Drying Cabinet Question

[Sue Wise]

Has anyone here build a small drying cabinet? I have only just heard of the idea but it might work for me. I only heat my workshop when I am in there working and I did not want to have finishing fumes in the house.

If I understand the concept, these small boxes or cabinets would use a lightbulb to generate heat.

I would also like to see pictures of our drying cabinets if possible.

Thanks,

-Sue

[Dennis Peacock]

Sue,

I remember seeing something about this in one of my magazines...or maybe it was on the internet somewhere.....or maybe it was while I was talking to another woodworking acquaintance....or.....oh..!!!!! Never mind. :o

I don't have one in my shop, but thought about this very thing once or twice.

Good question!!!! I'll keep a check on this for sure and see what the ideas/suggestions will be.

[Andy Hoyt]

How about this (http://www.woodturningonline.com/assets/turning_articles/Kiln/Introduction.html)?

[John Abt]

Sue,

In the Fall 2007 issue of American Woodturner, Bob Rosand described making a kiln from a broken upright freezer. Very similar in principle to the one Andy pointed out, but may be slightly less work to make. I'm trying to find an old freezer now (local laws won't let me grab one from the landfill).

John

[EDDIE GLAZE]

I Built One Out Of A Metal Cabnet 30"w.x 20"d.x 36"h. I Use 3 Light Bulbs And A Varieable Speed Fan. The Watage Of The Light Bulbs Depends On How Hot You Want It. I Have 2- 40 Watt 1-100 Watt. With The Fan On Slow The Temp. Is 75 Deg Without Fan On Temp 80 Deg. I Also Use It For Drying The Finishes On Turnings . Put A Furness Filter In Front Of Fan When Drying Turnings. Cuts Down On Dust. Works Great. Happy New Year & Happy Drying.

[Mike Peace]

I saw some message thread somewhere about using an old dishwasher. It takes Less room than old refrigerator or freezer and you could use a smaller bulb. They suggested taking out the old motor and run the cord up from the bottom for the light. I have not tried it but sounds good. Easier than making one. An ancient one of Harvest Gold would almost match a Mustard lathe, too!

[Allen Neighbors]

I have two old refrigerators in my shop that I use to dry wood. One of them is an old side-by-side, and I've used the left (freezer) side for drying Valspar'd birdhouses.
On each refrigerator compartment: Drill about a dozen 1/2" holes in the bottom and the top. Add more shelves (wire or wood). Place a lightbulb socket in the bottom, and a small pancake fan in the top to circulate the air in the compartment. Make them work independently, so you can turn on either or. In the side-by-side freezer compartment I have a 40 watt bulb, right compartment (which is larger) a 60 watt bulb. In the other refrigerator, a two door with the freezer on top, the holes go in the bottom, the divider and the top. There's no fan or bulb in the top compartment, it just gets air from natural air current that flows in through the bottom compartment. I put the harder-to-keep-from-cracking wood in that one. It's never too warm, and it keeps wood longer without cracking. :)
Natural air current... damp, warmer air goes up and out the holes in the top, drawing fresher, dryer air in through the bottom holes. It works. Without the bulb or fan on, they help slow the drying process of blanks that have more of a tendency to crack.
Some of them crack anyway, but I'm not too sure that some of them weren't cracked to begin with that I just didn't see. The fan circulates the air in the compartment promoting more even evaporation of the moisture from the blanks and rough turnings.

[Andy Blackwell]

I have one made from an upright freezer. It has an internal thermostat, circulating fan and 2 lights that provide the heat. It can be used as a kiln or can be used to store items in an unheated shop when you don't heat the shop all the time. The thermostat turns the lights on/off to maintain the temperature. It has an external temperature/humidity gage that reads an inside sensor so that you don't have to open the door to know the temperature/humidity. I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days.

[Rich Souchek]

Sue,
Check out the website of "gulfcoastwoodturners.org", go to the resources page, about half way down is an article entitled "Drying Wood to Get Round Bowls". He has a write-up and 3 sketches there.
Rich S.

[Dale Gregory]

I just throw them into a big old cardboard TV box and close the lid. Put them to sleep for 3-6 months and finish turning them. I'm a beginner, but that is what the Pres. of our local guild told me he does, and so far it has worked well. I used to make archery bows and would put the laminations inside a wooden box with 3-100w light bulbs to cure the epoxy. I had a thermoset set inline to maintain 120F. If you could find a lower thermoset or use lower watt bulbs that would work as well. A small fan would help move the heat evenly around.
Dale

[Sue Wise]

A big thanks to everyone for their postings in this thread.

-Sue

[Jim King]

Here is what we use to dry our wood samples and leaves etc. for our species ID program. Two light bulbs, two small fans and a 3/4 inch plywood box.

A feww holes in the bottom and top. Works great. The thermostat is easy, unplug one light bulb.

[jeff ferguson]

I made a drier out of a dishwasher as posted by Mike above. It seems to work pretty well. It will not work for the scale of bowl turning I do (can't fit many 17" bowls in there, and they would probably crack if dried too fast anyway). But, it does work well for drying thin green-turned hollowforms and for drying finishes in a relatively dust-free environment.
Jeff Ferguson