What tree / wood is thgis question

[windfall]

Hello fellow turners, I'm a novice to the craft. I've decided to make some blanks from felled trees this year so going to need some advice on drying etc later. I live in a nice rural part of the Fylde coast and friends with a few local farmers. I asked them over a beer the other night if they where trimming or felling some trees to please drop me  some off and in return I would make something for them. So far I have a full sycamore tree and I think crab apple trunk. But I returned today to find the logs in the pictures left at the back of my shed and I thinks its Elm but I'm really new at the tree spotting arts and was wondering if anyone knows what it was ?

[fuzzyturns]

A bit hard to tell from the pictures, but I think I can see some very rapid growth in the top picture, and that together with the bark would lead me to think this is ash.

[Les Symonds]

I agree with Fuzzy....it certainly looks like ash, on a number of counts.

One important issue.....in future, avoid cutting the logs up as thought they were being prepared for firewood, i.e. in pieces short enough for the fireplace. In a nutshell, wood loses moisture rapidly from its end grain, which is where most of the cracking will take place. When you buck your logs into short rounds, such as these, the cracks can soon render the whole piece unusable. If you keep the logs in good lengths and seal the ends to slow down the end-grain evaporation, you'll get considerably more usable timber out of them.
As a next step, cut the rounds along the length, down through the pith, then seal the end grain and the freshly sawn surface. Any old paint, wax, or PVA will do the job, just slow down the evaporation.

Les

[windfall]

I agree with Fuzzy....it certainly looks like ash, on a number of counts.

One important issue.....in future, avoid cutting the logs up as thought they were being prepared for firewood, i.e. in pieces short enough for the fireplace. In a nutshell, wood loses moisture rapidly from its end grain, which is where most of the cracking will take place. When you buck your logs into short rounds, such as these, the cracks can soon render the whole piece unusable. If you keep the logs in good lengths and seal the ends to slow down the end-grain evaporation, you'll get considerably more usable timber out of them.
As a next step, cut the rounds along the length, down through the pith, then seal the end grain and the freshly sawn surface. Any old paint, wax, or PVA will do the job, just slow down the evaporation.

Les

Hi Les , they look bigger in the picture than they are , only 7 - 8 inches wide. I will be turning off the bark tomorrow and making them round, then sealing the end grain with waterproof PVA. Or I might go the whole hog and turn green bowls and try out some microwave drying. I've not attempted that yet so it should be interesting. Not turned a bowl before, been making pot vases from firewood which has been fun. So its Ash ? That's great to know thanks for the help.

[Walnut Les]

I would do similar to what Les says but I would also part turn them.
I would cut them in half down the pith then part turn them leaving them about one inch thick all over, I would then cover the outside the lip and one inch going in to the bowl with pva glue and then stack them and let them air dry.
In four to six months they should be ready to finish turn.

The picture shows 100 bowls part turned and part covered in pva glue all air drying, I lost less than 5 out of the 100.
I hope that this is of some help Les
 

[windfall]

I would do similar to what Les says but I would also part turn them.
I would cut them in half down the pith then part turn them leaving them about one inch thick all over, I would then cover the outside the lip and one inch going in to the bowl with pva glue and then stack them and let them air dry.
In four to six months they should be ready to finish turn.

The picture shows 100 bowls part turned and part covered in pva glue all air drying, I lost less than 5 out of the 100.
I hope that this is of some help Les
 

I was going to just hollow out green bowls as end grain. The logs are not that wide. What part should  I cover with PVA if I make an end grain bowl ?

[Derek]

You will probably lose most of them if cutting them end grain there are few kinds of wood that can be turned into bowls end grain. For things like goblets and boxes it is fine. You really need slightly diameter logs and cut them as Les said through the centre and rough turn them. If you try and seal just one end of the log it will still lose moisture from the other end

[Walnut Les]

I would do similar to what Les says but I would also part turn them.
I would cut them in half down the pith then part turn them leaving them about one inch thick all over, I would then cover the outside the lip and one inch going in to the bowl with pva glue and then stack them and let them air dry.
In four to six months they should be ready to finish turn.

