Our big willow’s going to be chipped up soon, and I’d like to save some for turning if possible. Can anyone(s) give me the basics on what part of the trunk to cut, how to cut it and what to do with it aftewards? We have about 4 feet of the widest part of the trunk left, ~2 feet in diameter, and one limb that’s nearly 12″ in diameter.
If you know of a web site with instructional pictures, that’d be great. Neither of my turning books have any info. Here’s the part that’s gone on to a new life:
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
forestgirl;
It is generally best to use the largest portions of the trunk for bowl blanks. Because the pith is the area of greatest shrinkage and stress when dried, it is good basic strategy to cut your blanks from the sides of the logs so that the center pith areas are split or sawn away.
Ripcutting with a chain saw is a little tricky... it helps to cut at a diagonal so that you don't get excessively long strings of chip material which clog the saw.
Blanks should be cut ASAP and their ends sealed with paint, wax or special coatings to retard excess splitting on the ends caused by excessively fast drying.
It is a good idea to turn ASAP to roughed out dimensions. I like the soap treatment after that to minimize splits from drying. If you can't turn everything up right away don't get in a lather over it... I have found some really great spalted wood at times when I've been delayed in getting to my green blanks. If drying conditions are way too fast put your logs in garbage bags to slow things way down. The garbage bags are too much retardant for dead green logs though... let em dry a bit first.
There's no simple, foolproof method... it's an artful enterprise. Have a lotta fun and work each chunk with your natural love of wood. You'll get some junk but also some encouraging pieces and (maybe) some real artwork!
I know that you are in the greater Seattle area and there's lotsa skilled woodworkers there. Numerous books deal with this in more detail than I can go into here. There are also lots of turning websites and forums on the web. Some have a lot of info on the dish detergent drying methods. Check out your library or just go to the book store (you can get the main ideas from looking at the illustrations if you'd rather not buy the book just then).
Thanks for the details! I'll get my bee-hind over to the library and see what I can find. So busy this summer, it's hard to settle in on a book, but I don't want what wood is left to go to waste. If I'd-a known I was going to get a lathe, I might not have let so much of the tree go!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hey jamie, I like to leave my logs in the largest format possible until I am ready to cut off a blank to turn. I paint the end-grain with exterior latex primer, and leave them laying right on the ground.
If I notice any checking start, I will sometimes hose them down. I would think that in your cooler more moist climate that this should work better there than here where it gets a lot hotter and drier.
The cutting into blanks and waxing thing is something that needs to be done to supply the market for those who don't have access to trees like yours.
However, Willow is not one of the woods that has much resistance to insects or decay, so I would try to get started asap. Otherwise, it will likely start getting stained by the decay.
Hi, Keith, thanks for the info. This stuff (willow) practically dissolves in our weather, LOL. We had a huge branch fall of several years ago, and it didn't take long for it to decompose. I'll get some research done early this week, and see what seems best.
The bottom of the trunk split really badly when the tree fell. The part that's still in the ground is a loss, but the next section up might yield some blanks.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
"Food for thought" The chunks you don't turn can be inoculated with mushroom spore plugs. Fresh Sh-taki or Oyster mushrooms sauteed in butter "Is a good thing" as Martha would say.
For some reason this site wouldn't accept the proper spelling of sh-taki ;-) ?
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Edited 8/26/2007 2:50 pm ET by BruceS
Edited 8/26/2007 2:51 pm ET by BruceS
Edited 8/26/2007 2:54 pm ET by BruceS
It does if you put the right number of i's in it: shiitake.
-Steve ;-)
I think we could have a forest of willows if we simply planted the branches! Every time we have a chunk of willow branch down (like when we cut off the one that kept hitting us in the head), it sprouts!! all along the branch, a whole bunch of mini-willows. Too funny.
Did you hear on the news (I listen to NPR mostly) about the mushroom farmer who lost everything when one of the rivers flooded the other day?? They lost their climate control in the building and all the mushroom logs and their mushrooms and whatever else there is in one of those buildings were a total loss. Poor guy, it'll take him about 8 months to get everything disinfected and restarted. Community has rallied around him though -- he was pretty choked up in the interview. Good people!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie: Here's a link to a site by Bill Grumbine with a pictorial on how to chop up the stuff:
http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/logcutting.html
Dennis
That's perfect Oatman, thanks so, so much!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Dear forestgirl,
Check the video in the turning section of the web site (it's under skills and techniques, then under specialty skills).
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=5280
Hope this helps.
David Heim
Managing Editor, FWW.com
Fantastic, David, thanks so much! Of course, I was entranced and watched all of the videos, not just cutting the blank. Definitely in trouble now -- can feel the pull of the Dark Side.
There's a cherry tree in our yard that someone (not us) topped years ago, it's got two burls growing on it. Really want to get good enough at turning that I feel OK about cutting them off and turning them into something cool!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
So glad you have ignored all of the warnings about turning being addictive ;-) Cherry Burls have to be the worst thing to turn but I would give them a try if you want to get rid of them. I have seen a 3' dia. cherry burl in the local district park but just can't figure out how to convince them that its harmful to the tree and that it should be removed by me.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
"...but just can't figure out how to convince them that its harmful to the tree and that it should be removed by me." ROFL!!! I'll just leave these little ones alone until I get (a) skilled and (b) inspired. Maybe next spring or so? Not likely to find another one soon, for sure, so want to do my best with these!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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