Shavings or Anchorseal?

[Glenn Samuels]

Tonight in my lathe class, I roughed out a cedar bowl. At the end of the night, one of the gentlemen asked if I had a paper bag to hold the shavings and the bowl (for drying). I mentioned that I was going to coat the bowl in anchorseal and wait for it to dry. They all seemed surprised saying that it would not dry. I realize that it may take 7-8 months to dry but I have heard on this site that using anchorseal really increases the chances of the bowl surviving with no cracks. I am curious to see what your preferences are? Thanks

[Eric Gourieux]

Glenn,

There are a lot of different ways that people dry their turnings. The general idea is to slow/control the drying process and slow the drying of the outside of the bowl relative to the inside. My personal preference is to coat the outside, rim and about 1" of the inside of the bowl with Anchorseal. I used to coat the whole piece, but now I don't coat the inside. It WILL dry if completely coated but will take longer. And, if completely coated, you will be more likely to develop mold in my experience.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use anchorseal on all my rough outs. Been doing it for a couple of years now since talking with Mike Mahoney about it. I use the original anchorseal that you have to special order direct from the company. I ordered 5 gals which will last me for a long time. I have lost only 2 bowls and yes it does take 6 months to a year to dry but works for me. I have use DNA, paper sacks with shavings, and microwave. I store mine in a cool, dry area on the floor with little air flow. Never have had a problem with mold.

[Sid Matheny]

I Anchorseal the outside and rim and fill the bowl with shavings.

Sid

[Chip Sutherland]

I just coat the end-grain which is more susceptible to cracking. Putting the chips in the bag doesn't hurt. I use heavy brown paper, not a bag, so I will put some chips in the bowl.

[Steve Doerr]

Glenn,
I have used Anchorseal, shavings and paraffin after ruffing. I have abandoned all three. Here is why, (1) for me, both Anchorseal and paraffin take too long for the wood to dry to get to final turning; (2) shavings in a bag can cause the wood to mildew, which is next to impossible to get out of the wood. Instead, I now use the DNA (denatured alcohol) process. I have a plastic 5 gallon bucket with a lid that I store my DNA in. After rough turning I soak it in the DNA for at least 24 hours, then let it drain dry for about an hour or so and them wrap in newspaper (cut a whole in the paper wrap about the size of the bowl opening to let it breath). I then record the weight and when its weight reaches equilibrium it's ready for final turning. What is really nice, is this takes only about 2 to 4 weeks depending on how wet the original wood was. Just my 2 cents worth.
Happy turning,
Steve

[Thom Sturgill]

Another method I've seen used in Florida is to put the turning in a PLASTIC bag. The trick is you have to turn the bag inside out every day! Talking with David Ellsworth, he says that what is important is stopping air flow over the piece. When I set up shop, I built a counter along one wall that is all drawers and that is where I place my bowls after a DNA soak. I soak not to dry faster, but to kill mold.