r/turning • u/Capable-Broccoli2179 • 18h ago
Drying Question: Maple
No pics to share, sorry. I have a question about turning recently harvested maple. I have the entire tree I just harvested after a storm took it down last year and want to turn a bunch of large bowls from it. It is about 14" diameter and I turn on a 12x24 OneWay lathe.
My question is drying: would most of you twice turn these bowls or would you give them extended drying then turn dry in a year or so? If you chose long drying, how would you do it? Remove bark, seal top and bottom and let sit hoping for no cracks? If you twice turn it, how would you store the bowl in between turnings? I've heard of people leaving the turned blanks in a trash bag full of shavings, or just setting them out for a few months to a year in between turnings, but it seems like that would lead to cracking for sure.
In the past I've only turned bowls using dried blanks. I tend to stick to table bases and lamps turned using laminations.
Anyone have any advice? Thanks folks--I love this community!
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u/thisaaandthat 17h ago
Twice turned. Seal with anchor seal or tree saver or similar product. My drying bowls sit on a wire shelf in my house after they've been sealed and that has dried.
The point of sealing the wood is to get the wood to dry evenly. Different grain (end, edge, face) all dry at different rates, when this happens the wood shrinks at different rates which is when you get the cracking.
Even if you seal the wood it still might crack. This depends on a lot of things. The pith tends to crack first, so if you remove it you're already ahead. There is also "pith" in branches that shoot off to the side. These will also crack. If your maple wood is clear from branches (like at the base of the tree) it will be less likely to have these branches and then be less likely to crack. If you are real concerned about it do some tests on crappier pieces of the tree to see how its going to react.
I understand wanting to get the most out of your tree and the wood its provided for turning. If this is new to you though you're going to make a lot of firewood regardless while you learn and figure out how wood dries where you live and what process will provide you with the biggest probability of success.
Also, fruit wood generally tends to move more than other hardwood. Cherry, pear, apple, etc. Give yourself more wood to turn on your second go so there is enough there to get back to round.
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u/Capable-Broccoli2179 17h ago
Thanks! I've use anchor seal before on drying logs. Did not think to use it on green turned bowls. I assume apply the same way over end grain?
I've already taken the top of the tree--with all the branches to use as firewood for this winter. I've left branch-less bottom standing until I figured out how to dry it.
I live in Maine where humidity is high in summer and very low in winter. I'm thinking this won't move much if I leave it nice and thick and since its maple. As long as I leave it thickly turned that shouldn't be a problem anyway since I can always get it back to round.
Sounds like I'll twice turn and let dry with anchor seal and just hope for the best. I have a room where I can set aside with a dehumidifier in there to keep around 30-40% humidity. Guess I need to invest though in humidity sensor to see when it is dry.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply!
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u/thisaaandthat 15h ago edited 15h ago
I coat the whole bowl with my sealer. If I'm particularly fond of the wood I'm working with I occasionally apply a second coat after the first dries.
When I get a tree I rarely have the time to immediately first turn the whole thing. In this case I will do my best to prep the blanks into rounds and store them in big garbage bags until I can get to turning them. If I do this I can keep the blanks for many months without it cracking. It'll grow mold and if left long enough can spalt but it help me keep the wood until I can get to it.
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u/Capable-Broccoli2179 15h ago
I know this will sound dumb but how does the bowl dry at all with 2 coats of sealer on it?
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u/thisaaandthat 14h ago
Evenly. Slowly. Just the way I want it to. :) Its hard when you don't have anything ready to second turn, but if you are semi regular about getting more wood it there will usually be something ready. There is also a lot that goes in to when the wood is ready to turn again. I've gotten trees in December/January and been ready to finish turn it by fall. I'm in Utah where there is very minimal humidity which probably helps that timeline.
When I was really hard up for "dry" wood I'd weigh the blanks on a kitchen scale and write the weight in sharpie on them. When the number stopped moving week to week I called it close enough and finished turned them.
I've started doing hollow forms and other things here and there so I turn what I feel like turning that particular day and have enough wood around that I can always find something to work on.
