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18/05/2010 4:04 AM

apple wood stump

My neighbour finally dug the apple stump out of the ground. This is
about 2ft in diameter and weighs about 160 lb. I've heard several
ways to dry out the burled wood without cracking, but I've never tried
one before.

Has anyone ever done a dry out on a stump burl without it cracking?

Should get some nice turnings out of this thing.

P

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Andy Dingley

in reply to [email protected] on 18/05/2010 4:04 AM

18/05/2010 6:42 AM

On 18 May, 05:04, [email protected] wrote:

> Has anyone ever done a dry out on a stump burl without it cracking?

Bigger it is, harder it is to dry - so a basic principle is to reduce
it in size ASAP. If there are obvious turning blanks, then cut it
down to them while it's green.

If you can rough turn to reduce thickness, even better. This
encourages the strains to warp and twist it, rather than splitting.
Rough turning a thick-walled bowl is a good idea, but you don't even
need a lathe at this point - For big blanks I usually use an Arbortech
carving disk as part of my initial balancing, and I can simply leave
them like that for initial drying.

If you want an easier life turning of course, then rough turn it green
right now, just because the wood is easier to turn in this condition.

Shape scraps into usable blanks too. Apple wood is useful in small
pieces, so if it's big enough to chuck in the lathe, it's big enough
to make something from. If it's not big enough to chuck, buy yourself
a pair of ring centres 8-)

Then coat it with your favoured end grain sealer. A wax emulsion
(turning suppliers) is best. Emulsion (latex?) paint is OK, if it's
what you have. Hot wax isn't any use (unless you're dipping pen
blanks). It should then be stored in an unheated, undried shed, but
not _too_ damp. If it's in the workshop, put the blanks in taped paper
bags too. Don't use polythene bags, or you'll get mould.

Don't wet-turn any thinner than an inch thick as yet, as the warping
is likely to be enough that otherwise you'll not have enough timber
left to flatten it afterwards. Unless of course you're after
deliberate warping as a feature.

bb

"basilisk"

in reply to [email protected] on 18/05/2010 4:04 AM

18/05/2010 6:21 AM


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My neighbour finally dug the apple stump out of the ground. This is
> about 2ft in diameter and weighs about 160 lb. I've heard several
> ways to dry out the burled wood without cracking, but I've never tried
> one before.
>
> Has anyone ever done a dry out on a stump burl without it cracking?
>
> Should get some nice turnings out of this thing.
>
Remove any parts that are obviously useless, if you can
envision what you want to make, go ahead and
cut the stump up in pieces and coat the cuts with
wax or cheap latex paint, place pieces where they won't
dry too quickly.

As an alternative, you can rough out your turnings
and then dry them, but it has to be done before much drying
occurs, then seal the end grain and put in a paper bag
until dry.

If you cut the stump up in to thick sections it may take a
couple of years to dry, much less for roughed out turnings,
plan on a year per inch of thickness.

Don't give up on a piece that has cracked, sometimes
cracks will close up on their own as drying progresses.

Fruit woods are notorious for splitting, cracking and warping.
Keeping your fingers crossed works well too.

basilisk


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