Just wondering if anyone else has had problems with crotches, specifically bark inclusions. I have tried to turn pecan and elm crotch pieces and found the bark goes almost the whole length of the crotch, so you end up essentially with a Y-shaped piece of wood. I know I turned some ash in the past that didn't have this problem. Is there some way to tell if a crotch is worth saving? Or are some tree species especially good for crotch wood?
In my experience it depends on the specific crotch and how it grew. Two different trees of the same species can have widely different crotch integrity. You can get a clue from how narrow the angle is between the two branches and even more, by the appearance of the growth between them, but the only way I know to tell for sure is to cut into it and look. If I see bark inclusion or rot I don't waste time on it. I don't know if some species are more susceptible to bark inclusions.
BTW, this is off the topic but related to turning crotch wood. Everyone seems to cut the crotch straight down the middle (on the plane formed by the three piths) giving two blanks with flame figure. I like to do it a little different. Since the extent of the best figure is in the center, I have on occasion "wasted" half of the log and make the dividing cut a little to one side. If I am turning a bowl or platter and want the flame figure in the bottom of the bowl, cutting down the center will put the best figure in the very bottom and some will likely be cut away. Allowing a bit more wood wastes the second half of the crotch but moves the best figure up where it should be better displayed on the inside of the piece.
If the base of the fork or crotch is a narrow V there may be included bark. If the base of the fork is inverted, forming a W, there is less chance of included bark. The web between two fingers versus the web beween thumb and first finger when they are brought together - that was the example I always heard in landscape workshops talking about Bradford pear, notorious for included bark and peeling like a banana.
I’ve been having better luck getting decent crotch flame bowl/vase blanks from walnut & maple trees than I have pecan trees. Still I suggest opening those pecan crotches in order to look for anything salvageable on either side of the bark inclusions. Cut around bark inclusions to make figured pen, bottle stoppers & pepper grinder blanks.
Cutting into a tree crotch or a burl is like getting into a box of chocolates. You never know what might find until try it.
