George wrote:
I've got a basement, so I put them where the air doesn't exchange much and
stays at ~75% RH after the first day or two. When I get around to it, I
move them to dryer places to store for use. 65% or less.
My RH is usually around 65% I think. They're just out in my garage,
which is semi heated. Guess I could bring them inside after a while; how
long do you wait before you move them? It's usually a bit warmer in the
house so it would speed drying up a bit.
First day or two wants to see the surface moisture I've ejected
centrifugally dissipate, otherwise they mildew on me. Which is why I don't
coat. Played that and suffered the consequences, though places where it's
Since most of my wood is somewhat spalted anyway, a little bit more
doesn't usually hurt. The really nasty looking stuff turns off in 1/16"
or so. I always *mean* to turn it sooner, but somehow it usually sits
on the wood pile for a year or so before I get to it! Oh well. g
really dry would benefit, I suppose. Makes no sense to coat the inside,
that's under compressive stress, so no cracks get a chance. Slowing loss on
the outside which _wants_ to pull apart is yet another matter.
I'm not sure I understand you here George. The wood warps and cracks
radially. On a 1" thick wall, I can't imagine that there's much
difference in stresses on the inside of the bowl and the outside. I'm
not talking about coating the bottom or sides - just the end grain.
Since it's just an inch thick, it can dry pretty fast, hence coating
both sides of the wall. But maybe that's overkill? An old Scotsman
like myself doesn't mind not wasting the extra Anchorseal! g
If you've got a humidity gage, test various locations and you can play a
real shell game, even to the point of pushing drying if you're impatient.
First stage there is to turn thinner than 10%. Most domestic stuff can take
a 5-7.5 % over desired wall thickness without a problem. Look your
varieties up in the FPL literature to help out.
Alder warps quite a bit - going much less than 10% doesn't leave much
room for error or subsequent design. Other woods can be much better
behaved, but around here if you're talking free you pretty much have
your choice of alder, mountain ash, spruce or hemlock. Kinda slim
pickings. I have placed a board inside the bowl perpendicular to the
grain which helps, but that's a pain if you're doing a bunch of bowls...
....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
Registered Linux User No: 307357