Pith to Pith turning

[Tom Giacomo]

With sizable logs getting harder to come by I was thinking of trying pith to pith green wood turning. What are the pros and cons of those who have tried it ?

[Bruce Pratt]

Not quite sure what you mean by "pith to pith". If you are speaking of end grain turning "green to final" and leaving the pith in, e.g. vases, goblets, tall hollow forms, success depends on species of wood, moisture content, season of harvest, final wall thickness, uniformity of wall thickness, choice of drying method, and the turning gods.... I've had good success with yew, ash and maple, moderate success with Bradford pear, and variable success with red oak and cherry .... your mileage may vary.

[Grant Wilkinson]

If Bruce has it right about the "pith to pith" meaning, I've had good luck turning vases that way. I've taken to soaking the pith in the bottom with thin CA and I've practically eliminated cracking that way. Before going with CA, I oiled the heck out of them and, as Bruce said, depending on the wood, they stayed in one piece.

[Thom Sturgill]

I turned a round hollow form with green Florida Rosewood. The pith runs side to side. By turning green to final thickness and turning fairly thin (less than 1/4" - 1/8" is better, I was about 3/16") the wood can easily move. So now the 'sphere' is an oblate spheroid - 'think football' - but not by nearly that much.

I have seen several turnings with the pith running bottom to top (with the top pith missing due to the opening). If the bottom is thin enough, it will move rather than crack, but that often means a rounded bottom when it dries. Turning with feet is often a cure for that.

If the bottom is left thick for weight, it is more likely to want to crack.

Another issue, which I just had, was cutting off the end of the log to clear a crack only to have it show up once the top of the HF was thin. As this was the only log that I had that was large enough for a burial urn, I ended up cutting the top out an capping the urn with contrasting wood. The lower pith comes out the side as it was not balanced. I will post pictures later when I get it cut off the faceplate.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I've turned several hundred vessels centering the logs on the piths having a great deal of success. I mostly turn cherry, hard maple , walnut & hickory.

[Thomas Canfield]

You can try turning a cross grain hollow form with the pith running through the sides instead of top to bottom. It will warp, but the checking will be minimal and even add character. I have seen quite a few in one shop in HI and have done a couple. It even works to leave a band of bark on the hollow form and/or hollow out through limb area.

[Tom Giacomo]

Thanks for your comments gentlemen, most of the logs I'm getting now are under 14 inch and I was trying to make the most of them.