how do you dry it out?

[engineerone]

not done any turning, recently, but talking to a friend he wants to do some work with green wood, and asked whether i knew how you could sort of seal it, and dry it out.

seem to remember that you can use a product called PEC???
that both coats and seals and allows the wood to dry out slowly after you have worked on it, or am i as usual talking out of the wrong orifice ;D

paul

[jaco]

Not done any green turning, but have heard that they wrap it up in newspaper to prevent fast drying and then splitting.

[jpt]

HI

There are many ways to do this I have tried a few all with mixed results. Like everything else in turning sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

If you want to turn to a finish in one go then the simplest way is to turn it thin then leave it in a cool place to dry, some will split some wont.

Another method is to turn it to whatever size you want then microwave it. There are 2 methods to do this the first is the slow way. Weigh the item then microwave it on defrost for a minute then take it out and let it cool for at least 30 mins, then weigh it again. Repeat as many times as needed until the weight stays the same, it is then dry. The second way, and the way I prefer and have had more sucess with is to put it in the microwave and blast it on full power for about 5-10min. Remove from microwave and leave to cool. I have tried both methods and had success and failure with both. If you do try this it is best not to use the wifes microwave or do it inside the house as it will stink the house out and leave an unpleasant smell in the microwave.

Another way is to pre soak the wood in PEG or Pentacryl. You can also use this by brushing it on as you go. A cheaper alternative to these is a 50/50 mixture of washing up liquids and water, either used to soak the wood in before turning or brushed on as your turning.


If you want to rough turn it then leave to dry again there are several methods.

The first is to rough turn then leave in a cool place to dry out, depending on the wood type etc this can cut drying time down to weeks rather than months.

Another method is to rough turn it then wrap in either newspaper or brown paper, then cut the center out to allow drying. The idea of the paper is to slow down the water loss so it wont crack.

Yet another way which can be used on either finished or rough turned items is to put them in a large sealed plastic bag in a warm place. Every couple of days turn the bag inside out to get rid of the moisture.

Another method is to boil it I haven't tried this myself yet.

There are many more methods out there so the best way is to just experiment.

john

[jasonb]

I use the plastic bag method, just turn it inside out every day until you see no condensation on the inside of the bag.

Jason

[tigerturnings]

I tried boiling but only with a very small sample so the results - which were a partial success - are not significant. I did find that there was some discolouration of the timber, perhaps leaving the walls thicker before the boil would have been advantageous.

I've also heard of people claiming success from soaking in washing-up liquid and then air drying, but I haven't tried that. I think it's meant to have some of the same properties of PEG whilst being cheaper and more readily available.

What I usually do at the moment is turn to a wall thickness of 10% of the maximum diameter, then coat the bowl with Chestnut EndSeal (water based wax emulsion). I leave the bowls at low level and in a position where air can circulate for some months, then final turn, finish and bring indoors. I don't do a large quantity of bowls, but I'm finding this method generally works for me.

Cheers

TigerTurnings