Got this letter from a friend in Alaska.
Hey,
After you sent the link about using alcohol to quick cure bowls I tried it. I turned 4 green wood bowls around the 20th of March, and processed them like the article stated except the weighing part. I have let them dry until today and finish turned them this evening. I still have to flip them over and finish the bottoms and get rid of the tenon. I turned these a little thinner than a normal process green-wood bowl, soaked for 24-36 hours, dripped dry, wrapped in newspaper and left them alone for two weeks. After two weeks I unwrapped them and they have been air-drying in the house since. The warping and distortion was less than the traditional method and they seemed as dry as bowls I roughed out in Oct. I am going to keep these for another few months to see if they are indeed dry or if they will warp any more. Thanks for the link. So far I really like this method and I am able to cut my green to finished time down to a third or less. When I get them finished I'll share some pics of the bowls. BTW the bowl you liked the grain in wound up in the pretty piece of firewood pile. I love using the spalted wood, but sometimes there are hidden weaknesses between the "good" wood and the doady/spalted wood. I had it almost turned and ready to sand and it blew apart in the lathe. There was a tiny crack that followed a grain transition and evidently I turned that bowl down too thin.....
Thanks again for the link!!
Hey,
After you sent the link about using alcohol to quick cure bowls I tried it. I turned 4 green wood bowls around the 20th of March, and processed them like the article stated except the weighing part. I have let them dry until today and finish turned them this evening. I still have to flip them over and finish the bottoms and get rid of the tenon. I turned these a little thinner than a normal process green-wood bowl, soaked for 24-36 hours, dripped dry, wrapped in newspaper and left them alone for two weeks. After two weeks I unwrapped them and they have been air-drying in the house since. The warping and distortion was less than the traditional method and they seemed as dry as bowls I roughed out in Oct. I am going to keep these for another few months to see if they are indeed dry or if they will warp any more. Thanks for the link. So far I really like this method and I am able to cut my green to finished time down to a third or less. When I get them finished I'll share some pics of the bowls. BTW the bowl you liked the grain in wound up in the pretty piece of firewood pile. I love using the spalted wood, but sometimes there are hidden weaknesses between the "good" wood and the doady/spalted wood. I had it almost turned and ready to sand and it blew apart in the lathe. There was a tiny crack that followed a grain transition and evidently I turned that bowl down too thin.....
Thanks again for the link!!
