How to Dry and Prepare turning blanks

[Dusty Sawyer]

I know this is going to open a can of worms, but I'm looking for lots of suggestions about how to dry and or prepare blanks for turning to minimize the risks of cracking. The vessels I turn vary from plates and bowls to vases. I've had the best luck with Oak that I have completely dried myself over a period of a couple years, but this is pretty tough on the tools and is just too long for me.

A friend suggested soaking the blanks, which got me looking on the web. This only produced more questions. Soaking in soap, mineral spirits, and denatured alcohol, and even boiling the blanks are all suggested. The best documented method I could find was using denatured alcohol. Here is the link: http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_473.shtml

So the question is, what have you tried and what has worked for you?

-david

 

[Sir Chiz]

I've tried 'em all.Detergent is too messy,and caused some finishing problems. Boiling seems to prevent cracking, but not warping, I quit boiling when I got the next gas bill. ;-)
Alcohol didn't light my fire,fortunately.

Oak (red anyway) is tough to dry because it shrinks and warps so much, whole logs tend to split before the second time you look at them. :roll:

Best method for me, split the log lengthwise through the pith and seal the endgrain, that allows to wood to start drying and shrinking with less chance of cracking.
I prefer to rough turn bowls while the wood is wet,it's easier to cut and creates little,if any, dust.
For a bowl 10" or less, rough turn to 1" thickness.
Weigh the piece and write the weight on the bottom.
Coat the piece with paste wax, then pack it in a paper bag with its shavings.
After a month, I'll dump the shavings, weigh the piece and record the weight, then put the piece back in the bag.
Weigh the piece periodically, when it stops losing weight, it's dry.

If I'm in a hurry for a piece, I'll microwave it in the paper bag, usually 45-60 seconds on high, let it cool in the bag. It usually takes several cycles.
Weigh it each time it cools down. When weight loss stops, it's dry.
Oily woods seem to heat up faster, and crack, so I use 30 second bursts for the first 4 or 5 cycles.

When using the microwave, DO NOT leave it unattended!!!! :slap:
I had a piece of maple start to smolder from inside the wood, out. 8-O

Phil.

 

[jeff...]

You might want to check with Nick (NZAPP1), he seemed to have a pretty good thing going with green blanks he bought from me.

 

[Big Mike]

David, our own Link Library will link you to two different articles on using alcohol. I have been using that method for over 2 years now and have not lost a piece. Not saying it is the best method I am just saying it works for me when I follow the directions.

Dry oak is tough no matter how you do it. Rough turning the piece green removes a lot of the bulk but in the finished form you still have to deal with hard dry wood.