"Fred Holder" wrote in message
...
Hello Mark,

One of the fastest methods of drying wet wood that I've tried is Dave
Smith's
method of using Ethanol. Dave recently did a demonstration at the Seattle
Chapter of AAW and my wife and I tried it on some madrone and maple bowls
shortly afterwards. The bowls were rough turned to about 10 percent wall
thickness and soaked in the ethanol for about 24 hours, Dave says that two
hours
is enough, there were no cracks and minimal warping. We final turned and
finished them in 10 days when they were completely dry.

There will be a story on our trials in the December 2005 issue of More
Woodturning, which will be in the mail about the 21st of this month.


Mark, there is no valid reason in physical chemistry nor wood technology to
indicate that alcohol affects drying rate or distortion. Google "Pygmalion
effect" and remember, that with and without soak as nearly identical pieces
of wood as it is possible to get dry and distort at the same rate by
physical measurement. You can try it yourself.