Cracks in wood... can i still use it?

[doug young]

I am new to wood turning but have found this forum extremely helpful. The other day someone gave me a bunch of slabs of walnut, maple and other hardwoods. There are sections where i can cut out some bowl blanks with no cracks but a lot if it has fine cracks in it. Is this firewood? what are the guidelines for deciding if wood is useable? The reason i ask is because i have read and seen a lot about spalted wood which seems to have imperfections but is ok? Thanks for the input ahead of time. Reading this forum is a great way to relax and dream of new projects.
doug

[joe greiner]

Sure you can. If the cracks are very small, and don't seriously reduce integrity, you can postpone attention until later (or delete attention entirely). For small cracks, pack with sawdust or other fine powder, and squirt some CA (superglue) into it. Difficult to hide, so use a contrasting color and declare a "design feature." If packed before turning, you may need to add more as you progress, because it won't go very deep.

Some pieces, especially from green wood, may crack after turning. The attached piece of Noble Fir (ex-Christmas tree) did so. I filled the crack with a mortar of epoxy and ground coffee - looked almost like terrazzo after sanding.

If all else fails, you can still use such wood for practice turning.

Joe

[William Bachtel]

I have a friend who fills his cracks with epoxy and glitter. Hes from the 60's

[Christopher K. Hartley]

I have a friend who fills his cracks with epoxy and glitter. Hes from the 60's

William, are you sure? If he was from the 60's he'd probably be using Green or Gold Shag Carpet Fibers.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Doug, Welcome to the Creek!

Turn the wood that appears to be OK and set the other stuff aside until you have a little more experience under your belt - then you can figure out if the stuff is safe to turn or not.

[Bernie Weishapl]

William, are you sure? If he was from the 60's he'd probably be using Green or Gold Shag Carpet Fibers.

ROFLOL Chriis that is a good one.

[Reed Gray]

For utility pieces, I prefer to use solid, defect free wood. For art pieces, you can use anything you can get onto the lathe, and still be able to turn into a shape. You can work around the cracks, or include them as a design opportunity.
robo hippy

[Chip Sutherland]

Now would be the time re-double your safety measures. If pieces start flying off....it'll be from the cracked areas first. Always step aside when you turn the lathe on. Always where a face shield and keep you chin down. I never ever wear safety googles. I will suggest you turn a lower speed and step the speed down when you are going to turn off. You can always spin it up when you start up again. If chunks start flying , your blank may go out of balance so a lower speed will more tolerate it. Make sure your lathe is clamped down if you are on a mini.

Try some epoxy colored with artist paints to throw a little color into the more visible cracks. Afterall, with the cracks it won't hold water and that which doesn't hold water is art.

[Jason Slutsky]

Doug, I'm no master with this topic but I'd watch out if the crack looks like the ones in these pictures... http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot137.shtml

I know that turning wood with ring shake can be very dangerous.

If you're going to use a piece of wood with a crack, just use best judgement on whether you think it will come flying apart on the lathe....and use the slowest speed you can.

Like others have mentioned above, cracks and holes and other "defects" can be very desirable!

[doug young]

That helps alot. What i am hearing is that the issue is safety. I will go slow and see how it works out. Can't say thanks enough for the help this forum has been. Just finished my first bowl. I glued up some mahogany and walnut and my wife was tickled with the result. I now know i need to work on even thickness on the walls. Down near the bottom they were getting thick in proportion to the fear factor. The funnest part was sanding andputting on the finish. I used peanut oil then beeswax and it became beautiful( in the eyes of the turner.) thanks again.doug

[Chip Sutherland]

Does peanut oil go rancid? I thought all cooking oils went rancid. If so, I wouldn't use it. I use tung, danish, walnut oils...and allow them at least 3 weeks after the last oil application to cure (harden) before waxing/buffing. that's my 2 cents.

[doug young]

Thanks chip. I will smell it in a few weeks and let you know. I read somewhere that if you are going to use a bowl for food(salad etc) use either mineral oil, peanut oil and somewhere i thought i even read salad oil. right now it has a slight honey smell(from the beeswax) since this is my first bowl I will soon find out if i made a mistake. thanks for the input. If the house starts reeking will know who and what is responsible. doug

[Reed Gray]

The oils can, but don't always go rancid. With the nut and vegetable oils, you have to make sure that they dry. They don't like to be put away wet. You don't want to have a lot of build up on the surface of the bowl, so wipe it down. Also to help it dry, the bowls need to breathe. They don't like to be locked away in a cupboard.
robo hippy

[Jim Underwood]

I've read that Walnut oil is the preferred method of oiling food use items, since it won't go rancid. The other oils tend to go rancid especially if the utensil contained in some fashion. (think stacking wet bowls) If you keep it out where air can circulate I think you stand a better chance.

Personally I've not used any oil for finishes (Unless you count Rockler's Gel Poly), so I can't tell you from first hand experience.

As for the cracks....

Yes safety is the main issue. And just so that I might possibly remember this in the future, I'm going to quote a safety tag I got recently:

SAFER

Speed: Compatible with the size of the blank
Aside: Stand aside, out of the path of the blank
Fastened: All locking handles secure
Eye: Eye and breathing protection
Revolve: Revolve the wood freehand to ensure it spins freely

Don't stand in "the line of fire" whatever you do. Spinning wood generates a lot of force when it goes linear (explodes).

Wear a face shield.