DNA questions

[Ken Hill]

I searched but nothing came up that gave me what I am looking for.

I plan on turning out some bowls in teh coming days, and from what I gather, rough them out then soak for anywhere between a few hours to a full 24?

The plates will be done the same, albiet thinner I would think. Does the soak time follow the same time line? How about wrapping the plate with paper...same as a bowl?

Sorry for the questions, just looking to give this method a try. BTW..do yall give extra credit if we homebrew our own:eek::D Thanks in advance!

[Scott Hackler]

Heres my process, other people do some thing different but close to this:

1) rough the thickness to 10% of diameter
2) soak overnight minimum, 1 week for fruitwood
3) take out of Dna, let sit for 15 minutes
4) wrap in 3 layers of newspaper and tape shut
5) mark date and species
6) leave on shelf and check in 3-4 weeks
7) smell through holes for Dna smell, if no smell continue to next step. If you can still smell the Dna leave for another couple weeks
8) unwrap and return the tenon, then turn to finial thickness and finish turning.

This works at about 98% success rate with very little loss.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ken here is the article I think you are looking for by Dave Smith. I soak my bowls longer than 24 hrs. I generally soak for 4 to 5 days then flash dry, then wrap with a grocery sack. I don't feel 24 hrs is enough time to get the DNA into the wood. Dave original article says 2 hrs but he agreed when we spoke that 3 to 5 days especially with fruit wood would be better.

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_473.shtml

I have had very good success with this process.

[Steve Schlumpf]

When I first started using the DNA method I would soak my bowls for 2 hours and then take out and wrap. From my personal experience - they need to soak for at least 12 hours and longer if you can wait!

These days - I soak my HFs for at least 24 hours and most times I let them sit in the DNA for a week or longer! The longer the soak time - the better my success ratio!

One other thing - make sure that your form has even thickness. If one portion is thicker - it will take longer for that area to dry and that can cause the thinner areas to crack.

[Jim Burr]

Follow all of the above...it works. I have some almond, that is notorious for checking, soaking as we speak. I'll see about pulling out in 8 more days for a total of 12 days in soak

[Dave Bell]

Hey Jim,

I recently did an experiment with DNA and soaked mine for a full 24 hours. After which I let the bowls air dry for 1 hour, I then wrapped the bowls in newsprint, leaving the opening of the bowls exposed for drying. After a full 28 days of weighing them they finally stopped loosing weight. At this point I started to turn them and I didn't have any issues with cracks or splits. If you would like to see the drying results (weights) I can post them.

I have read that some folks are attempting to use MH and the results are not as successful.

Dave

[Ken Hill]

Thanks everyone. I had indeed followed that posted article and will follow what yall have outlined!

[Jim Burr]

What kind of wood was it Dave? Almond is just so darn hard and tight celled that I haven't had a lot of luck with it. Just sealed some up...I may try that trick and see what happens;)

[Dave Bell]

What kind of wood was it Dave? Almond is just so darn hard and tight celled that I haven't had a lot of luck with it. Just sealed some up...I may try that trick and see what happens;)

It was Box Elder Burl.

[Skip Spaulding]

Watch your DNA, some brands are are much more toxic than others. Good air circulation and good gloves probably help. I found a great article when I first started, can't seem to put my cursor on it. Bet someone here can direct you.

[Keith Westfall]

Silly question - probably. Where do you get DNA from?

[James Combs]

Any BORG (Lowes, Home Depot, etc) paint department. BTW DNA is Denatured Alcohol.

[Keith Westfall]

Thanks.

Keith

[Keith Westfall]

As long as I'm asking silly questions...

Does the DNA 'wear out'? Or do you just keep using it until it's all evaporated away?

I'm assuming it soaks into the wood and then evaporates. Does it ever get too 'diluted' to use?

Thanks again.