Drying wood in oven

[Brian Hale]

I've got some dogwood trees that died a couple years ago but are still standing. I cut one down and resawed a 20" piece and really like the look of it so i'd like to try drying it in the LOML oven. It's a top of the line Jenn-Air with the low temp drying cycle so i'm thinking it'll do some of these boards (2" thick)

Is this a viable option? What temp? How long? I do have a moisture meter.

TIA
Brian :)

[David Epperson]

Not sure if I'd be more worried about the wood checking and/or warping or what the LOYL will do to you when she discovers what the oven now smells like.

[Brian Hale]

Actually, using the oven was her idea :cool:

Do you think i'll have a problem with cracks and such? It looks like some of this wood is spalted and there are bug holes in it.....

Brian :)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I tried that once with native Elm.

250-Deg-F for several hours was what I did.

It was beautoful wood especially combined with teak.

I made a lovely little jewlery box for my daughter with teak hinges and edge trimming.

Then a year or two later he elm started moving.

Then it moved more.
Then more still.
I think it's still moving and the box has since stopped looking like a box taking on the appearance of a Katrina victim.

I rather suspect you will need more than some 6 or 7 hours in the oven maybe a few days?

[Jim Becker]

Brian...'ain't gonna work well. The reason? You'll be releasing surface moisture, but the stuff on the inside doesn't have the time to migrate. 2" material needs a bit of time to air-dry before it hits the kiln. And a kiln isn't something that is only used for a few hours...it takes weeks and sometimes months. BTW, dogwood moves a LOT, so take your time.

[Ian Abraham]

It might dry the wood, but it wont be much use afterward :(

A proper kiln has both the temperature, humidity and airflow controlled to give the maximum safe drying speed for a particular species. If you try that in an oven you will have high temperature, low humidity and end up either surface checking or case hardening the wood. (probably both)

With small pieces like that your best bet is to stack them on stickers up on a top shelf out of the way someplace and forget about them for 6 months. A few concrete blocks on top may help keep them straight. After 6 months pull them down and see how dry they are.

Unless you can control the conditions in your drying 'kiln' properly, you are better to air dry your wood.

Cheers

Ian

[Michael Schwartz]

I have sucessfully dried small firewood sized logs in a microwave oven after they had seasoned for a year or so. 30 seconds at a time is pretty sufficient and if you put them in for a half hour or anything you would just blow up the log, I know someome who did.

[Tom Cowie]

I have sucessfully dried small firewood sized logs in a microwave oven after they had seasoned for a year or so. 30 seconds at a time is pretty sufficient and if you put them in for a half hour or anything you would just blow up the log, I know someome who did.


Com'on guy's, If my wife see this she won't leave me alone in the kitchen anymore:D :D

I saw the wood ,stick it overhead in my shop ( it gets hot up there in the summer) then I just forget it's there till next year..:)

Tom

[John Schreiber]

Small pieces can be done safely in the microwave if you monitor them closely.

I have learned that it's possible to start a small fire in the microwave. I also learned that burned maple has a strong and unique smell sort of but not quite like burned popcorn that takes a few weeks to come out of a microwave.

DAMHIKT