Norfolk Island Bowl up in smoke - any ideas

[Bevan Beames]

Hi All

Im new to turning, about 12 months or so and to sawmill creek today. I was lucky enough to get some Norfolk island pine Planks (10 foot x 10" x 6"). 100 year old tree that had to come down.

As a new turner I have not built up a stash of bowls drying out so as one does I roughed turned a 10" x 6" blank and threw it in the microwave as I cant wait. I nuked it for about 1-2 minutes at a time maybe 5 or 6 times. The bowl as expected went oblong and appeared to be nearly dry and not one crack to be seen. The last time i did it a pin hole appeared at the intersection of the tenon and the bowl and smoke started billowing out. I poured water on the tenon but it wasn't stopping so I immersed the whole thing in water- remove the 02. Anyway once stopped smoking nuked a few more times to dry again. I then remounted the bowl and began returning, well the tenon cracked off and inside was a fair amount of wood that was burnt as per the photo.( its about a 1/2 inch deep and 1 1/2 inches long) I took the tenon completely off and recessed a tenon and finished the bowl the best I could. Its no masterpiece but I hate wasting stuff, I will glue it too a shelf so no one can look underneath.

Has anyone had this happen and any advice on the dos and donts for those of us that just cant wait. I have a bunch more blanks and I really dont want to destroy those as well, the wood is just too nice.


Thanks
Bevo
Perth Australia

'321519321520

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm a new turner so can't comment about the bowl but seems to me this is a stealth gloat for killer lathe!



Good luck,

Mike

[Bevan Beames]

Hi Mike

maybe a small gloat, getting this lathe was up there with my first born.

[Dan Hintz]

If you're burning, you need to wait longer between cooking sessions. Keep your sessions to <1 minute each (it doesn't take much to get small amounts of water boiling), then let it sit for 10-20 minutes between sessions. for thick pieces, I've given it up to an hour between. Wood is a poor conductor of heat, so you need to let it cool down.

[Don Bunce]

You didn't say what power level you were using, but it is best to use half power, or defrost, to avoid overheating the wood.

[Barry McFadden]

I have put quite a few wet bowls in the microwave. I put them in at 40% power for about 2 min.. then let them cool for 5 or 10..(they don't get too hot at those settings). I repeat the process 3 or 4 times and they dry out great with no problems...

[daryl moses]

I only "nuke" mine for 30 seconds on high power, take them out place on paper towels until cool and repeat.

[Bruce Pratt]

Turn to final and let it air dry slowly. Unless you have a commission to fill, what's the rush.

[Thom Sturgill]

For NIP, turn green and soak in BLO. If you can't afford a bucket of the stuff, brush it on until it will not accept any more. The wood turns translucent (especially if turned thin) and looks like amber in the light. Spalting will create black streaks which the oil accentuates.

After the BLO has dried you can finish with Danish oil or Wipe-on Poly.

The branches which grow out in layers make red 'eyes' which may need judicious treatment with CA glue. I normally see these in a horizontal configuration, but have also seen them in a vertical star shape. The branches go all the way to the pith, and make an interesting display if you can capture that.

[Bevan Beames]

Hi Thom

Thanks for the reply. What is BLO

[Thom Sturgill]

Sorry, I should explain Acronyms - BLO = Boiled Linseed Oil. There are a lot of acronyms used on this site...

[Bevan Beames]

thanks mate, just wanted to make sure it wasnt that substance from the coca leaves:)

[Rick Gibson]

I nuke my wet pen blanks all the time. 3 minutes on defrost take them out and let cool for an hour. When I do them I do them in batches of 5 blanks at a time. I've got a cheap pin type moisture meter the lowest reading is 7% and when it doesn't register any more they are dry. Test when cool. When hot I've had the meter read over 20% and after they cooled down they were less than 7%. If you don't have a moisture meter Lee Valley has a small digital one for $26.50. I wanted a small pocket meter so I just got one and it reads within a percent of the larger one I have been using for years. When I dry the blanks I always stay in the room and have a bucket of water near by just in case. Oh and it's a good idea to get a cheap microwave for this and not use the wife's kitchen unit. DAMHIKT.