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Thread: almond wood
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3rd August 2011, 10:17 AM #1New Member
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almond wood
Hi there, i am a first time user of this forum. hope someone can help!!
i have sourced a good supply of almond tree wood to turn
it has great character, colour and grains
problem is that it is a bit green and as soon as i turn it, the piece cracks badly within 24 hours
can anyone advise on prevention of cracking
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3rd August 2011, 11:30 AM #2Senior Member
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Welcome aboard!
Green timber is allways prone to crack and split - first, are you turning the end grain or are you splitting down the log length ways and turning the "cheeks"?
If you are turning into the end grain of green timber then it is very probable it will split as it dries - nothing you can do but wait for the log to dry - this could take some time, the natural drying rate is about 25mm depth per year.
If you are turning across the grain there are a couple of options - the best is to rough turn your bowl but leave it thick, say 25mm, and put it somewhere to dry slowly, come back in 6 mths and finish it off -it will probably warp hence the thick walls. Sometimes it will crack anyway.
The second way is to turn the walls very thinly, say a couple of mm. and then pulse dry it in a microwave oven. Use the search feature on your page to do research , there is a truckload of info on just that point ,way too much to go into here. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Bruce.Three wise middle aged monkeys - "see no pot-belly, feel no bald spot, buy no sports car"
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7th August 2011, 12:39 PM #3
...what Bruce said.
Almond is nice wood to turn and looks good when finished but, like most fruit and nut woods, it's a bit tricky with the drying.
If you are going to turn the almond cross grain, suggest you split logs in half immediately, next consult as many threads on drying rough turnings as you can on the forum, and then rough turn ASAP, followed by your selected drying technique.
And welcome to the forum, David. It's good to have another Sth Ozzy on board.
Are you coming to SAturn11 this coming weekend?Stay sharp and stay safe!
Neil
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11th August 2011, 02:40 PM #4New Member
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thanks for the info bellyup
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11th August 2011, 02:45 PM #5New Member
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gday Bruce, thanks for the reply. i hadnt heard of SAturn11 and have missed it now as this is the first time back on the website. I went to woodfest last year at showgrounds and am disappointed it is not on here this year. can you let me know some details and i will not miss it next time.
what type of timber do you like for bowl turning around our area?
cheers
Dave
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11th August 2011, 10:16 PM #6
Hello David I turned some green Almond wood about six months ago. Turning into the grain, I turned it very Thin about 3mm I then sealed it with Linseed oil and and wrapped it in Cling Wrap leaving a small hole in the opening and left to dry so far it hasn't cracked, see pics.
Cheers Tony.
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12th August 2011, 12:42 AM #7
Hi Dave
My preferred local woods up here in the Adelaide Hills are blackwood, sheoak, silkyoak, and blue and redgum. Old fence posts are a favourite. Will also turn any locally grown orchard woods or European exotics that come my way. The olive trees that grow wild around our areas are also worthy of attention.
.Stay sharp and stay safe!
Neil
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16th August 2011, 12:32 PM #8New Member
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thanks Tony, i will give it a try
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20th August 2011, 06:30 PM #9Hewer of wood
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Nice work Tony.
davidmu, you can't rough turn all of your haul I expect but as you say, the grain is spekky.
I've blocked down a bunch into octagonal bowl blanks and most have failed, even with end-grain sealer and/or plakky bags. That was with a bootload of the stuff.
My guess is that the cracks start in the fairly thick layer of darker fibre under the bark and you have more chance of success if you get rid of all of that when blocking down or rough turning.
Good luck with it.Cheers, Ern
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20th August 2011, 09:20 PM #10
By nature Almond wood as a tendency to Crack and twist as it drys ,
That's why I turned mine green, it will deform as it drys but hopefully it wan't, crack so far so good.
Cheers Tony.
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