Splits in turned pieces

[Gardenmac]

Started turning recently and just about every piece has subsequently split. Using seasoned pear, apple, lime and holly and only making some basics, T light holders, mushrooms etc. Every single piece has split when brought into living room. Could it be log burner is drying them out too quick, even thoughhey have been turned from last seasons wood?

Any pointers greatly appreciated as I want to progress onto bowls, but if the basics ain't right .....

[bellringer]

it might be the timber still wet how long did you season the timber for

[Chippy]

First of all dont let it put you off.

The first decent piece I turned spilt and ended up in the log burner.

I now have a good stock of 2 year seasoned wood in the garage, I found if anything was made with wood stored less than this developed crack's and splits.

When you turn something gradually bring it indoors starting in the coldest room then moving to some where warmer to avoid rapid drying.

Buy a few kiln dried pieces in, I'm sure a few people on here would be able to help you.

[se7enthdevil]

by the sound of it you are using bits with the pith in, am i right?

 

as it's only last years wood it will be no where near dry enough as even small branches under 3" would need 2-3 years to be 100% dry.

 

get wood that is split from small logs if want to continue turning mushrooms and tea light holders.

 

if you wish to progress to bowls then you may need to rough turn them or buy kiln dried bits from a shop or someone on here. ebay would be a good place to find some cheap boards to cut in to blanks for turning.

 

if you wish to rough out the bits to dry them further then take a look at what i've been doing for the past 4 months.

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/woodcraft-forum/65439-bowl-turning-thread.html

 

if you look at page nine you can see that i've turned bowls that have an even thickness at around 3/4"-1" thick. they then warp and shrink a little but have less stress in the wood so have less chance of splitting.

 

keep an eye on the weight of them so you can see how much they loose. 25% is an average but some loose more some less.

[delabodge]

to be fair mate, using apple/pear and holly are three of the woods that do split easily, try using bits of yew,sycamore and dead elm, these are more stable, and like above introduce them into the house slowly, coldest room,, not onto of window ledge by radiator!

[treesrus]

the cut of the wood makes a big difference. i do a lot of bowls with the pith in the middle,

(because i love how the grain shows through), BUT most of the timber i use has seasoned for at least 5yrs, some of it well over 10yrs. i still get occasional radial cracks, but if they are very small i leave them, or if a bit bigger fill them with resin/brass/silver/copper mix and return. but sometimes it's firewood.

[Big Beech]

easier solution, rather than waiting for your wood to dry, boil them.

[Gardenmac]

:001_smile:Many thanks guys, I have stacks of green wood, apple, pear, damson,tulip, pine and sycamore. Most of which is last season so guess its still to wet.

Really enjoy turning although sometimes they start off as one thing and end up another, mostly though they've been keeping us warm by ending up in the fire

[Gardenmac]

by the sound of it you are using bits with the pith in, am i right?

 

as it's only last years wood it will be no where near dry enough as even small branches under 3" would need 2-3 years to be 100% dry.

 

get wood that is split from small logs if want to continue turning mushrooms and tea light holders.

 

if you wish to progress to bowls then you may need to rough turn them or buy kiln dried bits from a shop or someone on here. ebay would be a good place to find some cheap boards to cut in to blanks for turning.

 

if you wish to rough out the bits to dry them further then take a look at what i've been doing for the past 4 months.

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/woodcraft-forum/65439-bowl-turning-thread.html

 

if you look at page nine you can see that i've turned bowls that have an even thickness at around 3/4"-1" thick. they then warp and shrink a little but have less stress in the wood so have less chance of splitting.

 

keep an eye on the weight of them so you can see how much they loose. 25% is an average but some loose more some less.

 

Steve

This thread has been inspirational and the quality of work people produce is superb. Guess I'm someway off these standards.

[Gardenmac]

the cut of the wood makes a big difference. i do a lot of bowls with the pith in the middle,

(because i love how the grain shows through), BUT most of the timber i use has seasoned for at least 5yrs, some of it well over 10yrs. i still get occasional radial cracks, but if they are very small i leave them, or if a bit bigger fill them with resin/brass/silver/copper mix and return. but sometimes it's firewood.

 

Was amazed to watch a couple of tea light holders disintegrate in seconds as they where next to the log burner, then in the log burner:001_smile: