Bowl Turning and drying time

[rsitzejr]

Turned a rough bowl out of some green Maple, just roughed it out, left it about 3/4" thick. Put it in a paper bag and a dark closet to dry before finishing it up. How long should I leave it? How to I tell if it's dry enough?

[Mike Davis]

That will take a couple months.

If you soak it in Denatured alcohol over night and put it back in the bag you can turn it in a week.

Weigh it each day when it stops getting lighter it's ready.

[WoodWrangler]

Originally Posted by Mike Davis

That will take a couple months.

If you soak it in Denatured alcohol over night and put it back in the bag you can turn it in a week.

Weigh it each day when it stops getting lighter it's ready.

Great tip ... I'll try that too.

I had always heard about 6 months of waiting ... and that's a long time for me!

[JRD]

I'm a BIG believer in making use of denatured alcohol.

Soak the green piece for a day, wrap it in paper, and then I wait about a month before turning just to make certain it's as dry as it is going to get.

Compare that with the natural rate of air drying, about one inch of thickness per year, and you can see the benefit. DNA drying also works well with woods that have a natural tendency to check, like most fruit woods. I've done a fair number of pieces of apple and pear and not lost a one when dried with the DNA method.

Jim

[rsitzejr]

Thanks for the tip, it's soaking now.

[Nice Figures]

I haven't tried this, I've microwaved and boiled rough turned pieces with good success but never the DNA. I have a couple questions.

1. Does the DNA displace the water and if it does
2. How do you know when to replace the DNA (I'm assuming you reuse it).

Thanks, Paula

[owen299]

Just wondering where to get DNA and and how much is needed. I'd
like to give it a try but know very little about it . I'll try anything
once.

[rsitzejr]

I bought a gallon at Lowe's. Amount depends on how large your bowl is I would guess. A 5 gallon paint bucket with lid and it covered my bowl, and I resealed it for use again. I just took the bowl out Tuesday evening and put it in a paper bag. I'll probably weigh it tonight, and then a later this weekend to see if it's drying more. I'll post how it works.

[JRD]

DNA can be found at any paint or decent hardware store. I usually buy a gallon or two and put it in a plastic bucket with a snap on lid to keep it from evaporating.

Yes, as I understand it the DNA displaces the water in the wood, so your bucket slowly gains water, diluting the DNA. While there must be some way to know for certain when to replace the DNA, I just wait until it seems to take longer to get a green piece to dry out. I figure that's telling me the DNA is no longer as effective and needs to be replaced.

[Mike Davis]

Rob,


Tape the bag around the rim of the bowl so the inside can dry faster than the outside. Wood naturally want to go the other way so this will equalize the pressures.

I think you can check the alcohol with an antifreeze meter, just be sure it is one made for alcohol. When the alcohol/water mix gets below 50% you can add more alcohol to bring it up to at least 70%.

I will try to search that for certain because my memory is not clear on it.

OK, here's a great explanation, scroll down to determining alcohol percentage. You might not want to go to this much trouble, but alcohol is expensive...

http://alcoholsoaking.blogspot.com/

[Mike Davis]

Here is a condensed version of the original article.

link

[rsitzejr]

Good article, thanks. I need to rewrap my bowl as all I did was put the bowl in a paper bag and rolled it up.

[Nice Figures]

Thanks, this is a great article, I'm going to try it with my next set of turnings. I found the gallon size of DNA at the Ace Hardware here on the island cheaper than at Lowes.

Paula