I've just turned my first green wood bowl. Has anyone got some advice on the quickest way of drying it. I have heard of drying it in a oven, does anyone know what temperture and how long to cook it?
How do I......?
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It's for a friends birthday in mid march I might just leave it for a month before I dry it out completely.
Robin's your man to tell you - he's at the workshop at the mo but will be back in a bit! He speeds his up in the microwave if he's in a hurry, but I think it's something to be done with caution. How green is it? how long ago was the tree felled? and did it start off as a small log? or was it cut from a big plank? These'll effect how it dries and the chances of it cracking.
The tree was felled at the begining of december. I split the log into half which was 220mm wide.
robin wood
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Back from workshop now so here goes. Your chances of successful drying depend mainly on whether you removed the central growth rings or not. I reckon best to split the log then cut maybe 15mm away from the flat surface before turning. You can of course do this on the lathe but once the outer profile is roughed out the temptation is to leave the bowl as deep as possible by including those close the middle growth rings where all the stress is and where splits tend to start. It will help also if you turned it reasonably thin say on a 220mm bowl I would say anything over 10mm wall thickness could cause problems during drying. If you didn't do this on your first bowl it may be a good idea to turn the other half of your log too, if I am doing commissions on tight deadlines I tend to do 2 just in case.
If you have 6 weeks for the drying it should be no problem I would go for 2 weeks in an airy but unheated sort of place..a shed or garage..then 2 weeks in the coolest bit of the house then 2 weeks in a warmer part,, then apply your chosen finish. With this regime I get maybe 1-2% crack which is similar to what most professionals get with kiln dried wood.
If you want to speed up with the microwave it works OK I just pop it in on full power and keep poping the door opwn every 30 seconds or so to feel how hot it is, when it is about as hot as you would want to hold in your hand I leave it for 10 mins then heat it up again. 3 or 4 times then leave it overnight will have it pretty dry.
If you have 6 weeks for the drying it should be no problem I would go for 2 weeks in an airy but unheated sort of place..a shed or garage..then 2 weeks in the coolest bit of the house then 2 weeks in a warmer part,, then apply your chosen finish. With this regime I get maybe 1-2% crack which is similar to what most professionals get with kiln dried wood.
If you want to speed up with the microwave it works OK I just pop it in on full power and keep poping the door opwn every 30 seconds or so to feel how hot it is, when it is about as hot as you would want to hold in your hand I leave it for 10 mins then heat it up again. 3 or 4 times then leave it overnight will have it pretty dry.
Thanks for the advice Robin.
The bowl is about 10mm thick maybe I will put it back on the lathe and thin it out a bit, and make a second just to be sure.
Soak it in rubbing alcohol for 24 hours, tape a paper bag around the outside but leave the inside open. Set it in a cool dry place for 2-3 weeks. If you have an accurate scale you should weigh it each day and record the weight. When it stops getting lighter it is ready to finish turning.
This works better than anything else I have tried and results in almost no cracks, checks or out of roundness.
This works better than anything else I have tried and results in almost no cracks, checks or out of roundness.
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