Haven’t done much turning with green wood. I have some fresh cherry and maple but need to know what products I can put on the end grain to keep it from checking?
What are the products I can order? (I’ll assume more costly)
and what are the products I can buy at big box store?
All wisdom and experience will be appreciated.
Alan – planesaw
Replies
Alan,
I use a wax emulsion sold as an end grain sealer. There are numerous other product that work too, but they often involve soaking the wood in them. Examples include dishwashing detergent, Pentacryl, PEG (polyethelene glycol), denatured alcohol. I find that the best thing to do is to turn the bowl green to a thin wall and let it dry with no treatment. The thin walls dry evenly and prevent cracking. However, this method does not work well leaving enough wall thickness to come back and turn the bowl round after it settles. If you turn the walls thicker (1/2"-1" thick) to allow remounting on the lathe to turn true, I'd suggest packing it in a cardboard box with the wet shavings from the turning session and letting it dry for a week or two. The aforementioned products work as well.
My bowls usually have a wall thickness of less than 3/16". The biggest bowls I turn are about 8" diameter (10" capacity lathe).
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
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