Thomas Bennett
09-08-2010, 12:34 PM
I’ve been interested in the turning characteristics of boiled wood blanks for quite some time. I appreciate the faster drying time for boiled blanks but that is not a factor for me. I seem to make many more blanks than I can turn. I have a lot of blanks that are two and three years old, ready to turn. I also have my own Nyle drying kiln for lumber. I've been hesitant to try it for fear of cracking blanks. I had 10-15 large cherry blanks check badly when I place them , freshly turned, in the trusses of my shop, just under the metal roof. Definately not a good idea.
I re-read Steve Russell’s article and turned some soft maple (see my other thread/gloat about the stump) to 1-1 ¼ thick. I thought I would leave them thick to see what happens. I also turned some red-bud, which is already full of cracks. These are not the best sample to use in an experiment. In the first place, soft maple dries really well , with few defects, without doing anything to it. I usually use anchorseal and the blanks are ready in 4-5 months. Like I said before, though, I usually turn blanks that are two years old.
Just for fun I weighed the blanks before and after boiling. I set up the pressure canner with one maple and one red-bud . I heated the canner to 10 lbs pressure and let it run an hour, or so, then let it cool off all night before opening it up. There is some discoloration, probably due to the red-bud, but not much. I don’t think it will be a problem. I left the blanks in the open air for 24 hours and bagged them.
I re-weighed the blanks and found the soft maple added about 70% weight. It makes sense, they sat in water, boiled under pressure, for over 15 hours or so.
Is it common for a boiled blank to add weight???????????
The red-bud did not add much weight.
I will be weighing these blanks from time to time to check on the progress.
I will try it again with some cherry with “branchlets” , as Steve mentions success with these problem areas.
Any comments?
Below are quotes (and link) from Steve Russel’s article
Steve Russel (http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html (http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html)) : A pressure cooker will reduce the overall cooking time considerably. The problem is getting a large enough pressure cooker to hold your bowls!
The extractives in the timber will quickly make a mess of your pot and you will not want to use it for anything else.
I boil most of the items for one full hour, per inch of wall thickness, under a low to medium heat (not a simmer, not a full rolling boil).
I load as many pieces as I can fit in the pot. You can load quite a few platters into the pot, because they stack so well.
I will reserve the plain paper bag method for pieces whose grain character and overall defects are within the demonstrated success profile. Other pieces that exhibit various defects or possible grain/growth ring compromises will get a "hot water bath."
I have also found that boiled timber dries an average of fifty percent faster than non-boiled timber.
I re-read Steve Russell’s article and turned some soft maple (see my other thread/gloat about the stump) to 1-1 ¼ thick. I thought I would leave them thick to see what happens. I also turned some red-bud, which is already full of cracks. These are not the best sample to use in an experiment. In the first place, soft maple dries really well , with few defects, without doing anything to it. I usually use anchorseal and the blanks are ready in 4-5 months. Like I said before, though, I usually turn blanks that are two years old.
Just for fun I weighed the blanks before and after boiling. I set up the pressure canner with one maple and one red-bud . I heated the canner to 10 lbs pressure and let it run an hour, or so, then let it cool off all night before opening it up. There is some discoloration, probably due to the red-bud, but not much. I don’t think it will be a problem. I left the blanks in the open air for 24 hours and bagged them.
I re-weighed the blanks and found the soft maple added about 70% weight. It makes sense, they sat in water, boiled under pressure, for over 15 hours or so.
Is it common for a boiled blank to add weight???????????
The red-bud did not add much weight.
I will be weighing these blanks from time to time to check on the progress.
I will try it again with some cherry with “branchlets” , as Steve mentions success with these problem areas.
Any comments?
Below are quotes (and link) from Steve Russel’s article
Steve Russel (http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html (http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html)) : A pressure cooker will reduce the overall cooking time considerably. The problem is getting a large enough pressure cooker to hold your bowls!
The extractives in the timber will quickly make a mess of your pot and you will not want to use it for anything else.
I boil most of the items for one full hour, per inch of wall thickness, under a low to medium heat (not a simmer, not a full rolling boil).
I load as many pieces as I can fit in the pot. You can load quite a few platters into the pot, because they stack so well.
I will reserve the plain paper bag method for pieces whose grain character and overall defects are within the demonstrated success profile. Other pieces that exhibit various defects or possible grain/growth ring compromises will get a "hot water bath."
I have also found that boiled timber dries an average of fifty percent faster than non-boiled timber.