM
No 1 - ASAP, after cutting log into turning lengths (slightly longer than the diameter of log at that point), rip down the centre of those lengths through the pith line. In my experience this is the most critical step.

No 2 - with any paint to hand, liberally coat ends and flat face. Do not remove bark, but if it has come off also coat the outside surface.

No 3 - store until rough turned out of air movement, eg. Drape a tarp over stacked blanks, in cardboard boxes or in woven feed bags.

No 4 - rough turn ASAP.

The above is the method I use to keep wood in the best condition until I can rough turn it. It is not a drying method. The drying stage doesn't start for me until I have rough turned the blanks.

Note: As already pointed out by others, some woods are prone to develop mould if left too long as above. It is a balancing act with such woods; for me splitting is the more problematic, so I live with a bit of mould. But, rough turning ASAP limits the extent of both splitting and mould.

petemacsydney
11th December 2016, 12:45 PM
401872

NeilS
11th December 2016, 01:40 PM
401872
Pete

They look the goods to me.

Storm2point0
28th December 2016, 10:31 PM
They look great. I have been trying for a while to find some blanks like that for cheap. Unfortunately i dont have a chain saw or know anyone that i can cut down there trees. Where do you guys source your bowl blanks from and how much does it cost you? Thanks.

orraloon
29th December 2016, 09:41 AM
I tend to follow the sound of chainsaws. If people in my locality have the tree loppers in I just ask for a chunk or two before it goes in the chipper. It is also polite to offer them a bowl in return. Most people are very happy to have a bowl made from one of their own trees as a keepsake. I hardly ever buy wood for turning.
Regards
John

brendan stemp
29th December 2016, 09:44 AM
my advice is to, if possible keeo the wood as big/long as possible. so, don't cut it into bowl blank lengths but cut slabs the thickness required and seal the ends. having said this, there will be no system or process that will work for all timbers.

hughie
29th December 2016, 12:53 PM
Many of the method/s you can use really depend on what your getting. I see its on a farm, so a lot of what is being cut may well be useless to you as a lot of Eucalyptus arent worth the trouble . Lousy colour and extremely unstable so try and find what species is coming down and pick the best. If the farm is way out west there should some good desert timbers. But again depending the species how handle them will be crucial .

Paul39
29th December 2016, 01:34 PM
Brenden's advice above is good. When I get too much wood to properly cut and paint, I will cut to twice the diameter and split down the middle. I stack on pallets bark side up. When it is time to make a bowl I cut the ends off, which will likely have checks and use them for heating. I heat with solar and wood so the off cuts don't go to waste.

Any really special looking pieces I set off to the side and take better care to preserve. I have more wood stacked around the house than I can turn in this lifetime. After any wind storm there is timber cut to fit in a car's boot and stacked for the taking along the streets.

Last fall two maples were cut down 1/2 block down the street. One hard maple the other soft. I spent days bringing timber ranging from as big as my wrist to 30 inches in diameter up the street to my house. Smaller size was 18 inches to 4 feet long, bigger 18 inches to 24 inches long.

Storm2point0
29th December 2016, 04:19 PM
Yeah that is a great idea. I will have to keep an eye out for that. Thanks orraloon :)

StevoWoodi
1st January 2017, 10:04 AM
Hi there, I initially used Bondcrete. It worked fine but is expensive. I have moved to a Caltex product called "Timber Sealer". It is a water based wax emulsion and at $6/l is pretty reasonably priced. The bad news is that the smallest container is 20l so unless you are scoring large amounts of timber you will need to get together with a few other woodturners to make it feasible. In line with other posts I think the most important thing is to get something onto your timber as quickly as possible as some native hardwoods can start to surface crack in only a few days.
Cheers,
Steve