Shrink wrap for drying

[Don Nurmela]

I had an idea this morning and tried it out, so will keep you posted. I have a bunch of wet green maple and couldn't help myself and turned a few things to finished product and put on a friction finish hoping it would seal it enough to prevent cracking. I have been tracking weight loss on one of them and it began to crack, not unexpectedly.
I have shrink wrap that I purchased to cover my boat and other items also. I just put shrink wrap on the outside hoping it will prevent drying from that surface and will dry only from the inside pulling the crack together.
Has any one tried this? I have a few blanks in the DNA right now and am going to try it on them instead of the newspaper when they come out tonight. The stuff is cheap for how much you need, I am using just the trim from a project I did to make a greenhouse with it, so I hope it works out.
TTYL

[Bill Bolen]

The shrink wrap will stop the drying process rather than slowing it down. Expect to find a lot of mildew in the log or roughed piece if left this way...Bill...

[Ron Stadler]

I have to agree with Bill on this one, Drying has to come from the surface and not the center and your just preventing it to dry all together.

[tom martin]

The only thing I have found that will draw cracks together is throwing the piece into very hot/ boiling water. I keep a canning pot on the stove in the shop. I was going through my rough outs and pulled one that I had high hopes for , but noticed a 1/4 wide crack running on both sides. It didn't crack through to the rim or bottom. A fellow turner was in the shop and I said watch this and threw it in the kettle. We went in the house and watched the second half of the Packer game. On his way out we checked the bowl and you couldn't even see the chack!! After looking very close I found the two areas and applied ca glue. I put it in a cardboard box -still wet and am waiting to see if it stays together.

[Dave Ogren]

See some of Reed Gray's (AKA Robo Hippy) old posts. He has said several times about using 6" wide shrink wrap. Keeping the wrap on the bowl edge about 1" from the inside and 5" on the outside of the bowl. I started doing it and am very happy with the results. I do just over 2 complete wraps then into a paper bag or two. This wrap is about $15 at an office supply store and about half of that at a big box lumber yard. Reed says the compression from the wrap is just enough to keep the bowl from cracking, I have found that to be true. I think if you cover the whole bowl it will not dry just mold. I think that Steve Russell is going to do an article on making bags out of "Tyvec" a breatheable plastic house wrap. I am looking forward to that.

Good Luck,

Dave

[Quinn McCarthy]

I have only used shrink wrap for stopping drying. I never have enough time to finish roughing out bowls so I shrink wrap them right on the lathe. That way when I get back to the they haven't cracked.