Unloaded the kiln today

[Bob Bergstrom]

6 weeks in the kiln and dry and under 10%. Group includes ash, walnut, cherry, oak and Norway maple. All were anchor sealed. The larger blanks had the rims Saran wrapped and duct taped. The oak was wrapped in lawn waste bag paper and taped shut. The anchor seal became chalk like with some cracking. The ash, cherry and walnut were fine some minor warping. There were two large maples that really went off the charts. They now measure 17" across and 19 1/2" long. The sides of the rim are 1 1/2" higher than the end grain edge. They both were wood from the base of the tree. They are cracked on the long grain and when turn may produce a platter. Over all most will work fine.

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[Sid Matheny]

Seems to have worked out very well. Maybe you can say the two large maples are a giant clam. :o

[Tom Albrecht]

Is this a home made kiln?

[Olaf Vogel]

They now measure 17" across and 19 1/2" long. The sides of the rim are 1 1/2" higher than the end grain edge. They both were wood from the base of the tree. They are cracked on the long grain and when turn may produce a platter. Over all most will work fine.



When pieces warp that much, at that size, I don’t try to turn them again. That organic appeal is much better. So I usually just sand and leave them warped.
BTW how did you build your kiln?

[Bob Bergstrom]

When pieces warp that much, at that size, I don’t try to turn them again. That organic appeal is much better. So I usually just sand and leave them warped.
BTW how did you build your kiln?

Ive been thinking about that also. The bottom has the look of a large dough bowl. It is has a more cymetrical warp to it and appears oval like. The question is how much do I love sanding?

[Bob Bergstrom]

Is this a home made kiln?
Tom is is an old 20 cubic foot upright freezer. It has holes drilled in the bottom and top and all the refrigerator equipment has been removed. I have two light sockets a start with one 40 watt bulb. Usually are dry in 6 weeks. It does depend on the moisture content. The last week I light the other 40 watt and the temperature will rise to about 120 depending on the time of the year. I need to find a moisture resistant fan or mount one externally. I have shorted out two cheap fans neither had water dripped on it, but moisture does get high. They come out of the kiln below 10%.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Couldn't. Help myself. Turned five bowls in two days. Large one in the middle is walnut. There was a small knot with with a crack so I wedged slices of walnut into the crack and super glued them in. The red one is ash dyed red and sprayed with candy apple red lacquer. I mixed bright gold Pearl-Ex and paste wax and rubbed it into the pores. The next bowl moving clockwise is red oak with some burl. The next is Noway maple followed by cherry. All turn relatively easy even tough kiln dried.

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[Randy Red Bemont]

Very nice bowls. I like the look of the red one. I've heard of using an old freezer as a kiln. Maybe in my next shop I can do that.

Red

[Bob Bergstrom]

Very nice bowls. I like the look of the red one. I've heard of using an old freezer as a kiln. Maybe in my next shop I can do that.

Red
Red I guess you would have to like red. The red dye and candy red really make a nice bright red color with depth to it. The gold wax make a nice highlight to the grain. Thanks for the nice words.

[Bob Bouis]

You might consider getting a humidistat to control your heat (or exhaust). I am in the process of setting up a nook under the stairs in the back part of my shop. It wouldn't be a kiln so much as a "slow drying area" to prevent pieces from drying too fast. 95+% humidity and a couple fans inside to circulate air. Supposedly that'll give more controlled initial drying with less mildew and less cracking. The humidistat would be hooked up to the exhaust fan to pull in new air to keep the humidity below 100%.

I got a cheap digital humidistat online. I'll let y'all know how it works.

[Brice Rogers]

I built a food dryer that I now use for my wood turning hobby. It is a wooden box with a close fitting door - - about 2' x 2' x 2'. I have a small 120 v fan exhausting air out of the box. The air coming in is filtered by an automobile air filter. For heat I use two light bulbs - - typically 60 watts each.

I have wire shelves inside and also window screen shelves. I now use it to speed up the drying or curing time of finishes. The temp inside is perhaps 25 degrees above ambient. It works nicely in speeding up finish dry time. I suppose that I could also use it as a wood kiln, except that with the higher airflow, it would likely exacerbate cracking. It would probably work okay as a finish dryer to use once the moisture gets down to perhaps 15 or 20 percent. I live in a dry climate and I usually dry my bowl blanks in paper bags and wrap the edges with stretch wrap.