Drying bottle stopper blanks

[Greg A Jones]

Rook question, please. Have searched archives to answer 1st question many will ask and while it's possible and maybe likely that I may have overlooked the answer, I didn't see it.

I've ordered several 2"x2"x12" blanks of various exotic species to be cut into bottle stopper blanks. None that I noted were kiln dried. My question(s) - Should I give them a DNA bath and a couple weeks in a brown bag to dry before turning them into stopper toppers or will they be good to go as they are? Also, should I cut them into blank size before soaking or soak the whole sticks? Thank you in advance for both your patience and your advice.
Greg

[Dan Masshardt]

Rook question, please. Have searched archives to answer 1st question many will ask and while it's possible and maybe likely that I may have overlooked the answer, I didn't see it. I've ordered several 2"x2"x12" blanks of various exotic species to be cut into bottle stopper blanks. None that I noted were kiln dried. My question(s) - Should I give them a DNA bath and a couple weeks in a brown bag to dry before turning them into stopper toppers or will they be good to go as they are? Also, should I cut them into blank size before soaking or soak the whole sticks? Thank you in advance for both your patience and your advice. Greg Where did you get them from? I buy spindles from woodcraft locally and some other pen related companies and haven't had a problem with just using them. But you should consider and check each one if you are concerned.

Buying off eBay I'd be more cautious probably.

If you know that you're going to use them for stoppers, might as well cut them to size. If they aren't fry enough, the smaller pieces will help the process at least a little bit.

Do you have a moisture meter?

[Mike Cruz]

I don't know much about DNA with exotic species. Not sure if their density and oils would impede the DNA from doing its voodoo.

For standard bottle stopper blanks, I would cut them to finished blank sizes THEN give them a bath. You are more likely to get DNA all the way into the wood. 2" seems like a lot of wood to penetrate. And since the DNA and water will flow best through end grain, 12" seems like a long path, too. That is why I'm saying to cut the 2 x 2 x 12s into bottle stopper blank sizes, then soak them. That is, if the consensus is that DNA works fine with exotics...

[Greg A Jones]

Thanks for the replies.

Purchased from Exotic Woods USA.
Do not have a moisture meter - yet.
Blanks are:
African Blackwood
Black Palm
Curly Bubinga
Purple Heart
Zebrawood

[Pat Scott]

I got some exotic blanks from Craft Supplies that were wrapped in plastic. I took them out of the plastic, cut them to size, and before I could start turning them I got end checks on every piece. I put them all in a plastic baggie, sprayed some water in the bag, and closed it. The blanks absorbed the moisture and all the checks closed back up again. I decided I better wait for a while before trying to do anything with them!

Black Palm makes a cool looking stopper, but if you've never turned it before, it can be a bugger. After I use up what I have I won't order it again.
It doesn't take fine detail very well, forget beads or fancy details as the fibers will just break out. Nice simple shapes work best, I settled on an egg shape. Even cutting a V-groove can be problematic because the fibers (palms) want to tear out. One last tip - it sands OK, but the sapwood is really soft and if you're not careful it will sand away so much quicker than the darker palm fibers that you'll have an uneven surface. Don't use steel wool to try and buff the surface or you'll see what I'm talking about! Stick with sandpaper and you'll be fine.

[Marvin Hasenak]

I gave up on moisture meters, I weigh my wood when I get it and then stack and sticker it. About a week later I weigh it again, if the wood has lost weight I know it is still to wet work. I then keep weighing it ever few weeks until the weight remains constant. If it has been waxed I scrape all of the wax off except the end grain before I weigh the first time. This also gives the wood the chance to acclimate to my shop conditions and local heat and humidity.

Since I make game calls, I also try to keep a year or more supply on hand, when drilling and turning the wood gets a lot of stress relieved and added to it, this allows me to let the wood "rest" between the various operations. Is this all necessary, I have no clue, but I don't have the problems some of the callmakers have with stuck mandrels, cracked barrels etc..

[Paul Williams]

When I buy wood that is covered in wax or wrapped in plastic I assume that it is wet and needs to dry before use. If it is not wrapped I assume it is dry unless there is other signs of moisture content. So far it has worked. Also I agree with Marvin that letting the wood rest a bit between steps is often a benefit.