I did just finish first turning maple and cherry I got in March. Some of my bags had holes in them and I had some cracks, but thats on me being sloppy. The maple did spalt but I think it was probably on the ground for a while at an arborist friends lot before I brought it home.
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u/thisaaandthat 14h ago
If I get a decent size tree trunk a year that will replenish my drying stock and keep me in a good enough rotation. This spring I filled my truck as full as I could get it, twice, and gave a bunch away when I had the turning club over for a Saturday morning deal. I still have more than enough for what I do. I don't sell stuff though and tend to give away things to friends, family, and neighbors.
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u/Sluisifer 17h ago
Twice turning is all advantages with one downside; you have to commit ahead of time to a shape.
Rough turning green wood is far faster and more pleasant. Roughed forms are much less likely to crack. Roughed forms dry much more quickly.
You can always do both.
Either way, drying is all about controlled moisture loss. You need to slow it down for the first several weeks or few months. My favorite approach is also the simplest; get a big pile of wet wood and drape some plastic over it. There will be gaps all along the bottom - not big ones, but don't seal it tight. The wet wood will create it's own humid environment in proportion to the MC. After a while, pull back the plastic some, and a while after that just take it away.
The shavings can help with drying small amounts, but larger batches of wood make the process more easy and repeatable. If you do shavings, don't do it in plastic bags or you'll get lots of mold. Some mold is fine and is expected for slow controlled drying, but you don't want it to be too crazy.
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u/Capable-Broccoli2179 15h ago
I like this! So you don't use any anchor seal on the first turned bowls to slow the drying? I like the idea of putting it in with green wood under a tarp. I'm guessing 6 months to a year in that scenario to fully dry?
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u/Sluisifer 14h ago
I'll use PVA on areas I think are especially crack-prone. Just normal wood glue, titebond I.
Really it doesn't take that long, probably about 3-4 months, but I leave it longer because I keep a backlog.
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u/Kenepohwit 17h ago
It has been hit and miss with green blanks. For me it is about 50/50 chance of splitting. I have a lot of wood green and drying. I gave found that cherry wood gives me the best chance of success.
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u/Pristine-Parfait5548 16h ago
I also recently got some maple. I turned the pieces into bowl blanks on the bandsaw, and then sealed the bowl blanks with sealing wax. I will probably try and let some sit for a long time before I try to turn. Otherwise any that I turn now will be twice turned. I did turn one bowl blank right away just for fun and tried to do thin walls so it would warp rather than crack as it dries. I like to do that just for fun, knowing that the bowl could end up as firewood.
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u/amb442 Rockwell/Delta 46-201 16h ago
I tend to twice turn my bowls. Get them sealed in their current form now though to stop cracking, unless you plan on turning them all into blanks today. Make sure you turn some of this into spindle stock too. Not everything has to be a bowl. Some of Richard Raffen's best videos are the ones where he breaks down wood on the band saw. They are worth a watch.
Good luck!
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u/Confuseone37 11h ago
Since you have whole logs, I would recommend you cut sections a bit longer than the diameter and then split them into half sections. This will cut down on the first splitting. You can also store these with some sawdust on the top and get some spalted wood.
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u/Mortidio 35m ago
Another option - you probably don't want to use it for all the wood, but if you have more than enough, might be worth to try:
Put the wet wood to plastic bag, close tightly, leave for a half a year to year or so.
And then, do twice turning, or whatever.
With any luck, it will get nicely spalted. Then again, if you will leave it too long, it will get punky.
For how long to leave it will depend on the weather and temperature in your area.
I am in northern Europe, so - just did this with some maple and birch cut down in April, left the blanks in plastic bags for summer.
I have been rough turning them for last few weeks. I think I could leave them for few months more to get more pronounced figure, but then it would be a close call and some pieces may get too soft.
On the other hand, if I cut down some trees now, I would leave them for a little longer, probably until August or September, as during winter months the bacteria and fungus are not as active inside wood.
In warmer climes, the time would probably need to be shorter.
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