DNA vs Boiling green wood

[Trevor Mills]

To follow up on a good discussion on DNA, I wonder about the pros and cons of boiling green wood. I'm trying to decide between the two on a large batch of maple, and wonder if boiling is more or less as reliable and if the drying time afterwards less or more?

[Rob Boesem]

I've never tried DNA, as it's hard to come by here in Canada, but I have done some boiling. The drying time is a little longer I find, but it definitely stabilizes crack prone wood...Ony beef I have with it, is that if you are dealling with highly figured wood with nice rays, the boiling seems to take some of the "flash" out of the wood.

[Dale Coons]

"DNA vs Boiling Green".....sounds like a good football game!

[Reed Gray]

I look at the boiling as a solution for 'difficult' woods like madrone, or to you Canadians, arbutus. Maple is a stable wood, and easy to dry with minimal warping and cracking as long as usual safety measures are taken: round over the rims, seal, store in cool place out of sun and any wind. If the maple cures too slowly, you can get a lot of mold spots because they love the extra sugar in it. You do need a little ventilation with it. Boiling does mute and muddle colors a bit. Too much work for me, I like warped bowls...

robo hippy

[Ralph Lindberg]

I agree with Robo, I never boil Maple, it's too well behaved, at least in our climate.
Madrone on the other hand.... (just finished boiling my fourth load in as many days)

I looked into DNA years ago, actually ended up talking to a forest products type that knew about DNA. He stated that the reason the industry doesn't use it is the unpredictably of the process. Some species it worked, some it didn't, some it did sometimes and not others. It also cost more then any other process.

He also said he couldn't picture how LDD (Liquid Dish Detergent) could work.

[Reed Gray]

LDD came into use through Ron Kent, specifically for dealing with Norfolk Island Pine. If you have ever tried to sand out any pine it really gums up the abrasives. With my once turned bowls, like the DNA soaking, it does nothing except make the woods a LOT easier to sand out. The DNA soak on once turned bowls make the wood harder to sand out. I have no idea why.

robo hippy

[robert baccus]

Try wet sanding with soapy water on resinous woods and tropicals.