Message from the President
September, 2012

It’s finally close to cooling off here in the desert.  That means it’s finally time to get back into the shop.  I never really stopped turning this summer but my shop time was definitely limited because of the heat.  2 years ago I was turning something every single day, even during the hottest part of the summer (my shop is in my garage and is without any climate control and faces to the South so it can easily exceed 120 degrees) .  This summer I took a bit of a break.

I didn’t stop turning this summer, far from it.  I continued to turn on a regular basis, but only one or two days a week, and only for an hour or two at a time.  Saturday and Sunday mornings before it started to get hot.  When I did turn it was primarily for our monthly President’s Challenges and possibly 1 or 2 other items for the Instant Gallery.  I also had a small commission piece and I had to do some prep work for a demo I did up in Flagstaff about a month ago.    

Now that the heat has finally started to subside I’ve been turning a fair amount.  It doesn’t hurt that I recently came across some very interesting wood, in a firewood pile I recently learned about.  I’ve also been doing something I don’t normally do; turning green to finish.  Normally I leave the wood thick, set it aside to slowly dry for a minimum of 6 months, and then come back later to turn it to final thickness before sanding and finishing.  With this wood I’m turning the pieces so that they’re less than ¼” thick and turning them start to finish in one session.  The results are dramatic and mostly unpredictable, similar to what I experienced while turning some Madrone burl a couple years ago.    

Turning green like this also means that my time from start to finish can be measured in minutes – not months.  The results are also very interesting as the species I’m turning is prone to extreme wood movement.  Because the wood is still green sanding is very difficult so cuts must be as clean as possible.  I’m also rethinking my normal finishing process as the wood can’t be power sanded because of the extreme warping that’s occurring during the drying process.  Even with some issues and some unknowns it’s still tons of fun and just might be practice for a future President’s challenge or two. 

If you haven’t turned something green to finish give it a try.  The results might surprise you.

Jason