Turning blank storage

[Gerald McGrantham]

I have several turning blanks of various species. Some have Anchor-seal (I guess) on them and some do not.

My shop is heated, but no air conditioning. I feel uncomfortable about leaving the blanks just sitting on the shelf. Especially in the summer where I may have the windows and doors open to help cool the shop. Humidity is my big concern.

I tried a window air conditioner, but I can't leave it running all the time.

I was thinking of storing the blanks in big plastic containers, the type that has hinged top covers that lay along the sides of the container when open.

Will this create problems for the turning blanks?

Also, are there particular exotics that should not be stored with certain woods?

I appreciate your input and thanks in advance,

Gerald

[John Hart]

Hey Gerald...welcome to the ever-spinning, mind-sucking vortex of The Creek.

A big concern with blanks is the sun. It is located 93 million miles away...but can still be a big problem (kinda like my Mother-In-Law). But a fairly stable humidity and temperature shouldn't cause you much grief, as long as your blanks are in a shady spot.

I wouldn't recommend any kind of plastic as the environment within the container would try to equalize the moisture of the wood and air....causing dampness and mold.

I don't think certain woods care about what other woods they hang around with....but I could be wrong. Someone else might know better.

In fact...just ignore me. I just wanted to say "Welcome"

[Wally Dickerman]

You say that some of your blanks have a sealer on them and some do not. I strongly suggest that get anchorseal on all of them. Why wouldn't you? That should be all that's needed. Keep them out in the open. I live in hot, dry Arizona and have quite a few stored blanks. All have anchorseal on them. I seldom have problems with cracks. If I do, the cracks were probably already there.

Wally

[Gerald McGrantham]

Thanks for the welcome, John. I didn't think about mold. Good Point. They are well away from the sun also.

I have a few blanks of Ambrosia Maple that were sealed, but have mold on them. I'll have to figure a way to clean it off and anchor-seal it again.

Wally, some blanks are sealed and some are not, that was how I received them. I have some Anchor-seal and your point about sealing them is well taken. Thank you for that.

Gerald

[Edward Bartimmo]

Gerald,

This may be redundant...not sure your experience of this topic so I covered the full spectrum. Sorry, I am passionate about my time with a chainsaw..

I am down in Texas so sun and moisture are a constant battle. The reality is that you are going to loose some wood during the drying process. Sometimes this even will happen to turning blanks that you buy from your local woodshop. Go ahead and plan for this when roughing out your blocks. Always cut your blanks a little larger expecting to have some cracking on the ends that you will cut away before turning the blank. Don't get your heart broken on this. Hopefully you can salvage a smaller piece from a cracked blank and at worst maybe the scrapped wood can make a nice steak. I have three bins outside my house by the BBQ for cutoffs and wasted blanks....Mesquitte, Hickory/Pecan, and exotics (Maple/Cherry/Mulberry/Apple/Plum).

In the case of blanks that you have harvested...seal them immediately. If you have harvested a log but don't have time to immediately process it into blocks then keep it in the log form and seal the ends until you have time to resaw into blanks. The purpose of sealing the blanks is an attempt to slow the drying process...speed by which the moisture leaves the wood. The heartwood (pith) in a tree is fairly dead and contains marginal moisture, whereas the sapwood is still living and has lots of woisture. The primary cause of cracking in wood is an unequal rate of drying across the different grain (heartwood vs sapwood). If you look at a log as it dries you will see radial cracks originating from the sapwood aiming back to the pith. The reason for this is that the sapwood is shrinking the most and the pith is remaining fairly put so the log begins to split open. For this reason it is a general practice when harvesting and blocking out wood to remove the pith so that any block of wood is the same consistency with the ultimately objective of all of the wood in a block to be shrinking (loosing water) at the same rate.

Many turners like Mold...it is part of the spalting process. Mold / fungus is a double edged sword in that it can create amazing patterns in the wood, but at the same time it is part of the decay process that eventually reduces a solid piece of wood to pulp. The amount of moisture and heat directly impacts the rate of decomposition. You just have to keep an eye on it as the process takes place. I can place a log on my yard in Houston and in 6 months it can be rotted through, whereas friends in Colorado bury their maple for a year or more and retrive beautifully spalted wood that is still solid as a rock.

The humidity in your shop will help slow the drying process as the wood will not dry out as quickly. It is unlikely that the wood drying will produce enough additional moisture in your shop to cause rusting issues for your tools above whatever currently exists in the ambient air. Placing sealed wood in containers in your shop isn't bad so longer as there is some air flow (open the lid every once in a while). However, putting sealed containers in direct sun will creat a greenhouse inside and at the very least will accelerate the decomposition process. It will also expedite the process of drawing moisture out of the wood. As to comingling woods in containers you should have no problems especially if they are sealed. The only potential problem would involve unsealed wood in which you have a nice light wood, such as Holly, laying against an oily exotic wood, such as Cocobolo. The oil from the Cocobolo may stain the Holly where they touch...but in reality this will be superficial and this amount of wood most likely would be turned away when you shape the wood.

Edward

[Brian Greb]

Wood storage... I keep my lumber in the attic and shed out back, I keep my turning blanks in a cabinet in the shop and in the shed out back(I also keep some in my neighbors wood pile... he just doesn't know it yet). As Long as you seal the end grain and keep the blanks from having intimate contact you should have minimal problems.

I have noticed the blanks out in the shed dry quick... must be the 100 degree summers.

[Allen Neighbors]

Wow!! Edward!! Well said! Very good explanation of the storing process....

[Gerald McGrantham]

Wow!! Edward!! Well said! Very good explanation of the storing process....

I was just going to echo the same thing, Allen.

Thank you for that, Ed.

Gerald