# Disappointing occurance



## TellicoTurning (Mar 12, 2010)

One of my wife's photo blog friends up in CO trimmed a limb off her Lilac tree... the limb was about 4.5 inches x about 6 ft long... she was kind enough to offer it to me.  I deleted her email with a picture of the limb before copying it to my wood picture file.  She cut it and sent me 3 boxes of wood... a couple pieces are too small for PM's but I can cut for pen blanks...

Here is a mill I wanted to make as a thank you for the wood... it turned out nice, but I was too anxious to turn the wood and didn't allow it to dry enough... I roughed the bark off and then put it in DNA for about 3 days, but only allowed it to dry for a couple... after I drilled it, I tried the microwave for about 4 cycles, but since I don't have a MM, I used the old "feels dry to me" method, but evidently it wasn't ... my pepper mill is cracking all around the body.. very disappointing.. the wood is gorgeous.

There's no finish on the pepper mill yet.

I uploaded a couple of pictures to show the roughed limb just before I put it in the DNA....


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## Displaced Canadian (Mar 12, 2010)

As a member of the board of the man club I give you permission to cry without giving up one of your man cards. Great piece of wood.


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## byounghusband (Mar 12, 2010)

You might try letting it dry more thoroughly and then if there are cracks in it, you can fill them with some kind of filler material and CA glue.  I once turned a Claro Walnut Grinder set that had multiple voids in them. I filled the voids with brass key shavings from Home Depot and Thin CA glue.  They came out GREAT once finished!!


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## fishlux (Mar 12, 2010)

Agree.  Disappointing result so far, but an excellent design opportunity.


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## Phunky_2003 (Mar 12, 2010)

byounghusband said:


> You might try letting it dry more thoroughly and then if there are cracks in it, you can fill them with some kind of filler material and CA glue. I once turned a Claro Walnut Grinder set that had multiple voids in them. I filled the voids with brass key shavings from Home Depot and Thin CA glue. They came out GREAT once finished!!


 
I couldn't agree more with what Bob says.  Let it dry more and fill it with something.  Call it "artistic embellishments".  


James


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## nava1uni (Mar 12, 2010)

I think that filling the voids with a contrasting material would work well.  I often fill cracks and voids with creative license with good results.


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## islandturner (Mar 12, 2010)

TellicoTurning said:


> One of my wife's photo blog friends up in CO trimmed a limb off her Lilac tree... the limb was about 4.5 inches x about 6 ft long...


 
Years of trying diffenent techniques for fast-drying have been dissappointing -- they often don't work. I wonder if 'boiling' might work with this wood? You still have to wait for natural drying, but it's faster, and it might eliminate the checking? How about Pentacryl -- still takes time, but I find it improves the odds with some woods that are prone to checking...

Who'd of known that lilac looks that nice. The 2 photos on the right have a 'Harry Potter' look to them.

The lilac bushes in our neighborhood are suddenly in peril of a midnight raid.


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## mdburn_em (Mar 12, 2010)

lilac = cracking

good luck


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## mrcook4570 (Mar 12, 2010)

It is most likely too late for this piece, but in the future, AS SOON AS a crack starts to develop, wet your finger and rub the water into the crack and the surrounding wood.  Add a little more water as necessary.  This will frequently seal the crack.


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## PenMan1 (Mar 12, 2010)

Those AREN'T CRACKS! Those are "insert powdered stone here" indicators. Now, man up and put the rock to it and make it beautiful


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## FrankG (Mar 12, 2010)

These limbs sound like candidates for pressure cooking.


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## bitshird (Mar 12, 2010)

Gosh Chuck that is a shame, but I think you can find a way to save it, it sure is a pretty piece of wood, and you got the talent.


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## rdunn12 (Mar 12, 2010)

Those cracks look like a great opportunity to make it into something really cool.


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## markgum (Mar 12, 2010)

cracks are simply design opportunities.


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## W.Y. (Mar 12, 2010)

Beautiful piece of wood  and too bad  it  cracked but I am not surprised with the  way you treated it with DNA . You didn't leave it near long enough after  taking it out of the DNA and it should have been wrapped  in brown paper with an opening for limited air . 
On top of that the DNA might never have worked on a solid piece like that. I have turned over a hundred bowls using DNA but the secret  is to have them turned very evenly thickness from  top to bottom, and wrapped  in brown paper bag  paper with a hole in the top  and they are  dry  and ready to  final turn in a couple weeks. I have 95%  sucess with it on bowls but draw the line on it being only suited to bowls . I have tried it on various  other forms of green wood turnings with no luck . 
Boiling was suggested to me on my own site and although I had heard of it often, I had never tried it, So just ten days ago I rough turned two almost identical bowls out of the same log . I boiled one and did my usual  24 hour  DNA treatment on the other . I have been reporting back in that topic every couple days  with  pictures  with a comparison on the results of the two methods    both in weight by weighing each one   as well as moisture content  every time . Both should be ready for final turning  in another week or so as soon as there is no more weight loss for three or   four consecutive days .  It was the most honest way I could think  of  for making a direct comparison. Except  for  one drawback  (mold) in particular in the  boiled one ,    they are running almost neck in neck for weight loss and moisture  loss. .
Both intentionally have a knot of the same size in the same place because that is where  troubles will usually start . They are also both orchard cherry wood and most orchard woods are the most prone to warping, cracking, splitting than any other kinds of wood. 

I feel for you with your beautiful  cracked lilac wood because I have been there, done that several times with various types of wood  before I found out that DNA was most suited  to  rough turned  hollow bowls and not for solid pieces of wood. ..
Whether or not boiling would help on solid pieces of wood  or not I have no idea because I have not tried it. 

Good luck with your project and will be looking for pictures of the finished pieces.


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## jaeger (Mar 12, 2010)

mdburn_em said:


> lilac = cracking
> 
> good luck




I have found the same thing. My brother in law cut up some branches that had air dried for a long time, he had a large box.
I ended up with enough free of cracks, for 1 pen. (but it is nice)


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## TellicoTurning (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks all for your sympathy.... I'm letting the rest of the wood sit in the boxes they came in..I've painted the ends with anchorseal and we'll see how they work...

On the DNA, I think if I had drilled the blank for the mechanism and then soaked the wood, it may have salvaged the cracks... the DNA could have reached the interior of the wood.


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