I’m not a turner, my wife is. However, I have a truck, chainsaw, band saw, a relatively strong back, a weak mind and am easily manipulated - so I’m in charge of the portion of the turning process from tree to turning blank. I’m not completely new to this, I’ve done it for several years now and I’ve read a lot and watched various videos on the process. However I’m just not doing it right. I continue to end up with a large percentage of blanks that check before they are turned.
Some background: My wife likes to work on large pieces so I am typically working with logs 16” – 24” in diameter. We are in South Georgia and the species I typically have to work with are Cherry, Bradford Pear, River Birch, Magnolia, Pecan, and Camphor.
So I have several questions:
How quickly should you mill from a log to a blank? I’ve tried immediately cutting logs in the blanks as well as sealing the ends of logs with Anchorseal and cutting blanks several months later. My checking results seem consistent regardless of approach.
I’m making an effort to remove the pith from the center of the log. My wife has talked with other turners/instructors, many who say this is not necessary. What’s your experience?
Sometimes my chain sawing produces blanks that don’t have parallel faces. I get fussed at because it takes her longer to true up the blank. While I’m doing better, should I just tell her to shut up and stop abusing the help and live with it?
After chain sawing and band sawing the blank, I seal the entire blank. Is it necessary to seal the entire blank or just the edges (end grain)?
After the blanks are sealed, they are stored on shelves. Should they be stickered?
Any suggestions are appreciated. I feel like I’m wasting a lot of effort and wood with the approach I am taking.
Thanks
Tom