>I recently picked up a 4' long 10" diam log of what I was told is red elm. It has no bark and the surface is extrememly weathered. I cut a few sections of it as well as some bowl and stopper blanks. I turned one stopper sized blank and from what I can tell it is damn near bone dry. The question is this. Can logs be dry upon cutting if its been "dead" upright long enough. I was told the branch that this was, was cut a week or two prior to me getting it. The main trunk was 4' diameter and the logging crew that was there was said to have eyed it greedily.
I like the grain pattern on it even though it is a bit plain but am not sure if I should or even need to put it through a drying protocol or if I can finish turn straight away.
>Thats just the problem I dont have a moisture meter and cant really afford one right now. There are a few other things ahead of it in the "want list".
I have enough for quite a few turnings. I may just do exactly as you suggest. I did turn one yesterday and I guess I will wait and see how it reacts over the next couple weeks.
My gut tells me this is dry wood based on its characteristics as I turned it yesterday but..... there is always that nagging doubt.
This is a tip from Russ Fairfield. Hold a piece of the wood up against your cheek. A dry piece will feel dry. You can also experiment by comparing the feel with wood that you know is "dry enough."
Also, it is not unusual for a dead standing tree to be quite dry. I cut a standing dead tree today that I have been watching for several years in my woods. When it hit the ground, I discovered it was dogwood. Piling the cut pieces up, I got auditory confirmation of just how dry the wood is.
That said, I would probably still let the wood sit for at least a few days after roughing out, just to make sure.
>It seems you ahve cut this wood into pieces. Take a small piece and weigh it on an accurate scale. A postage scale would work. ( Or take it tot eh post office and ask the friendly clerk to weigh the piece of wood for the nice slightly crazy wood turner.
Then you can do one of several things. Leave the wood inside your heated house for a few days and weigh it again. If it does not lose weight it is most likely dry. I weight finished bowls after I sand them everyday or two. When the weight stablizes, I put the finish on. They may not be completely dry at that point, but I have never had the finish fail.
If you really want to know how wet the wood is, put your sample of known (wet) weight in the oven set at a very low temp (150 to 200 degrees) for about twenty four hours and weigh it again to get the dry weight. Subtract the dry weight from the wet weight and then you can calculate what percentage of the piece was water. The Moisture Content. Most people think the piece should be at about 6% to be considered dry enough.
Actually, it will equillabrate at about 20% of the RH in the surrounding atmosphere. These are mixed terms here. If the Relative Humidity stays constant, the Moisture Content of the wood arrives at about 20% of it. Since the RH constantly changes, so does the MC. Also the relationship is not competely accurate over all temperatures and humidities and the spiecies of wood and the finish on the wood affect it, but its a rough approximation.
If you want a bowl that is not warped at all than give it time to do so, after which you can return it, and it will then stay reasonably as is.
If on the other hand you are afraid that the bowl will split, and are not opposed to some warping, then I would suggest that you finnish turn your bowls, sand and do all the finishing, try to make a foot you can easily straighten out afterwards.
Then put your finished bowl in a brown paper bag for a few weeks, after which you can let it acclimatize in you home.
One more thing, all this might be overkill, Elm is known to not split easily, but why take chances.
