Richard Stapley wrote:

The Scientific facts are Water at 0°C in Liquid form has a density of
0.9999grams per cubic centimetre where as Ice at 0°C has a Density of
0.9150g/cm³ which equates to 9% the damage this can do when trapped is well
known, how many of you have suffered a Burst Water Pipe?

The Scientific fact of the matter is - the analagy is not scientific at
all. The anatomy (cellular structure) of the xylem and phloem in any
plant, and especially the hardwoods, is extremely complex and far
stronger and more flexible than household pipe. Nor is the liquid
contained in the living tissue water. It is a complex mixture of
solutes in water that changes both the freezing point and properties of
the system. Moreover, there is both bound and free water in wood.
Think about it, northern trees experience repeated cycles of freezing
and thawing each spring and fall. Green wood cut isn't so different
from green wood in the tree.


In a nut shell we are not discussing a Viable Method for Drying Wood so its
back to the proven methods or the Soap Bath.


Actually, we are. My shop is located in an unheated barn. Winter
temperatures range from below freezing to below zero. I routinely cut
slabs from green wood and allow them to dry while frozen. Rough turned
blanks sit on the floor covered by shavings frozen. They are repeately
subjected to thaw/freeze cycles as I heat the workshop to work and then
let it go back to sub freezing. I have experienced NO cracking that
wasn't due to wind shakes. I even tried putting the pith dead center
through both sides in a number of blanks to see what would happen.
Either no or minimal cracking. My experience is that it works.

It's also been reported on other message boards that putting a green,
rough turned blank into the freezer for several days/weeks prevents
both cracking and to some extent warping/distortion. So it's working
for other people as well.