The picture shows 100 bowls part turned and part covered in pva glue all air drying, I lost less than 5 out of the 100.
I hope that this is of some help Les
 

I was going to just hollow out green bowls as end grain. The logs are not that wide. What part should  I cover with PVA if I make an end grain bowl ?

I have to agree with what Derek says on bowls, I put pva on the outside of the vase's and they never split so you could try that and see what happens. The main thing is to leave them with an even wall thickness, you could also try turning them thin or try your way in the microwave. It's all a learning curve, what works for one person might not work for someone else. Some people put part turned in brown paper bags and some put part turned in plastic bags and turn the bags inside out daily to dry them out but i find keeping them out of the sunlight and in a dry warm place works for me. All the best Les

[windfall]

All fantastic advice thanks. So for experimental purposes I'll make 2 :

1. end grain bowls - 1 microwaved to 9% and one PVA'd and left in a tub with dry shavings.
2  paired log turned to shallow saucer types and then dryed the same thing as above.
3  paired log shaped in to roundish blanks for T light candles.
4 and an experiment to make a Japanese oil scent vase.

I think Ash is quite common in England so it would be worth doing this to find out what works and does not.

Also I have this (see pics) its a sycamore tree. The problem is at the moment I work part time, I don't have a lot of space in the shed for storage and i was thinking it may be better to leave it uncut for a month until I have time to work on the quarter sawn logs.

I've used this method for years to dry wood for burning - stacking them in lidded tubs with holes in the side and top for ventilation (see bottom pic). Do you think if I PVA the end grain and do the same it might work ?


I am a time served wood machinist I did my apprenticeship at E.J RIley's snooker tables but I never dealt with rough sawn green wood so this is all new to me. Relying on your knowledge not to waste a good tree lol

[Les Symonds]

The main issue with sycamore is that it tends to hold a lot of fungal infestation, which can result in "grey stain" of the timber if not dried carefully. Whilst it's always better to leave the timber in-the-log, rather than cut up and lying around, sycamore needs to be end-stacked (upright) to allow as much free-water to drain out of it as possible. Cut the trunk into manageable lengths and stand the lengths upright with something under the ends to allow free-water to drain slowly until you're ready to do more work on them. Protect the tops of the lengths from the sun and wind to avoid rapid evaporation.
Les

[windfall]

The main issue with sycamore is that it tends to hold a lot of fungal infestation, which can result in "grey stain" of the timber if not dried carefully. Whilst it's always better to leave the timber in-the-log, rather than cut up and lying around, sycamore needs to be end-stacked (upright) to allow as much free-water to drain out of it as possible. Cut the trunk into manageable lengths and stand the lengths upright with something under the ends to allow free-water to drain slowly until you're ready to do more work on them. Protect the tops of the lengths from the sun and wind to avoid rapid evaporation.
Les

Thanks Les will do that today if I don't get battered and frozen by the impending hale and sleet storms

found a good article on local ash https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/wood-turning/techniques/timber/timber-tech/technical-thursdays-european-ash/

[Walnut Les]

This is how I cut my bowl blanks. I cut them in half down the pith to make two bowls, I can see problems with splitting from the pith the way that your cutting your wood blanks.

You will find that the way that your cutting your blanks will cause star cracks from the pith.

[windfall]

This is how I cut my bowl blanks. I cut them in half down the pith to make two bowls, I can see problems with splitting from the pith the way that your cutting your wood blanks.

You will find that the way that your cutting your blanks will cause star cracks from the pith.

I've started on rounding the logs and I've coated the end's with waterproof PVA so I hope they will dry ok in the shed - The other logs are in ventilated buckets filled with sawdust, see how that works out