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Turning Green... "Practice turning green wood whenever possible - easier to cut and less dust than with seasoned." James Thompson This is a very good idea. It is not only good for practice turning, but is also helpful when turning a bowl you want to use, because turning green wood is about 10 times easier than turning dry wood. Much work will be eliminated. Rough out the shape from Green wood, but leave the walls about 1" to 1.5" thick (the larger the diameter of the bowl, the thicker the wall). The green wood is going to contract across the grain, but will be dry in a few months. The thick walls will leave a true round bowl within the distorted dry/rough shape. One key to this technique is to control the rate of drying. I usually coat the rough turned green bowl with paraffin I get (cheap) at the grocery. Just hold the block of wax in your hand while the lather rotates. A thick build-up will quickly result. Next, grab a handful of shavings and burnish the wax into the wood. Now, take the rough bowl off the lathe and let it dry. It the wood is prone to split more than others (e.g. Apple, pear and other fruitwoods) I usually also wrap the roughed out bowl in one or two paper bags, or if I am very concerned I might slow down the drying process by putting the bowl in a plastic bag. This may increase the drying time to about 6 months or more, but I seldom loose a rough turned bowl blank to splitting or checking. Best to all, |
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