Shopsmith Forums

Sazerac81 wrote:Hey Dan,

With that maple being recently felled, are you worried that the green wood will distort/check over time in your projects?

Cheers,
John

I don't have enough green wood turning experience to know. Ignorance is bliss. . I look at it as "who cares". The wood was free, and I am gaining lathe work experience. Some warping on bowls might give it character. On lidded boxes, not a good thing as far as the lid fit. The checking, on the other hand, may also give some character.

I have roughed some and put it in paper bags (hopefully it does not mold). Will see what happens in a couple of months. The humidity level around here is generally low. Only time will tell.

I did make a very small bowl with the maple, and finished it about 2 weeks ago. It still looks good sitting out in the living room (my parent's who really liked it), despite the minor checking. I actually think some of the checking was caused in part by my sanding it too fast on the rim. The colors are fantastic on it with the heartwood. nice shine to it with no finnish applied.

I made another small bowl just the other day that I fininshed with walnut (would have used clear if I had some) danish oil but did not get a very smooth finish on it because I made the rim wall too thin where I could see light coming through so I was afraid to clean up the roughness. So far no warping or checking.

I am having fun.