Kevin Miller wrote:


So what's everybody else do after roughing? Seal and bag? Seal only?
Seal inside and out? Various permutations of the above? Yeah, I know
about finish turning wet bowls and letting them warp. But I'm not
asking about that.


I usually rough turn to a nominal 10%, although for small bowls it may
be a bit more as I rarely go below 5/8 inch wall thickness. I paper
bag the rough out, put and keep in a basement checking and changing
bags daily. (You can air dry and re use the bags) If any small cracks
start, I will hit with thick CA. Usuallly I do not use any sealer but
have on some occasions where multiple small cracks appeared.

After a few weeks, I leave the bowl out, at first on the floor, later
on a shelf: how long depends on species, how wet the wood was at the
start and how urgent my need for finished pieces is. Nothing
scientific, just intuition and experience.

With mesquite, I just turn to finish thickness and allow to air dry,
then sand. The stuff is wonderfully stable and well behaved.
Partially seasoned maple burl can usually be handled the same as
mesquite

Kip Powers
Rogers, AR