On 20 Apr 2006 04:31:25 -0700, "ebd" wrote:

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.

I'm going to have to throw in an anecdotal agreement. Whether it's a
nice thing to do to the wood or not, I left a big pile of willow in my
backyard all winter and it froze solid for at least two or three
months. Since the weather has improved, I've got it sawn into blanks
and set to dry in the shed, but I've turned a bunch of it with nice
results.

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.

Oddly enough, I hadn't thought of it, but in the case of the willow
mentioned above, it's been less prone to warping and cracking after it
froze and rethawed. I had attributed it to improving technique, but
I'm not doing anything all that different. Could be on to something,
could be nothing, but living in Wisconsin, I'll just keep storing
stuff in unheated buildings and if it works, great!