Drying green wood (and not cracking)

[Olaf Vogel]

I've been turning large HF's for a while and had some success when turning the wall's really thin. There was some distortion as they dried out, but in most cases it actually added to the look and became more organic. However, it has limited me to doing only very thins wall designs. Also when I tried doing this into end-grain, the pith always cracked badly. Very rarely did this work out.

So now I'm roughing in the forms, leaving the walls thicker, and trying to dry them out slowly. Then intent is to finish them later when fully dried - and hopefully not cracked.
I figure even if the failure rate is the same, at least I've only spent an hour or so roughing them in, not 8 hours finishing it...

So far I've:
- coated all the end grain in Anchor Seal (well, Lee Valley's version - which I think is the same)
- left them in my outdoor shed, (not inside)
- weighed and dated them.

Are there any other tips or suggestions I should consider, before I wait 6 months and learn this by trial and error?
:cool:

Thanks for the help.

Olaf

[Bernie Weishapl]

The only thing I can add is I would not leave them out in your outdoor shed. I have them in my shop which has a small room that stays around 68* and on the floor with no much air movement. Humidity in the room is around 40% to 50%. I got this info from Mike Mahoney at a demo he did and he also talks about it in his bowl DVD. It works pretty well and I have had good luck in cutting down on cracks. In a shed you are going to have extreme heat or extreme cold which IMHO causes more cracking. When I do a end grain piece I always soak the pith with CA glue to stablize it.

[Scott Hackler]

Olaf,

I use the Dna soak method and it works at about 99% sucessful.....for me. I know that some people don't see the merit or value of this method but I have tried several other methods and this one suits me the best. Coating the outside with anchorseal works good but the dry time is almost a year. Yuck! I didn't want to wait that long so in my searching I tried the Dna method (do a search) and now from green to dry and ready for final turning is about 4-5 weeks. Now that works a lot better for my style (and patience!).

[Reed Gray]

I don't do many hollow forms, but I have found that it is necessary to leave the bottom a bit thicker, and I will give it a soaking in an oil/wipe on poly finish. This seals up the end grain on the outside. It doesn't seem as necessary to seal the inside. or top part of the end grain.

robo hippy

[Dan Hintz]

I use the DNA method, as well, but you need to get those roughed blanks out of the shed. I'm sure in the sun it gets quite toasty in there, and that's just roasting the water out too quickly.

[John Beaver]

I also recommend putting them in paper bags with a hole at the vessel opening. The bag creates a more consistent environment around the vessel so it is not as susceptible to humidity changes.

[Russell Neyman]

I've seen turners use an old refrigerator heated by nothing more than a light bulb. They delete the refrigeration system, mount a low-watt bulb, drill a hole for a thermometer, cut a vent hole (with sliding door), then simply maintain a constant temperature by varying the size of the vent. It works very nicely.

Personally, I like the rough-turn-and-store method, putting the blanks in a paper bag filled with wood shavings. I check them fairly often, and when I see any sign of a split, I fill that immediately with CA glue. I supposed to wait until the moisture content falls to 12%, but have been known to do some early turning at 17-20%. My girlfriend says the warping fits my personality.

[Olaf Vogel]

Thanks for all the feedback. I haven't tried the DNA idea yet, but since I'm not the world's most patient guy, it seems like a good option.
My shed (workshop) is currently the only place I have to keep stuff. It is fully insulated (essential in Canada) and under a huge tree, so actually stays pretty cool.

However I don't currently have another spot. And if I bring any more unfinished turnings into the house... my girlfriend will kill me. She's already patiently putting up with scooping wood shavings out of the washing machine....
Any guesses if a wine cellar would work? The temp's about 58 F in there. Since air usually hold less moisture at lower temps, I'm guessing its pretty dry, but have no way to measure it.

Many of my HF's are end grain. So the idea of soaking it in CA is appealing. Just have to find a source for larger containers of CA glue.

Thanks

[Dan Hintz]

Many of my HF's are end grain. So the idea of soaking it in CA is appealing. Just have to find a source for larger containers of CA glue.
You're not soaking the entire blank in CA, just applying it to the splits that appear from time to time.

[Steve Campbell]

I also use the DNA soaking method. I take it out of the DNA and just wrap it up in two layers of newspaper. I normally have a few sitting in the corner of my dining room floor. I live alone so I don't catch too much heat for it. I wait about three weeks and start to weigh them. When they stop losing weight they are ready to finish turn.

Steve

[charlie knighton]

Olaf,


Also when I tried doing this into end-grain, the pith always cracked badly. Very rarely did this work out.

i turn endgrain, but only use wood of wide diameter. 16 inches wide, pith at 8 inches, gives me 7 inches from offcenter to bark with no pith, i do not try to keep the pith in. if you are going to keep the pith in a hf, the top hole should be center of rim, and tilt the hf form so the pith in bottom comes out the side and not the base. i started turning oak because i could get large wide pieces of endgrain wood, course i aged them in cardboard barrels. enjoy

[neil mackay]

I find that here in Australia that no one method is suitable for all timbers. So I use all of the above and at times water soaking, along with the microwave, with nasty movers I have used the 50/50 water and liquid soap. Some of our hardwoods are a pain to control dry with any method, but I persist as the rewards are great.
As for drying I tend to put several rough outs in a cardboard box and monitor over a few months filling any checking with CA as they appear.Paper sacks etc are not common here, we kinda use the plastic bag for all our supermarket shopping.

[David E Keller]

I use DNA sometimes and not others... Either way, I've started painting the entire outside of the form with anchorseal then standing them upside down on a rack to dry. I've got a bunch of them waiting, so I generally don't bother with weighing them. I did pick up a moisture meter recently, and I'll probably start using it at some point to assess dryness... Anybody know a reasonable moisture reading for returning?

[charlie knighton]

Anybody know a reasonable moisture reading for returning?

David, less for 12% for bowls, less than 25% for hf

[robert baccus]

I do mostly vases and urns and have found that doing anchor seal on the outside and leaving the inside open works 95% of the time. when wood shrinks from the inside it appears to actually pull the wood together. 3-4 months seems to dry them to a decent moisture content.---------------old forester

[Philip Duffy]

Try boiling them. I have good luck with that method. Phil