General Questions

Hello - I am brand new to the group and been turning about 18 months. Are there any tips someone can share to "drying" wood to prevent cracking once turned? Thanks for any tips. I made two lidded boxes in the last week with wood I got from a pile at a sawmill, and both lids cracked already. Is there a decent way to do it to reduce just waiting for the wood? Thanks

I guess there are several things to consider.

Are you turning end grain? If so use a log large enough that you can cut it so you aren’t having the pith in your box. Or consider turning side grain also with the pith cut out.

Other things you could do is turn the pice oversized and dry it in a paper bag with some of the shavings for a few weeks and then returne to the final size.

Just a few thoughts hopefully someone else will have some thoughts also.

Good turning

Russ Bolton

Thanks Russ! That lead me to look more into what I was doing so I could figure out the answer to your question. I learned that I am currently all end grain and not eliminating pith. Thanks for the info. I don't know what I don't know, so now I know what videos to look for to see more. Thanks!