# Is green wood prone to tear out?



## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I can turn dry wood tear out free, so I know my tools are sharp. But I rough turned some cherry bowls and they all look like this.


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## cuerodoc (Jan 27, 2012)

Great question. 
Think you'll find that it varies from species to species. When some are green the fibers are a bit more springy so they will stretch a little bit when the blade edge comes by & not retract all the way--not so much when they're dry. (Forget which shaving commercial visualizes that--except the whiskers pulled back to under the skin) Plus there's some difference between the spring and fall wood-rings.
If you're turning green then letting them "dry", I believe what you are seeing will improve as the wood dries. 
I'm sure others will give some more info.


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## jgilfor (Jan 25, 2013)

Are you sure that's cherry?
As stated above, some green wood species are prone to tear out more than the dry version, but I have never had that problem with cherry (sour, black, or otherwise).
It's not just tool sharpness that will ensure a clean cut. You must make your finishing cuts in a wood fiber supported fashion. That means, on the outside of a vessel, you need to cut from narrow end towards the wide end (usually foot to rim). On the inside, it's variable based upon the shape of the vessel, but usually bottom out for final finishing cuts. That means you'll need to develope your pull, sheer, and scraper techniques if you want to save sandpaper and time in finishing.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

Yes I am sure is is cherry. I will post more pictures later.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

Ok here is some more pictures. It rained last night so they are wet.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Once in a while you get a wood that just won't cut when really wet. I had some Walnut that did that not long ago. I try using freshly sharpened tools or even a tool with a more acute cutting tip if I can. Sometimes I will put thinned lacquer on the wood to stiffen the fibers.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

Was the tree still alive or was it dead, but still wet? Sometimes that makes a difference and sometimes wood just wants to tear out on the end grain. If that happens, I try to keep my gouge really sharp and lower the tool handle way-way down and do a shearing cut. Even that doesn't always completely stop the end grain from tearing out.

I currently have a bunch of ambrosia maple rough turned bowls that will be donated to Empty Bowls. When the wood was wet, it was really stringy and it kept balling up on the cutting edge which meant that I had to stop often to clear the tip of the gouge. There was also a little tearout on the end grain. They are now dry enough to do the finish turning and based on the fact that it is creating so much dust, my guess is that the tree was probably dead and not quite as solid as a living tree would have been.


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

Not positive but it looks to be dead or diseased. The one edge farthest from the pith has that color to it. I'm not a turner but a sawyer and the color favors that also in the turned piece....and with cherry as most other wood, the sap wood goes softer first but the heart in cherry is more resistant than most hardwoods and will stay stabile longer.

This picture is an extremely exaggerated example but you can see the depth pattern it will take and the heart holds good. Yours appears to be a limb and the sapwood is usually a little thicker and the heartwood has more sap pockets from my experience when sawing. 









I hope this helps. Your edge should be good...just softer to turn.

Hey Bill you typed it quicker than I....LOL!! (edit)


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I don't know if the tree was dead or alive. The log was less than 8 feet so a sawmill gave it to me. It was 14 inches in diameter so it wasn't a limb.


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