Pros/Cons of different drying methods?

[beloitdavisja]

I'm relatively new to turning and am starting to expand my projects that I'm doing on my lathe. I've been doing mostly a lot of pens and misc small items for 6 months or so.


I'm thinking the next things I'll start trying are bowls and goblets. I turned a goblet the other week out of some really wet wood just for practice. After gaining some confidence with that project, I took my first trip to a sawmill - The Sawmill in Iron Station. Met the owner, Kyle Edwards, and was really impressed. Really fun to talk to. In the end, I bought some green ambrosia maple turning stock (and a couple of cherry boards for a different, yet to be determined, project).


Which brings me to my latest dilemma: drying the wood. This is something I just didn't have to worry about with my pen blanks. I'm going to turn the wet maple blanks down into rough bowls. I'm looking for recommendations on how you all dry your blanks. I don't want to have to wait a year just to start turning them! Doing some research, I think my options are as follows:


1 - Boiling for about an hour and then air drying. This will about halve the drying time, which for me might still be too long!
2 - Microwaving. I've seen a lot of varied methods on microwaving. Some say short bursts at full power, others say to only use the defrost mode for 1-2 minutes at a time. Definitely would get a thrift store microwave to spare the one in our kitchen. Have any of you had any success with this method? Recommendations on time/power settings/etc?
3 - Soaking in DNA. Probably too expensive in the long run.
4 - Brown paper bag with shavings. Not sure how much faster this is compared to air drying, but it doesn't sound too much faster.
5 - Making a DIY kiln. A few videos on youtube show people making them out of old refridgerators or dishwashers with a light bulb as the heat source. But some say to drill holes for ventilation and a fan, others say no fan and keep it sealed.
6 - I could always just skip drying, finish turning and let it warp and see what happens!


Lots of questions here, any guidance would be much appreciated. My aim is to have a drying method where I can finish something in at most a few weeks, and definitely under 2 months.

 

[Sam Knight]

Hello James,
I have been experimenting lately with some drying methods for bowls. Here is what I found out. First I tried rough turning to approximately 1 inch thick and putting the bowl into a box with the shavings from that bowl. The bowl is placed upside down on top of a layer of shavings and then loosely covered. The bowl is then allowed to dry for several months. I had some success with this method. All did some warping and moving which could be returned to the lathe for final turning and had some that cracked beyond use.
Tried the microwave drying method once with success. Turned the bowl to final thickness and shape then microwaved it slowly allowing it to cool between visits back in the microwave. It worked great and I will try again soon.
The last one I have been trying is turning to final shape, and sealing it with 'OB's shine juice', then let it do what it is gonna do. The bowls have moved (most notable warping is the rim) but look great. I like this method the best as I am impatient in waiting for them to dry.
Hope this helps,
Sam

 

[beloitdavisja]

Thanks Sam,

I rough turned one blank the other day and I think i'm just going to finish it and seal it and see how it warps. Might try some drying methods on some later blanks. Right now I need the practice more than I need dry blanks.

What settings did you use when you microwaved?

 

[Bugle]

I like the DNA soaking method. After it's soaked, air dried, and wrapped in a paper bag, I weigh it every few days (on a cheap postal scale). Once it stops losing weight, I turn it to the final diameter. Haven't had any crack so far, except one piece of cherry (fruit woods seem to crack/check easier).

 

[chris_goris]

I think it all depends on how patient you are. Personally, Ive tried most methods and drying slowly seems to be the most stable method. Rough turn your blnks to 10% wall vs major diameter and pack them away in the shavings. If youre looking to get round, and beautifully finished there is no better way short of using kiln dried woods to start with.

 

[Sam Knight]

James,
If my memory serves me correct, I used the normal hi setting. I got a drying method from another turner that I was trying out first where the bowl is placed in a large ziplock bag with the air squeezed out. The bag/bowl is then placed into the microwave on high. Watching the bag as it expands from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, then remove the bowl from the microwave and bag and let cool. Be careful of the steam from the bag when opening. This is repeated until the bowl stops losing weight. Hope this helps.
Sam

Let me steer you to a youtube turner for inspiration with turning green wood. The Rebel Turner, Al Furtado.

Thanks Sam,

I rough turned one blank the other day and I think i'm just going to finish it and seal it and see how it warps. Might try some drying methods on some later blanks. Right now I need the practice more than I need dry blanks.

What settings did you use when you microwaved?

 

[red]

Interesting thread that I am following. I've done the roughout then placed in a bag until the weight doesn't change method with great success. Next I think just turn it green to size, finish and see what happens.

Red

 

[smallboat]

I've only used the rough turn/bag of shavings method and it has worked well.
Interested to hear what experience you and others report here.

FWIW- I tend to rough turn a bunch at once - say a half dozen to a dozen.
Then go back to the previous batch that have been drying to do finish turning.
Doing that sort of leap frog pattern satisfies my impatience since there's almost always something ready to turn, either wet or dry.

I can see where having spent money for a turning blank you want to have a finished bowl in your hands.
For me, found wood means there's not a big investment in stuff sitting in bags drying.

Don't forget to post pics!

 

[Mike Mills]

I do use DNA with many items but found it may crack more. My theory is since water is displaced with DNA it dries quicker so I coat the outside with Anchorseal after the DNA flashes off. Then into a closed paper bag with no shavings. Usually dry in no more than two months and no cracking. I have purchased a roll of stretchy packing wrap (about $12 for 1,000 feet & 6" wide). Wrap the outside tightly and place open end down to allow to dry.
Instead of weighing I have a moisture meter and just check it right through the paper bag. When it gets down to 14% I consider it good to go. The pins are only about 1/2" long but that still reaches the center of 1" thick.
One suggestion by Bill Grumbine is to turn the base thinner since it is side grain and this helps with the drying. A 1" thick bowl may be turned to 3/4" thick in the base.
I will let you know how the stretch wrap goes when I try it.

 

[beloitdavisja]

Don't forget to post pics!

Decided to turn my rough bowl down last night, so here are pics from start to finish.

Blank mounted on the lathe (this was a few weeks ago)

Rough bowl blank (this was a few weeks ago)

Post-sanding and OB Shine Juice

In the end, it's not perfect, but it's a good first bowl. I'm just considering it a practice piece. The blanks from Kyle at The Sawmill are very affordable, so I'm not feeling like I'm wasting any money. I think next time I'll try a shallower bowl. The depth of this one provided some challenges, and I didn't go as thin on the walls as I wanted. But overall, pleased.

​

 

[smallboat]

Nice Work!

It is always a challenge to keep going thinner when you already have a bowl like object.
All part of the learning curve.

What tool(s) were you using to hollow this one?

 

[beloitdavisja]

What tool(s) were you using to hollow this one?

Thanks! Hogged out a hole with a forstner bit in a Jacobs chuck, then used my 1/2 inch WoodRiver bowl gouge to do the rest of the work.

 

[gritz]

DNA can be re-used. A small percentage is absorbed into each piece and the rest goes back in the can. Expense is relative to results and time saved. I have some Yoshino Cherry blanks drying in shavings, some DNA processed, and more waiting to be roughed. I also scored 3000# of old growth cherry in the past few weeks and will be experimenting with that, including microwaving.
Both are prone to splitting, so I'm also looking for the best solution in time for a fall festival and Christmas gifting.