leave it or use it

[bikerboy]

well you see I have been given some logs from a chesnut tree, now I have never turned wood straight from the tree so'ta speak, I have always brought wood ready to turn from a dealer, so do I leave this wood to dry out for a year or so? or just get on and turn it.?
It is full of marbling/spalting???you know loads of black lines in the wood.
I have turned a piece just to see how it goes, and taking the outside wood off it very easy, but, when I took some wood out from the inside it is very fluffy?sorry but don't quite know how to describe it,is there some thing that I should coat the wood in before I turn it????to be able to get a better cut when taking the inside wood out,(tools are very,very sharp by the way)
Anyway, I had a play around with a small piece of this wood,sorry about the photo as it's not to good,but it might give you some idear as to what the wood looks like, after the bark has been taken off..
I can get a lot more of this wood, is it worth the trouble getting it?it is free, and worse comes to worse I can bung it on the fire:rolleyes: when winter sets in....

[TTIT]

'Spalting' is just an arty-farty word for 'rot' so if you are going to use it, the sooner the better :). The 'fluffiness' can be managed with thin CA just before you take your final cuts. There are other methods for holding the grain together but CA is the only one I've used.
In my book, any 'free' wood is worth chasing, even if you only use it for practise and jam chucks! ;)

[hughie]

BikerBoy,

As TTIT says free is good, take it all, store it and turn it. Spalting is good, do a search of the forum to see some good examples of spalted bowls.

You 'll have to forgive TTIT he comes from the country he aint so refined as us'n city folks.;) A spade is a spade :D :D :D 'arty farty' :D

[Farnk]

I agree free wood is good wood!
Just one note, if it is full of spalting, then use some form of respirator to prevent a nasty lung infection!

[rsser]

Consider rough turning a bowl with a wall thickness of around a tenth of the diam; cut a groove inside the bowl for chuck expansion when its dried to true the outside; seal the end grain and let her sit for a few months to dry.

Chk regularly in the beginning for checking; if some appears you can wrap the thing loosely in a plastic bag til it settles down.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Good advice so far... I'll agree that any free wood is good wood. ;)

If you plan to be turning anything larger than a pen then IMHO Ern's advice is the way to go.

For roughed, green blanks from timbers that I know are prone to checking, (like... most fruit trees. [sigh]) I'll throw the shavings from the roughing process into a small cardboard box, then place the sealed blank in the middle and put it in a cool, dark and dry place for a week or three. It's an idea to check regularly for signs of mould, too.

Once they no longer feel damp to the touch, then I'll remove 'em from the shavings (which are tossed in the compost), recoat with end-grain sealer and finish drying in the more usual manner...

[bikerboy]

right'o boys, thanks for the input,the wood feels quite damp,and I have put some shavings around some of it.
I am having to split the large logs with my axe:eek: as her indoors won't let me get a chainsaw,women, they just don't under stand:rolleyes: