Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Green Wood
Rob Overton,Houston, Texas
>I have never fooled with green wood. I have a piece of Elm (?) that I am trying to use. It is a limb about 5 inches in diameter, forks down to about 4 inches, is about 4' long. How do I keep it from splitting and ruining before I am ready to use it? How do you tell if it is ready to be used? Rob
Re: Green Wood
John K Jordan
>Most of the advice I read is to turn it as soon as possible. Some try to turn within hours of cutting. If that's not possible, you can slow the cracking by painting the end grain with some sealer such as Anchorseal or similar product sold at Woodcraft, paint, or dip in hot wax. Expect to lose some on each end. 5" diameter isn't much to work with, but the Turning Green Wood book shows some ideas. I think that book is very good and deals with all aspects of turning green.
If you come through TN, stop and visit and I'll send you home with some big chunks of green maple or something!
JKJ in East TN
