Thread: Handling green Silky Oak for turning purposes

All I know is that it splits like crazy. When ever I have come across it it always had split badly. However having removed the pith and sealed the ends it should be fine. Otherwise the usual stuff. Just keep out of the sun and off the ground.

Looking forward to having a look at them.

Thanks TS.

PM sent.

You'll need to give it a good wetting of Borax in very hot water or something similar 'cos the grubs do love the stuff. An odd thing silky can do is get internal shakes when sliced in thick chunks like around the 3" to 4" mark. Have seen slabs that look rock-solid cut open to find shakes 1/2' wide in places - but there's not Jack you can do about it so you just cross your fingers and forget about them for a couple of years

Yes, I have. Many thanks Vern.

I'll move the stuff onto the concrete shed floor before p*ssing off to Unzud early tomorrow. Not too many bugs I know of in the shed and it'll have to do til I get back.

Originally Posted by rsser

I'm wondering how prone the sapwood might be to infestation,

Sealed ends will minimise spliting...
If the sap wood isn't already turned to powder then your lucky... "borax" or simliar will slow them down... but all sap should be removed.

We converted a 20" log into bards on Wednesday. the waste pile was bigger then the boards! wasn't neatly stacked or anything... but get rid of the sap... even if it survives the drying with out being eaten, it's alot softer then the good wood, and it dificult to finish. and is grubby white in colour.

Good Luck Ern

hello, i presume the principles will be the same for preventing wood splitting the world over!
in the u.k if i want to reduce splitting i also reduce airflow, aswell as keeping it out of the sun etc.

Thanks guys.

The sapwoods shouldn't be used at all....is my understanding. It falls apart.

There was a door my boss made at his place. And he left a little sap wood in the top rail, thinking it wouldn't be noticed. Its became soft and fell away.

And whenever silkyoak comes through the joinery, the saps always pinholed somewhere amongst the stacks. And I always rip it off completely. Don't like doing it. seems like a waste. and there can be a lot of it.

I'm no expert, but the impression I've got is, when the bugs get a chance they only bother with the sap wood. so no big deal, since it deteriates anyway and shouldn't be used..but don't take my word for it.

Hmm, have only turned one bit with sapwood left in at a platter edge and it worked OK (that was out of a dried blank).

But then there's a whole bunch of Silky Oak varieties so it may be horses for courses.

All the stuff I have tried in the past from wet wood has been Grevillea robusta & it has cracked radially while drying & the sapwood has had blue stain develop in it.
I split the dried logs along the cracks & used it to make tool handles.

The next lot I cut up & rough turned it wet.
No cracking so far but one piece is a bit too thin & it has warped so much that I won't be about to remount it & turn it again.
I'll probly just finish it with a power sander the way it is.

Hmm. I was assuming this lot was GR.

Will see what's happened when I get from the land of the long white cloud.

(Sth Island should be named the land of rivers of rock.).

Trashed my knee skiing today. B*gger!

Oww... can you ski one legged?

Yeah, the fastest Oz downhill skier does it on one leg. Cracks awesome speeds.

Cripples rule OK!

Just checked the pile.

I wasn't able to get it all under cover before rushing off to NZ couple of weeks ago. Four bits left in the open - two bits were stacked cut faces together and developed blue stain in the sapwood. There's no end-grain checking and just some opening along a sapline on one piece.

The rest was under a tarp and looks OK.

Dunno what the weather was like here; prob not too hot so I've been lucky.

Thanks again for all the tips.