# Redbud for turning



## Jdetter (Jul 6, 2014)

Any idea what price I should ask for this pile of redbud logs?


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## Cicolid (Apr 10, 2010)

I can see that the log is already splitting in the centre & around the edges.
I would suggest you re-cut each end & apply timber sealer ASAP.
If you don't have any sealer get some PVA glue & mix 50/50 with water then apply ASAP...

HTH
Col


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

I have cut down a couple redbuds in my back yard and it has a really bad habit of splitting from the day it was cut. The wood is beautiful , but seems to be unstable as the dickens. Even though it is small in diameter, you should have cut the pith out of it to try to minimize splitting. As it is, the wood is worthless. I can see numerous cracks already radiating from the pith as well as numerous splits in the sapwood.

I cut some thin planks from green redbud many years ago and there was a lot of really beautiful iridescent colors in the wood, but they quickly disappeared in a few days as the wood dried. It's too bad that there isn't a way to capture the beauty that only gets seen by the person who cuts the wood.


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## Gary B (Jan 30, 2019)

I had to cut down a Red Bud with a 10 inch early last spring.

I cut the trunk and branches to about 18 inches and placed them in a closet in my unheated garage.

I was hoping to use them for turning things on a lathe.

I looked at them every now and them and they looked fine.

I went to get some for a project and all the pieced were split badly.

Unfortunately, I'll be luck to get and pieces larger than one inch square and maybe 6 fo 8 inches long.

i have done the same with oak and maple without a problem.

Why does Red Bud split so badly?


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

My Guess is that it's a tree that holds a lot of water and when the ends are exposed and it starts to dry, it cracks. I'd also imagine that when left in log form, the bark also holds in some moisture and the only way out is the ends where it escapes too quickly and cracks. I've had good luck cutting logs into oversize turning squares and then waxing the ends and waiting, waiting, waiting.

Right now, I've got a short section of pine log coated with Pentacryl. We'll see how it goes.


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