On Mar 16, 11:47 am, "JD" wrote:
First, I don't own a moisture meter (haven't justified the purchase
yet). I was wandering, if my house is mainatained at 40% humidity, and
my garage is at from 50-60% humidity, how do I know when my bowls are
dry enough to finish? If I finish the bowls that have reached
equilibrium in my garage, they warp when I take them into the house. I
recently converted a refrigerator into a kiln and I'm measuring the
humidity in the refrigerator to try to establish a point at which I
think the bowls are dry. If I dry them to 40% humidity, shouldn't that
stop most of the movement I get when I take them into the house?
The kiln appears to be working well. No cracks. Humidity has dropped
from 85% to 70% since March 10 (this might be a little fast). I'm
using light bulbs on a thermostat to control the heat. Humidity is
being controlled via vents in the refrigerator (still learning how to
adjust these). I've tried to search the web for some information about
how long, how hot, how much ventilation, etc. I'm finding a mixed bag
of information (most are dealing with large commercial type kilns).
Any information you might provide would be appreciated.

Thanks,
JD

I don't own a moisture meter either. I believe what you are looking
for is an average between 6% to 12% moisture content but without a
meter, you'll never know! I usually use the weighing method. I rough
turn my bowls and let them dry either on a shelf or in a paper bag if
I want to slow down the drying process a bit to minimize cracking.
After a few weeks, I weigh the piece and record the date and weight.
Back it goes on the shelf and I do it again after a few days and
record the changes. Depending on the size, shape, thickness, etc,
after a while, the weight stays the same. I then leave it for a few
days more and weigh it again. If there has been no change within a
month, I consider the wood to have reached an equilibrium and THAT is
what I am looking for. Numbers are great but they are all relative
which is why nobody can place a specific value on the dryness
required, they are all margins between this and that, based on species
and whether you live in the rain forest or not!

As to your refrigerator, any enclosure will work to dry wood providing
you can control ambiant temperature and proper air circulation. A
fridge is kind of small so if you are using a bulb to provide the
heat, a small wattage is probably what you want. Either way, fridge or
no fridge, a scale will tell you all you need to know.

When you have a moment to peruse the 2000+ replies, do a search for
"dry wood" on this site. There's some really good stuff in there from
people that are way more knowledgeable than I am.

Works for me.

Mike Courteau

http://www.toymakersite.com