Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
butternut
jeff
>I am new to turning. I just helped my neighbor trim up his butternut tree which hangs over my property. I retained some of the larger sections which are 2-3" to about 5-6" in diameter. They were just cut on Sunday. My question is are these worth drying out for turning and is so what should I do with them i.e. leave bark on or off store outside under cover or inside etc. Thanks in advance
Jeff
Re: butternut (longish reply)
Gary Evans
>I'm not familiar with butternut, although it's relationship to walnut may mean that it is fairly stable.
Anyway, coat the ends with sealer, leave the bark on and store outside under cover, off the ground, preferably out of direct sun.
What you want is an environment of relatively high relative humidity. (Try saying that three times, very fast) Anyway, this is because the rate at which the moisture leaves the outer layers of the wood is determined by the relative humidity of the air surrounding the wood. The lower the RH, the faster the rate of moisture loss. This rate is greater than the rate at which moisture moves within the wood, from wetter to drier areas.
That is one of the reasons why the stresses occur which cause the wood to check and crack. The outer, drier layers begin to try to shrink, while the inner core is not yet dry enough for shrinkage to occur.
The other thing that induces stresses within the wood is the fact that when the wood starts to shrink, it shrinks more tangentially than it does radially. This is why you see a pie-shaped crack open when you try to dry a cross-section of log.
The other tip is to try to use the wood for your projects as soon as possible. It's difficult to keep wood in the round for long periods without having it crack, despite the best precautions.
Didn't mean to ramble on so long, hope this helps,
GE
Re: butternut
RevDoug
>Turn it wet. You'll like it.
Re: butternut
Peter Teubel
>FWIW...
I generally do not turn butternut because of the massive tearout on the end grain. However, I have had a couple pieces that were more "well behaved" and they make some very beautiful objects. Give it a try!
Re: butternut
Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA
>Hi Jeff
I have turned butternut that cut like butter. I have also turned butternut that cut like I was chewing it off with my rabid beaver tool. It is hard to tell until you get into it, but it is definitely worth the effort if you get some good stuff. I even got a small butternut burl one time that came out looking very nice. I'd say go for it. If you can't turn it, you can always burn it.
Bill