# Harvesting Wood for Pens



## JonathanF1968 (Dec 15, 2018)

My favorite wood to turn so far has been a length of apple that I'd had drying out in my basement for years, before I finally did anything with it. The tree has sentimental value, and so that's as much as a reason to like the pens and such that I'm making from it as the actual look of the wood itself.


I'd like to do a lot of more of this kind of thing, and just spent a warm December day pruning various trees and such from my property (much of which is wild). Now, I'd like to know how to dry it. 



In the day's collection, I've got a bit more apple, pawpaw, buckthorn, and highbush cranberry (vibernum). 



Here are my questions.


 1. Should I dry the whole pieces as they are (log/limb) or cut it up first to smaller pieces, perhaps removing the bark?


 2. If I do cut it up, should I coat it while it dries, particularly the ends, with either paint or beeswax? Purchased blanks seem to have a wax coating on them, sometimes.


3. Should I treat it with anything to kill any fungus etc. while it ages? (Say, a mild bleach solution.)  I'll certainly cut off any visible rot, but I'm wondering about invisible things.


4. How long to let it sit? Is there a way to test if it's ready?


5. I assume that turning it green will lead to cracking in the future. 


6. I have some willow too, but my guess is that this won't turn well, as it is so soft. Any thoughts about this?


--Jonathan


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## acmaclaren (Dec 15, 2018)

I'm a bowyer (I make traditonal all woods bows.) Leave the limb intact. Seal the ends and leave the bark on. Then just store the limb on a rack or shelf. Let it dry for at least a year. No need to slather with any anti-mold stuff. If you think the limb is already slightly moldy, I wouldn't use it. I hope this helps.


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## 1080Wayne (Dec 15, 2018)

If you have had the wood indoors for a few days , probably a good idea to cut an inch off the ends before sealing , as it will have started to crack . Best way to monitor drying process is by weighing . Don`t worry about mould . Spalted pieces have more figure . Nothing the matter with willow . Can be a bit stringy to turn and sand , occasionally has birds-eyes and very nice colour when spalted . If I were you , I would spend my time harvesting dead fallen trees and branches , as that is where you will find the prettiest wood .


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## monophoto (Dec 15, 2018)

A few years ago, wife and I cut down an ornamental plum tree.  I suspected that the wood would be pretty (it was), so I put some of it aside for turning. I sealed the ends, but otherwise left it intact.

Unfortunately, after it dried for a year or so, I found that there was serious checking.  In every case, the cracks started at the pith and proceeded out to the bark.  I was able to get some useful pieces for pens and stoppers, but there was a lot of wastage due to the random way the checks formed around the circumference.  

Wood shrinks as it dries, and it shrinks more circumferentially than it does either longitudinally or radially.  So if you are starting out with otherwise intact lengths of branch or trunk, the only way that circumferential shrinkage can occur is for a check (crack) to form between the pith and the outside of the branch/trunk.  

So my theory is that splitting the trunk/branch sections longitudinally through the pith minimizes the tendency to form radial cracks as the wood shrinks.  Sure, you start out with a perfectly round section and split it to create two half-rounds, after a year or so of drying/shrinking, the cross section will be less than half-round.  But if you are lucky, you will have controlled where cracks are forced to occur, and the result is more usable wood. 

Some timbers shrink more than others, and the more it shrinks, the more likely it is to check.   And unfortunately, Murphy's law says that wood with the most attractive grain pattern will always check more than plain, ugly wood.


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## Dehn0045 (Dec 15, 2018)

If you know the size blanks that you want, then I suggest cutting into blanks that are slightly larger than final dimenstions.  Expect the wood to shrink as it dries.  Seal the ends with paint, wood glue, wax or anchorseal.

For minimizing checking, you can put the end-sealed blanks in a bag full of sawdust to slow the drying process.  Saran wrap or a plastic bag are other options.  A few months in sawdust should be good for pen blank sizes.

If you are in a hurry, you can boil the blanks in water (prior to end sealing).  The basics of the method calls for 1-hr boil per inch of thickness, weight the blanks as needed to keep them submerged during boil.  This process releases stresses in the wood and breaks down the cell walls of fresh cut wood.  You can then dry quickly with less risk of checking (food dehydrator, toaster oven, solar kiln, or placing in your HVAC duct.  You could potentially have ready-to-use blanks within a weekend using this method.

