Finding Wood and when can I turn

[bfrikken]

My FIL was over and really took to turning pens this past weekend. He has a lot of property, and I'll be heading his way this coming weekend. We talked about scouring his property for some various possibilities for wood. He already has a couple black wallnut logs that are waiting for bandsawing (been drying for a while). I was wondering what I should be looking for that may give us some neat pen blanks or possible small bowl/vase options.

Then the next question is, how long does anything have to dry before I can turn it? I've seen many talk about turning green wood, but I was wondering if that was a bad idea for pens. I have enough blanks to keep me busy for a while, so I'm not in a hurry, just curious.

Also, if I find some wood that looks nice, do I cut it into blanks to dry? Or should I leave it in "log/branch" from to dry ?

[Russianwolf]

You can do bowls and vases green, not pens.

As the wood dries, it shrinks and would cause a pen to crack if you turned it while green (assuming you have a tube it in, no tube might be okay).

If you cut the blanks to rough size of 1x1x6 it would cut the drying time down, then you can also use a microwave to steam the moisture out faster by zapping it for 15-20 seconds then letting it cool. You simply keep zapping it until there is very little moisture/steam coming out.

Best stuff to look for? Burls. Wood that may be spaulted. Box Elder since it can have those great red streaks if it's distressed. Also a lot of the shrubs have nice wood for pens that people never see in larger projects as the wood never gets to any real size, redbud is one of those.

[gerti]

Remember that logs intended for bowl turning should have their endgrain sealed as soon as possible after cutting them. It only takes a few days to create cracks that go inches deep into the wood. There are special wax-based sealers, but some old paint you no longer trust for it's intended purposes may work too.

[bfrikken]

Remember that logs intended for bowl turning should have their endgrain sealed as soon as possible after cutting them. It only takes a few days to create cracks that go inches deep into the wood. There are special wax-based sealers, but some old paint you no longer trust for it's intended purposes may work too.

Yeah, good point. One of the black walnut logs wasn't sealed the other was. So we'll be cutting the one that wasn't into some pen blanks probably. It's all cracked and we can't tell but it looks like it goes all the way through in multiple spots.

[Russianwolf]

Oh, and if you do decide to turn a green blank as a bowl or whatnot, invest in a pancho. It gets messy.