If I were to

[mshel]

turn a bowl, vase, whatever from green wood, what precautions should I take to ensure it doesn't crack after drying? Or is this asking too much from the wood? I squirreled a couple pieces of the American sycamore which was trimmed in front of my shop and would like to do something with them.

MIke

 

[DaveO]

I think the secret is to slow down the drying rate or displace the moisture in the wood. I have heard of soaking in alcohol or soap solution to displace water from the wood cells and/or sealing in paper bags to slow the moisture loss, changing out the bags on a regular basis. Another school of thought is to let it dry and do what it wants to...creating art :lol: seeing as green wood turning is generally free wood and easy turning, you don't have much to lose if your art ends up not so artistic. Here is a little article or two that I found that has more information:
http://billswoodcreations.com/turn-green.html

http://www.customwooddesign.com/turninggreenwood-1.html

Dave

 

[walnutjerry]

turn a bowl, vase, whatever from green wood, what precautions should I take to ensure it doesn't crack after drying?
MIke

Mike-------I turn the green wood to approximate finished size and place in a plastic bag. Then every day take it out of the bag, turn the bad inside out and put it back in the bag. I keep doing that until I do not see or feel any moisture inside the bag.

I am sure there are more scientific ways but that works for me.

Jerry

 

[jtdums]

I've tried a variety of drying techniques. I had great success with the boiling protocol, but I found it too time intensive. Since I am basically lazy I vote for the bag method with frequent flipping of the bags. Look out for that mold! It starts fast and can be a health issue.

 

[Steve D]

I think CAD has a tutorial in the download library. Here