Microwave wood

[phil harold]

Does any one do this to dry green wood?

Any tips

I would like to speed the the process of green wood to finish product

turning green then waiting six months to year to finish, just is not exciting...

[kevin nee]

Hello, I put rough turned bowls and whole blanks in the microwave for one minute a day. You can do it twice a day 12 hours apart. Have had very good luck. The micro wave in the shop can take 16 inch rounds. Good luck

[Dennis Ford]

I used to do this occasionally with rough turned pieces. Nuke it enough to get it warm, then take it out of microwave and let it cool off. Repeat as much as necessary. As the wood dries, it will take less time to heat it up; be careful not to over heat. Do NOT use microwave from kitchen if you are married!

[John Keeton]

Do NOT use microwave from kitchen if you are married!Dennis, I rough turned a piece of coffee tree, and nuked it in the kitchen. I don't have a sense of smell, but apparently it was pretty bad!! Fortunately, Ms. Keeton has a heart of gold, and tolerated my errant behavior.

[Greg Just]

I have used this technique a couple of times using a cheap microwave ($35) from Wally-World. Different woods smell differently when nuked. Like other have said, don't over-cook. I wrap my wood in a paper towel to absorb the moisture.

[Tim Thiebaut]

Hello, I put rough turned bowls and whole blanks in the microwave for one minute a day. You can do it twice a day 12 hours apart. Have had very good luck. The micro wave in the shop can take 16 inch rounds. Good luck

Hi Kevin, for how many days do you follow this procedure? Or do you check the moisture with a meter to see if it is done?

[kevin nee]

Hello, I do rough turned bowls for a couple of weeks and on full blanks I just keep going sometimes I will have 6 to 10 going.
If I see a crack I CA glue it and turn it out afterwards. I used the kitchen microwave and things go smoother around here since I got one for the barn. The system has worked great on BURLS. Good luck! I have also hit the 4 minute time button by mistake and ruined the bowl and smoked up the house. PAY ATTENTION

[John Keeton]

Tim, when I did the coffee tree bowl, I finish turned it, and then put it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, repeat. I did this about 6-7 times until I got no visible moisture on the surface of the wood. The bowl did distort a little, but it also had a crotch feather in it, so it would have distorted as it dried anyway in all likelihood.

[phil harold]

I have some nicely figured walnut I want to turn into a vase
and it seems like she wont get it for valentines day
but then again i fixed the dishwasher for her today
hope fully she wont mind me using the microwave

so a minute and halve every 10-15 minutes?

how thick do you turn them before you nuke them?

[Scott Lux]

The best way to know when it is done is by weight. Use a kitchen or postal scale. Measure it before nuking and after it cools. Repeat until it stops losing weight.

I'd be very leery of a fixed schedule of half a minute every 10-15. A thick piece won't cool all the way in that time. Heck pen blank won't always cool in that time. Don't repeat the cycle until the wood is cool.

[John Keeton]

Phil, Scott, the coffee tree bowl was finish turned, so it was not over 1/4" thick. It cooled sufficiently in 10-15 minutes to hold. I would think anything thicker would take quite a bit longer to cool.

[Jeff Fagen]

Set microwave on defrost for 15 minute intervals allowing to cool in between until reaching the desired moisture content. And please refrain from using the ridiculous term nuking.

[Tim Thiebaut]

Tim, when I did the coffee tree bowl, I finish turned it, and then put it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, repeat. I did this about 6-7 times until I got no visible moisture on the surface of the wood. The bowl did distort a little, but it also had a crotch feather in it, so it would have distorted as it dried anyway in all likelihood.

Ok, thank you John!

[John Keeton]

...please refrain from using the ridiculous term nuking.But, Jeff, it is such a macho word - kind of gives me a testosterone rush to just type it!!:D:cool:;)

[Allen stagg]

I put in microwave for about a minute and a hold and let sit for about an hour or so then did it again and again, until the weight stabilized. I weighted each time and it is dry when it stops dropping in weight. Same as above post. I did one too long one time and it started burning inside the wood and the outside turned blackish while burning. Had to soak in water to insure it didn't start making flames. If it gets to hot for a minute, do less. Better to start with a minute and build up to longer times. It depends on the project size. Start slow and build up as needed. I have gone as high as 2 - 3 minutes on larger projects but started less and built up to see how the wood could handle it.

[Roger Chandler]

But, Jeff, it is such a macho word - kind of gives me a testosterone rush to just type it!!:D:cool:;)

John,

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D !!!

[David Gilbert]

I've used several methods to microwave my bowls and have evolved to one that is easier and faster. I nuke (Sorry, I love the term.) my bowls and weigh them as they dry. I have been turning apple, beech, poplar, soft maple, and pear with this these techniques. I use one of the cutoff pieces to estimate the approximate moisture content so that I don't over dry the bowl. Most of the wood that I have been turning has been between 45 and 55% water.

I initially used the plastic bag method where you put the bowl in a plastic bag and zapping it for 30 - 60 second periods at full power. This blows up the bag with steam. I carefully open the bag, let the bowl dry and cool a bit before weighing it. I plot the weights as I go. I then put it back in the dried bag and repeat the process. This can take 15 - 20 cycles. In only a couple of bowls did I have any cracking.

Since taking the bowl out of the bag and drying it was such a pain, I dropped the bag and just used the microwave in 30 second cycles. This worked better but still took lots of cycles.

With my last couple of bowls I changed the process by setting the timer for ten minutes and then lowering the power to 2 or 3. This speeds up the process greatly. With these longer times it becomes very important to not dry the bowl past the equilibrium point. Knowing the estimated starting moisture content provides an estimated end point for your drying and as you get closer the the end, you will need to cut down the time of each cycle.

Normally when I am finished the bowl will feel reasonably dry. As I dry the bowl I try to keep them warm to hot for the entire process. If I need to stop, I will put the bowl back into a plastic bag. One other thing that I normally observe is that after drying the bowl weight will increase over the next 12 hours as it pulls moisture out of the air.

I hope this helps,
David

[Bernie Weishapl]

I tried nuking bowls in a microwave and don't care for the method myself. The LOML didn't care for me using the kitchen microwave and I am to cheap to buy one for the shop.

[Suzanne Launer]

Always amazing me how people seem like microwaves have either a defrost setting, or they run them at 100%.
Has anyone tried putting in the microwave, for 1/2 hour, at 10% power?

I would think the longer you can microwave it, on a low power setting, the better.

[David Gilbert]

Always amazing me how people seem like microwaves have either a defrost setting, or they run them at 100%.
Has anyone tried putting in the microwave, for 1/2 hour, at 10% power?

I would think the longer you can microwave it, on a low power setting, the better. Suzanne,

I think that microwaving at low power for longer times is a good approach. The problem with longer times is that you can go past the equilibrium moisture content and then you risk over drying and possibly burning your bowl. The other problem is your bowl doesn't have a uniform thickness then the thinner parts will dry faster and possibly crack or burn. I like the 10 minute cycle. It gives you a chance to check it as you go along.

By the way, we bought a microwave when we were redoing our kitchen and once it was complete, I volunteered to store it in my shop.

Cheers,
David

[Allen stagg]

You mean a microwave has a setting other than HIGH?