Pith.....

[Bonnie Campbell]

Did I spell that right? Anyhow.... I'm not to wood smart. I read that it's not good to turn a piece with the pith in. I've got some logs donated to my turning adventures, they're only 5"-7" diameter. Could I turn them in chunks (lengthwise) and turn through the bottom and replace the pith section with another wood? Would that keep the wood from cracking/splitting (whatever it does?)?

Still learning the abc's and probably will be for a loooooooooooooooooong time!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bonnie I turn logs into vases with the pith in them. Larry Hasiak said it is best if the pith is dead center or pretty close if you are turning end grain. If you turn it 90 degrees he said make sure the pith will be centered on both side. He turns a lot of Norfolk Island Pine with the pith in them. I have had some cedar start spider cracks at the pith but I just used thin CA on them and they turned out just fine. I will be posting a vase in a few days when the finish is dry that was turned with the pith in it. Only problem is the wood is so dark I don't think I can get a picture of it in the bottom. Others with more experience than I will chime in.

[Ben Werner]

In my experience its generally not a problem. after I rough out the bowl I put ca glue over the pith on each sides before placing in DNA. I generally get some small cracks which i turn away in the final process or just add a little character to the bowl . In terms of keeping the pith centered I think I disagree. For black walnut anyway it makes it look much more interesting when its not centered... I have done it bout ways and havent noticed a difference in cracking. Heres an example of a black walnut bowl i did with the pith through the middle (not centered), it is 5 inches across at the widest.



Ben

[Bonnie Campbell]

Now that is cool! Once I can get hubby feeling well enough to direct my chainsaw usage I'll try getting some chunks cut to try Thanks for the info.

[Patrick Taylor]

I agree with Ben. Pith's are ok for decorative pieces (be prepared for a little cracking that may or may not happen) and add character. The cracks, if they happen, can be filled or not (personal taste). I like to have branch piths in bowls, and they usually don't crack like the trunk piths, I think because they're smaller relative to the size of the trunk & bowl. Here's an example of a cedar bowl from a blank that does not have the trunk pith but has piths from branches that extended out of the trunk at this location.
Hope that helps...

[Mike Vickery]

In my limitied experience you are taking a gamble by leaving the pith in. I do not meen it is a bad thing. Some times you win and sometimes you loose. But isn't that part of the fun of turning.
To bore you with a short story I had a 18 inch end grain platter i was making out of some old growth mesquite. This stuff was a bear to cut especially with the end grain orientation. Since it is so stable I turned it to final dimension (about 3/8ths for this one) and was going to let it dry then sand it. I probably worked on it about 3 1/2 hours. Well it did not crack at all around the pith however when it dried the pith bubbled out about 1/2 inch in about a 3 inch diameter circle. First time I have ever seen anyhting like that, to the burn pile it went.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Well I guess I'll just have to give these logs a try. If the pith behaves to badly I'll figure out how to plug the pith hole with another wood. Can't hurt to try, and the logs were free

I sure do appreciate everyones help on things. I wouldn't know what to do myself on most of this turning stuff!

[Patrick Taylor]

Can't hurt to try, and the logs were free

Nothing to lose!

[Doug M Jones]

Bonnie,
The worst that can happen is you will spend practice time on the lathe with nothing to show for it. Give it a shot and post the completed pic regardless of how it turns out. Then we all learn.

Good Luck,

[Ben Werner]

what they said