Tree Butchery

My attempts thus far at preparing wood for turning has been met with some failures and accidental successes, both attributed to not really understanding the nature of wood. I just watched a YouTube video (link below) that opened up my eyes to some of what I've been doing wrong and some direction on how to improve. Around 2/3rds into the video is an example of how I lost an opportunity to prepare a Mesquite log more effectively. A pic of the log with multiple branches coming out of it was posted here not long ago. Apparently it would have been better to cut the log in an opposite direction and leave what I thought was the pith. I still don't completely understand the concept but it has started me to think differently about my approach to processing wood, especially considering that I can't afford to waste it considering its scarcity around here. I would be interested to hear what others think of the video. Again, here's the link ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zQsF9UrQ5Y

If you like wood and want an education on the nature of wood, it's hard to do better than get the book "Understanding Wood" by R. Bruce Hoadley. Hoadley is a wood scientist AND a craftsman. I recently got a spare copy just to loan to students. Since you have the interest, you are a step ahead of many woodworkers and turners - for example some people know that bowls warp when they dry but don't know enough about the "how" and "why" to predict the warping and avoid or work with it.

Amazon carries Hoadley's book. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding.../dp/1561583588
His other book, "Identifying Wood" is also one of my favorites. I've used it so much the pages are falling out.

Note that this book is not from a woodturner's perspective. There are a lot of things to consider when deciding how to cut up a specific chunk for turning, not only concerning stability but appearance. But if you understand more about wood, how it grows and how it behaves as it dries, you can make more educated decisions. When you get advice and watch videos, always remember there are many, many opinions, some of them bad and some of them good for one circumstance but not for another. Experience is key, but will take a long time to acquire if wood is scarce. I think if I were you I'd just try different ways and don't worry about not doing the "best" thing and wasting the wood. There will be more wood.

As for the video, it looks like he is focusing on the way trees grow with reaction wood and such which important to know. What Hoadley teaches about drying and shrinking is also important, probably even more so in the long run.

I didn't watch the whole video but skimmed through it. If you are referring to the talk about crotch flame at 16:30, don't forget that he's describing a two-branch crotch looking down the plane of the piths. A bowl cut as shown at 17:15 will not necessarily have pith running through the finished piece - the base of the bowl would extend into the flame between the piths of the two branches and the piths would ideally be cut away as the base is shaped. Leaving the pith in the wood is possible but can be a disaster for some geometries in some species and some specific pieces of wood. And all of that is thrown out when you have more than two branches meet like in the crotch you posted earlier - the 3-dimensional flame can be fantastic but difficult to visualize and make the best use of. That's why I tend to cut three- and four-way crotches up into smaller blocks to try to get blanks for boxes and such between the piths. Another thing to do is just mount and turn the chunk and see what you get, piths and all.

The other John Jordan (the famous one) has a useful article "Understanding Green Wood" with lots of tips about cutting up a log for turning, and another one "How to Orientate Wood for Maximum Visual Impact".
Find them on this page: https://www.johnjordanwoodturning.com/articles.html

JKJ

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Originally Posted by Steve Mathews

My attempts thus far at preparing wood for turning has been met with some failures and accidental successes, both attributed to not really understanding the nature of wood. I just watched a YouTube video (link below) that opened up my eyes to some of what I've been doing wrong and some direction on how to improve. Around 2/3rds into the video is an example of how I lost an opportunity to prepare a Mesquite log more effectively. A pic of the log with multiple branches coming out of it was posted here not long ago. Apparently it would have been better to cut the log in an opposite direction and leave what I thought was the pith. I still don't completely understand the concept but it has started me to think differently about my approach to processing wood, especially considering that I can't afford to waste it considering its scarcity around here. I would be interested to hear what others think of the video. Again, here's the link ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zQsF9UrQ5Y

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I don’t see a whole lot of how you should cut a tree in that video, yes he points to some of the problems you can run into and what to keep of a crotch, but to see what and where you should cut the tree for certain turnings I would say that the book (Turning green wood by Michael O’Donnell) will give you more and the things you now know, you can use for this as well,

here are two pictures that show where you would get certain shapes out of the wood, there is also pictures sand info that shows the distortion you’d get when cutting in certain manners, anyway it is one of the best books for this and I highly recommend it.

Attachment 396796 Attachment 396797

Where do you live? Im in Phoenix and have more Mesquite than I know what to do with. And if it need more, I go into my back yard and tree trim.
It's bulk trash next week and the guy across the street has 3 logs at the curb.

I have a pile of turning books, but the book on green wood that Leo references was the only one that covered this subject.

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Originally Posted by Stan Calow

I have a pile of turning books, but the book on green wood that Leo references was the only one that covered this subject.

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I like that one and it is excellent. https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Green.../dp/1861080891 (I like his book on Decorating Turned Wood is also)

For turners who like to use free wood that grows on local trees (most of us), I have another book that might be useful: Harvesting Urban Timber. Good info on how to go about finding, loading, hauling, cutting, and drying green wood. And safety. It is primarily geared towards flatwood users but most of it applies to woodturning as well. It's an excellent resource, especially for woodturners who don't have experience with getting free wood.

JKJ

Was a good video but there are lots of other options also.
I like winged bowls so I cut directly through the piths (3) you can...
Have the majority of the bowl on bottom, rim poking through the wing at the top... often you see the bowl offset to show more of the flame; or... just the base of the bowl below, then the wing, the the majority on top with a natural edge.
Then you have different cuts for hollow/enclosed forms ...
These are two more by Brian Havens which may give you some more ideas in general. The one on short cuts shows three different layouts IIRC.
He also has about 5 more shorter videos on "urban lumber".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qim92bfxpM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K2PuIr0N_8

Someone could probably do an hour and half video on just different ways to cut an turn the "pith".
Another + on Turning Green Wood.

I thumbed through a dozen or so of my turning books and found that a lot of them have at least something on how to make good use of wood from the log, but it is sometimes spread through the book. I was almost sorry I looked - saw so much I wanted to read/read again but don't have the time. Yellow sticky note bookmarks are so handy.

My advice is to read everything you can get your hands on, then read it again periodically!

I think a mini-review "blog" of turning books would be a great resource.

JKJ

If you are looking for free wood, I'd suggest looking on Craigs list. Go to the things for sale and scroll down on the right column to "free" . Below is an ad for free wood near Flagstaff. Not sure what part of Az you live in but if you watch the CR ads regularly, you may find wood for turning. I watch the ads for central North Carolina and almost every day there are ads for free wood. We are blessed with a lot of hardwood trees in this area. Hope this helps

https://flagstaff.craigslist.org/zip...728914888.html