How to Prep some Birch Wood

[Scott Kuykendall]

The guy next door had a Birch tree cut down so I grabbed some of the biggest Dia. stuff there was. Its from 9" to 7" around and cut to 3 feet long. I am just starting out turning and have done some pens and Bottle Stoppers on my Rickon Mini. I sealed the ends with Anchor Seal right after they where cut. I know they are a little on the small size for bowls and I am not able to rough anything out right now, so is there anything else I need to do the the logs right now?
When I am ready to use it do I need to cut the pith out and just cut the rest up into usable sized for smaller spindle turnings? Heres a pic of the wood.
Thanks Scott

 

[Gofor]

If you are going to keep them "in the round", you may want to wrap them in plastic or heavy cloth to slow down the drying of the sides, which will split if they dry too fast. Keep them sheltered from rain and sun. You want them to stay moist enough not to split, but not wet enough to encourage mold and mildew.

As for blanks and cutting the pith out of birch, I'll leave that to the turning experts.

JMTCW

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