If you aren't sure what you want to do with them, you can cut out the pith of larger logs, small logs I would just cut in half.  Wood dries through the endgrain faster than the side, so cracks start on the ends.  Sealing ends slows down the endgrain drying and makes it dry more even.

Last suggestion is to cut blanks and logs on the long side so you can cut off endgrain checking later.


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## MRDucks2 (Dec 15, 2018)

I have tried a few different ways and ended up using a version of George Valentine’s (robutacion) method in which I basically cut the log to an oversized thickness, then cut it into the the same dimension to produce basically oversized blanks which I coat the ends of and stack them in crisscrossed layers basically as high as I care to, in order for them to dry. 

I do this mostly in winter months because my shop has central HVAC and the furnace naturally drops the humidity to 20-25% when it’s cold outside. 

The blanks end up below 14% moisture content in about 2-3 months depending on species and condition.

I store uncut log pieces with both ends sealed (I use Elmer’s wood restorer from Lowe’s or Home Depot). 

All the logs check some. I tried cutting in slabs and stickering to dry and got a lot more twist, splitting and deformation. 

Cutting +/- 1 inch by 1 inch by whatever length pieces (normally 5-1/4) gets me the least deformation and quickest dry time. If they do deform, I have enough size to straighten out the blank after it goes below 14%. 

Like most stuff on this site, there is no single right way and what works varies by person, area they live in and environmental conditions. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## JonathanF1968 (Dec 16, 2018)

Dehn0045 said:


> If you are in a hurry, you can boil the blanks in water (prior to end sealing).  The basics of the method calls for 1-hr boil per inch of thickness, weight the blanks as needed to keep them submerged during boil.  This process releases stresses in the wood and breaks down the cell walls of fresh cut wood.  You can then dry quickly with less risk of checking (food dehydrator, toaster oven, solar kiln, or placing in your HVAC duct.  You could potentially have ready-to-use blanks within a weekend using this method.




Terrific advice, here. I will try this quick-drying method. I have a dehydrator.... How do you know when it is dry enough?


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## wolf creek knives (Dec 16, 2018)

JonathanF1968 said:


> Dehn0045 said:
> 
> 
> > If you are in a hurry, you can boil the blanks in water (prior to end sealing).  The basics of the method calls for 1-hr boil per inch of thickness, weight the blanks as needed to keep them submerged during boil.  This process releases stresses in the wood and breaks down the cell walls of fresh cut wood.  You can then dry quickly with less risk of checking (food dehydrator, toaster oven, solar kiln, or placing in your HVAC duct.  You could potentially have ready-to-use blanks within a weekend using this method.
> ...



You can buy an inexpensive moisture meter from almost any hardware/home store.  I have a small 2 pin meter that takes the moisture percentage down to 3 percent.  Once the little red light doesn't come on when testing I know I'm good to go for stabilizing.


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## Dehn0045 (Dec 16, 2018)

You can weigh a couple blanks with a kitchen scale, in grams, when the weight stops dropping then they are as dry as they are going to get (I have found 36hrs to be sufficient for pen blanks).  In an oven at 220 - 24 hrs is usually sufficient (it's advisable to not use your kitchen oven, or you might be sleeping in the shop... Gets a little stinky sometimes)

Note that these methods will "over-dry".  The oven method is 0% moisture, and the dehydrator will get you to about half of equilibrium moisture content (EMC).  I wouldn't be too concerned using the blanks right out of the dehydrator, but might want to give them a couple days on the shelf if youre nervous about the little bit of movement that will happen as they come to equilibrium (swell slightly).


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## zig613 (Dec 16, 2018)

Here is the method I use... I cut the green wood/burl into blanks before drying.  As noted above I cut them a little over sized  just in case they twist (about 1 inch by 1 inch by 5 1/2).  The green blanks are placed in a paper bag and weighed.  I record the date and weight on the bag.  The bag is placed on a wire shelf to allow good circulation around the bag.  Every 10 days or so I re-weigh the bag, recording the date and weight. The time required depends on the moisture content of the wood, size of the blank, and the RH of room.  The blanks are dry and ready to use when they have stopped losing weight.  This method has worked well for me for a number of species - black cherry, sugar maple, boxelder burl, buckthorn, curly maple, sumac, etc.  

Wade


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