Thread: Red Gum Sapwood

Hi Nalmo

Some photos may help but I have had logs cut into blanks and slabs with the sap wood still on and they were ok. But I'm no expert and only know about the timber I have used. I normally try a bit of both and see what happens.I'm sure someone else will have more in depth knowledge for you

Hope I have helped even if it is a small bit

Haven't had trouble with the sapwood but mine was grey and didn't look too flash.

I like the sap wood. But I like any bit of variation though. I think it is the "heart wood" that causes havoc in drying. Not sure why. DJ knows, I should think.

Originally Posted by nalmo

I have just received some 400mm dia red gum logs which I have halved some, slabbed others.
I've already roughed out the outside for a bowl from one piece, and was wondering if I should remove all the paler sapwood or not. I quite like the look of the paler timber, but was concerned it may shrink differently to the heartwood and cause cracking as it dries.
Has anyone had any problems with leaving the sapwood?

I found that if you rough out the bowl and let it sit for a week you shouldn't have any problems , I've done RG bark to bark as a bowl and had no dramas mine was around the 300 mm mark

you want it to dry out a bit before you sand it and finish to get the best results

I liked the pale contrast too thats why I originally tried it

Cheers
Glenn

Pretty much luck of the draw for me. Contrast of sapwood and heartwood looks good if it's reasonably centred; not so great if it isn't. Warping of the rough blank can be corrected by re-turning, and cracks can be over-filled with epoxy and ground whatever, then turned and sanded flush for a nice "design feature."

Joe