Hi JD

No moisture meter here either, I'm just not interested to see how
quickly I can get dry cracked and split turnings, just for trying to
speed the drying up.

My biggest concern is to keep whole what I just made, and that
involves more the slowing down of the drying rather than speeding it
up, especially in the initial first few weeks, after that I just let
it dry out in my cabin or in the shop, I trust my feeling of the wood,
if it is dry or not.

Also, unless it is a lidded box, the little changing of the shape of a
bowl does hardly ever matter if even at all visible.

Not only that, but it will change shape as air moisture changes in its
environment, over the course of its life.

Enjoy the turning of the wood and don't be so much in a rush to get it
done, slow down, things do need time to get done right.

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum26.html


Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

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