# drying green wood for turning



## turnandburn (Apr 11, 2010)

need some help...
I just recieved a boat load of black walnut to do some turning. Question is how do I slowdown the drying and how long do I dry it b4
I can turn it with out messing up the projects? anyony, Help please..


----------



## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

turnandburn said:


> need some help...
> I just recieved a boat load of black walnut to do some turning. Question is how do I slowdown the drying and how long do I dry it b4
> I can turn it with out messing up the projects? anyony, Help please..


 
go over to the wood turnning form Probly get a answare their Most turn green than dry i belive soaking in *wood alcohol* than drying Check their


----------



## hdschoedel (Apr 7, 2010)

I'm struggling with the same thing. So far I have had the best luck Rough turning green. Thickness should be about 10% of the diameter. Then I store it in a paper bag along with some of the shavings and set it on a shelf in the basement. The downside is that it will take at least 2 months before it is ready to finish (most likely far longer). I have elm blanks that are almost 4 months old and seem as green as the day I turned them but Cherry seems ready to finish after only about 2 months. The upside is that I have never had anything crack that didn't already have stress fractures. I've tried to speed it up in different ways with mixed success. I think the rule of thumb is that thicker blanks dry slower and are more likely to crack while thinner blanks dry quickly but warp more. Keep in mind that I've only been turning green wood for about 4 months


----------



## jlhaslip (Jan 16, 2010)

You might want to use an end seal product if the wood is still in log form. That will slow down the drying, but it will alao avoid splitting or checking.


----------



## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

If you can afford it anchorseal is the product to coat the ends with. In what form is this boat load of walnut. If it is longer log form you can just leave it and cut away the splits when ready to cut some turning blanks. It wastes some wood but anchorseal isn't that cheap either. You could also use a couple of coats of latex paint although it is claimed to not to be as good a solution as anchorseal.

As far as turning, rough turn it green and let it dry. Of course this depends on what you are turning. So the next question is what do you want to turn? 

Let us know more and we can help you more. And congrats. I love turning walnut.


----------



## hdschoedel (Apr 7, 2010)

what is the best (cheapest) end sealer? Is Anchorseal the only game in town?


----------



## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I use Anchorseal. It's not cheap but does go a long way. That being said it's not a cure all. It' better than latex paint, glue, and I've even tried roofing tar (mostly because I had it). Anchorseal is a wax based product that is water soluble so it's easy to clean up. In fact I just leave the brush laying out without cleaning it. The Fresh Anchorseal softens it so I can use it over and over.
Anchorseal is a temporary fix for whole logs. It will not stop the checking. It might give you a few more weeks before it starts to check and may slow down the checking but if you leave a log out in the sun and wind unprotected it will still check badly in fairly short order. 
If I know I can't get to something soon I cover the end with a plastic garbage bag. That causes mold but does give me a few more weeks to get to the log. I still cut the first couple of inches off before taking a bowl from it.
Walnut is better than most woods for keeping in my area. I cut the logs up into 5 foot sections and stand them on end. This protects the bottom end. Then I coat the top end with Anchorseal snd put a bag over the end. The Anchorseal cuts down on the mold and the bag cuts down on the wind and sun. 
For long term storage I split the wood at the heart, saw off blanks about 3" on each end longer than my bowl blank. If it's small enough I dip the ends in parrafin wax that I keep in a used electric skillet. This has proven to be very effective. If It's too big for the electric skillet I just put a couple of coats of Anchorseal on and Then try to get to these pieces first. 
For serious long term storage I cut the bowl or vessel blank to size and coat the whole thing in wax by rolling it in the skillet. These blanks are stored inside on a concrete floor out of the weather and away from the bugs. They will last for a year or more and stay totally green.
I have started drying smaller pieces that are 4x4 or smaller. I leave them about 15 to 24" long and seal the ends with wax. Then they are stored inside out of the weather and on concrete floor or shelves. Sometimes I loose a couple of inches off the ends but the rest usually dries in a few years. I just started doing doing this so don't have long term drying times on the 4" pieces. The smaller pieces don't seem to take the "year per inch" drying time usually quoted. It could simply be my location and storage temperatures.


----------



## AWNAK (May 16, 2013)

*Microwaving is the answer for green turning*



turnandburn said:


> need some help...
> I just recieved a boat load of black walnut to do some turning. Question is how do I slowdown the drying and how long do I dry it b4
> I can turn it with out messing up the projects? anyone, Help please..


 I have been turning green wood for 20+ years and vary rarely have the bowls cracked. I first turn the blank so the walls are between 7/8 to 1 inch thick. I then microwave the rough turned blank (obviously has to fit in microwave) for between 2.5 and 4 minutes (depending on the size of the blank). The larger the blank the more time you can "cook it". When it comes out of the oven, you should be able to hold it in your hands without your having to let it go. If you can' hold it, you cooked it too long. Let the bowl cool off completely and microwave it again for less time, maybe 30 seconds less. If you have a digital scale, you weigh the blank after it cools and when the weight is the same, you are finished. I have a moister meter so I keep microwaving till the moisture is down to between 8 and 12 %. You might have to microwave it 5 or more times. I then can put the blank aside and finish turning it at anytime. Tomorrow, next week, next year,etc. I did a birch bowl 20 years ago with the half the heartwood on the rim and there is not one crack in it to this day. One caution, since the microwave cooks from the inside out, if you cook it too long, the bowl will be charred on the inside but you will not see it until you turn it down to finish thickness. So don't cook it too long! The entire process takes a few hours compared to trying to age the log for a year or more.
AWNak


----------



## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I rough turn too many to microwave them. I often do bowls that are too big for the microwave. I just seal the endgrain portions of the bowls and put them up in my shop. I usually start them on the floor so the moisture leaves slower. Then after a few months I move them up to the shelves. 
If you keep your eyes peeled you will find lots of wood. Rough turn all you can and put them up. You'll lose some to checks but you will eventually find what works in your part of the world. In about 6 months or so you will start having lots of dry bowls to work with. What I do now Is rough turn some and when I get bored with that I pull down some dry ones to actually finish a bowl. Now I always have more dry that need turning so it's not a problem findind wood for a bowl.


----------

