How long to dry

[Jim Myers]

Today I have people cutting down some trees and I saved about a 10" dia 4 foot long log of sourwood. I did not have any anchorseal but read somewhere you can paint the ends with oil based paint so I did that.

My question is now how long does it take this to dry?

I will not be making any bowls out of it since the only "lathe" I have is the PSI drill press attachment. I might want to do a pepper grinder or something I really don't know at this time.

I kind of know that when I cut this I need to take out the middle of the wood and only save the outer part.

Any assistance would be helpfull.

[Mark Pruitt]

If you're thinking about turning peppermills, I suggest that you cut the blanks for them (cut them longer than you anticipate the peppermill being) and seal the ends well. Since you don't have Anchorseal, use glue on the ends. Put them on the shelf and let them sit for 6 months.

This is one way. I'm sure you'll hear others.

[Raymond Overman]

Jim,

There's a fairly long article on drying wood on my website under the News & Articles section at http://www.overmanshop.com. It's called More on Drying Bowls. It covers everything from drying in the log to alchemy and has a lot of different views in it. From there I suggest you discard what you don't like or is too much trouble and use the rest. That's what I do.

The site does require flash. Sorry. I'm going to move the articles section to my blog someday when I get one of those tuits.

[Jim Myers]

That was actually the most information I have seen on the subject and now I have to figure out what to cut it up as so I can follow the processes.

Thank you

[Raymond Overman]

No problem. I had read everyone's opinion and decided to compile it into a single document. There is a lot of Bill Grumbine, Dave Smith, SMC, WC, and half a dozen other websites, books, and old men's opinions in there.

Good luck.

[Mark Pruitt]

I'm going to move the articles section to my blog someday when I get one of those tuits.
Raymond,
Here ya go!:D
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[George Tokarev]

Make it into smaller pieces as soon as you can. Radial checks can ruin a log in a few days, especially if the bark is missing or incomplete. A day or two of sun is all it takes.

I round the smaller chunks and make them three/four inches longer than I anticipate they will be in final turning. Gets extra wood out of the way. The ends should be well sealed, but there's very little in the way of drying stress to destroy your pieces other than the end checks. You can keep them indoors even in low humidity if they're currently free of cracks. Give them a three/four months stickered rest and weigh, then weigh a week or two later. When they're stable in weight, they're pretty well ready, but if you're going to hollow and need round, you're still better to hollow, +5% and wait a week for any inside to outside differential to equalize before final work. Otherwise, they might oval a bit on you. There can be a lot of lag between inside and out.

Three inch round stock in cherry/birch and such will take about four months if things are dry around them. More if your humidity is high. Oak and ash, with the big pores will want six months.