Blanks Arrived today now what?

[Dewey Torres]

Hello all,
I bought some blanks from the bay and now they arrived in wet newspaper. I do not have any DNA on hand. Should I go get the DNA before I rough them?

Never turned green wood before and these will be my first bowls.

[Jarrod McGehee]

Dewey, I'm not sure I can help but is DNA denatured alcohol??

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dewey yes get your DNA and container ready so you can put them in when you get them roughed out. If you don't you probably will have some cracked bowls. I leave mine in for minimum 24 hrs to as long as 4 days for fruit wood and have had great luck with it. Most times my bowls are dry and ready to go back on the lathe in 3 weeks or so.

[David Christopher]

Dewey, rough turn the blanks the shape that you want..leave them a little thicker than you intend them to be when finished..soak them in DNA, put them in a brown bag for about a month or so, rechuck and finish turning then put on your favorite finish...BTW your suprise should be there monday

[Dewey Torres]

Dewey yes get your DNA and container ready so you can put them in when you get them roughed out. If you don't you probably will have some cracked bowls. I leave mine in for minimum 24 hrs to as long as 4 days for fruit wood and have had great luck with it. Most times my bowls are dry and ready to go back on the lathe in 3 weeks or so.
Thanks Bernie...where do the pros buy the stuff?
5 gallon bucket right?


Dewey, rough turn the blanks the shape that you want..leave them a little thicker than you intend them to be when finished..soak them in DNA, put them in a brown bag for about a month or so, rechuck and finish turning then put on your favorite finish...BTW your suprise should be there monday

David,
I am watching the tracking on it:D
What does the brown bag do for me???

[David Christopher]

Dewey, you can buy DNA at wallmart, BORG, any paint store....brown bag helps piece from cracking/checking

[David Christopher]

oh yea I buy 2 gallons and keep it in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid so not to evaporate and replinish as needed...normally 15 bucks a gallon

[Dewey Torres]

....brown bag helps piece from cracking/checking

Ok I feel like an idiot but you put the roughed bowls in the bag and close the bag over it...rolling it down all the way to the bag right?

[David Christopher]

Ok I feel like an idiot but you put the roughed bowls in the bag and close the bag over it...rolling it down all the way to the bag right?

thats right..dont ask why...it just works

[tom martin]

Dewey,
You don't have to use DNA on bowls, there are other options.
here are a few-
1.Rough turn and then place a paper bag and place on a rack that allows air circulation.
2. Boil the roughed bowl (I think for an hour?) and then allow to dry
3. Rough turn and then re-coat with your end grain sealer and allow to dry for a couple of months
4.Some folks use dish soap solution and then allow to dry
5. rough turn and pack in a breathable container with some of the wood chips from the bowl and allow to dry
6. If your as impatient as I was on my first bowls-Finish turn thin,sand, and apply finish (much of the drying will occur as you are turning and sanding) If your wall thickness is close, it will dry fairly consistently although it may warp/distort to some extent.

Personally I now rough turn and reseal with anchor seal until dry (about 3-6 months depending on conditions) and get very good results. The other options have been covered in other posts with a lot more detail than I can remember. I did try DNA, but it was stinking up the shop, expensive, and gave me about the same results as the Anchor Seal.
Good luck and happy turning,
Tom

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on getting your first bowl blanks - you will love this part of turning!

Check out this site for info on the DNA process: http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_473.shtml

After rough turning the bowl so that the thickness is 10% of the diameter - I soak it in the DNA. Once the bowl is taken out of the DNA - allow it to surface dry a little before wrapping with brown paper bag. You use brown paper bag to slow down the drying of the exterior as compared to the interior. Wrap the bowl as shown on the web site. Write type of wood and date wrapped on the outside so you know what you have.

Good luck with it! Looking forward to seeing the bowls!

[Don Carter]

Dewey:
Steve has a great link to the DNA method. I use several layers of newspaper and masking tape the rims. I have been making some small boxes from green wood and soak them in DNA in large ziploc baggies, after rough turning. Seems to work well. I have not had a box crack yet. I do wait a couple of weeks on the small stuff as well before finish turning.

All the best.

Don

[Al Wasser]

Dewey, I think the only green wood worth messing with is what you can find locally for free. Buying green wood off the bay and have had it crack when it it hit our dry air taught me it wasn't worth the effort. Green wood can cost more to ship also. There is enough dry wood on the bay if you want to do that.

From time to time you can pick up some short stuff worth turning for little $ at the lumber yard on Stone in the Springs

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I would have to disagree with the not getting wood off e-bay. Some wood may not grow where you live. For example, walnut, elm, maple and cherry are hard to find in Hawaii. But we get weed trees like monkey pod, pheasant wood and mango. Also some "exotics" as you mainland folks would consider, koa and other native trees. e-bay has some great deals, and as long as you're careful, and get a reputable source that completely seals green wood in wax, you should be fine. Yeah, if you buy wood from joe blow, you could get screwed.

Just be smart and watch what you buy. Take advantage of the flat rate boxes. You'd be amazed at what can fit in it.

Wood is wood. You could get a perfectly good chunk of kiln dried wood from the store or lumber yard and it can crack and warp in your garage. Or have a giant rot section.

[David Christopher]

dewey, is your blanks waxed ?????

[Dewey Torres]

No they are not waxed...
I am thinking I will go get some DNA and rough them asap and hope for the best. The 2 blanks cost me $20 shipped.

Can I wax them my self?

[Dewey Torres]

From time to time you can pick up some short stuff worth turning for little $ at the lumber yard on Stone in the Springs

You mean CO Lumber right? With the unfinished furniture in front and wood in the back?

[Kaptan J.W. Meek]

+1 on the bay wood. I've bought several pieces and "MOST" have turned out just fine. Some box elder, walnut, a nice maple burl, a piece of chestnut, mesquite, and some elm, all turned out nice. However, a big piece of honey locust checked on me, and another piece of walnut arrived with a big crack on it.. The guy made it good though..

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Hey Dewie! Have you got a microvave oven big enought to hold them, one at a time? If so, Nuking them works well.

Here's my formula. Has worked on 12" dia X 4" high blanks for me.

Place the blank in the microwave for 2 minutes at 20%. (don't stand around waiting, do something while it cooks) It will be very hot to the touch. Take it out and put the other one in. Let them sit till they feel cool or cold to the touch. Do it again. Keep doing it till they are not hot to the touch. That means that there is no more water in the wood. Let the wood sit for a week to adjust to the moisture of your shop, then you are ready to turn.

Bruce

[Barry Elder]

You will probably be able to find DNA in 5 gal. cans at one of the local hardware stores and save a lot on the per gallon price. Let your fingers do the walking!

[Al Wasser]

Yes, CO lumber is the name of the place -- I just could not recall it when I posted. Kyle, I do not say to not get wood of Ebay just that green wood likes to crack when it hits the 5-10% humidities that are common here. You can get good dried wood of Ebay

[Dewey Torres]

Thanks all. The DNA drying is something I will need to learn anyway so off to go get some and get these blanks roughed out.
Paper bags are harder to come by these days.

[Ben Gastfriend]

Check out this tutorial, by SMC member Dennis Peacock. Lots of pictures and explaination on the method.

http://www.beautifulwood.net/html/bowl_processing.html

[Dewey Torres]

Well folks,
Today I got both of the blanks roughed out ans they are soaking in the DNA right now...here we go

[Don Carter]

Dewey:
Well, how does it feel? Slight breeze of the vortex pulling you further and further into the great unknown?;)
I will not mention pics but....

All the best.

Don

[Dewey Torres]

Dewey:
Well, how does it feel? Slight breeze of the vortex pulling you further and further into the great unknown?;)
I will not mention pics but....

All the best.

Don

Yes it feels good. I had my fair share of catches today trying to learn the bowl gouge. The second one went way better than the first. Kept losing the bevel:mad:. You don't want to see the roughed out bowls do you? I will post pics if you want but will warn you I am turning a bowl with rather boring 90 deg sides... lets call it a canvas! Wait and see!

[Steve Campbell]

Dewey you are not the only one that has problems finding brown paper bags. No one around here uses them anymore. I just use two layers of newspaper. Just kind of wrap them up as best you can and stuff any extra in the open bowl. I put mine up for a couple weeks and then start to weigh them. When they stop losing weight they are dry enough to turn.
Have fun

Steve

[David Christopher]

Dewey, you just couldnt wait could you

[George Guadiane]

I would have to disagree with the not getting wood off e-bay. Some wood may not grow where you live. For example, walnut, elm, maple and cherry are hard to find in Hawaii. But we get weed trees like monkey pod, pheasant wood and mango. Also some "exotics" as you mainland folks would consider, koa and other native trees. e-bay has some great deals, and as long as you're careful, and get a reputable source that completely seals green wood in wax, you should be fine. Yeah, if you buy wood from joe blow, you could get screwed.

Just be smart and watch what you buy. Take advantage of the flat rate boxes. You'd be amazed at what can fit in it.

Wood is wood. You could get a perfectly good chunk of kiln dried wood from the store or lumber yard and it can crack and warp in your garage. Or have a giant rot section.
Kyle,
Let me know if you want to trade some fresh cut pheasant wood for some figured/spalted/ambrosia maple or maybe some cherry burl... I have plenty of those. Priority flat rate boxes make shipping affordable.
Seriously, if you're interested, PM or email me.
:D

[Dewey Torres]

Dewey, you just couldnt wait could you

Couldn't wait for what? I ordered these before I got your PM. It was an ebay auction so I had to bid and wait. It took a while. Heck I will still have a month of drying here before I can finsh turn them. I may have turned them too much anyway. I am worried about that.

UPS comes tonight...tracking for delivery!:D:cool:

[Mark Norman]

They done yet Dewey?

[Ron Crosby]

DNA is very stinky, most people I know can't stand the freakin' smell. :(

Dewey, all you gotta do is place your rough turned project into a brown paper bag, and seal shut.
It works just as well as DNA for preventing cracks etc.

Btw.....DNA isn't 100% effective, and neither is the bag idea. So save yourself some $$$$$ and the air you breathe.

[Mark P. Brown]

I agree with the local woods. Check with the power companies, tree trimmers, and the city you live in for their green waist disposal sites. If you want fruitwood check with any orchard growers in your area. A lot of times a half days free labor with any of these groups will get you a truck load of good wood.:D
Mark