On Oct 30, 8:00 am, Casper wrote:
I recently started cutting up some wood I have had sitting for 2 to
2-1/2 years drying. I had sealed all the open ends with anchorseal.
What I am finding, aside from some very dark, modly looking spots, is
that some of it may still be wet. None of the logs are larger than
5-6" in diameter. Anything I had over that size I sliced in half.

So my question is why is some of this still wet? Some of it is a
little punky too. I cut as much as I could and have re-sealed the
ends, which are checking a bit. Are these really still wet? Is there a
more effective way of drying? Am I missing some secret??

I am rather constrained by my location as to what I can store. I was
hoping to cut up this wonderful 150 year old pear wood and turn/carve
it this winter but after two days at the band saw, I am exhausted and
quit because some is just too dense/heavy (wet?) to cut. (I borrowed
my father-in-law's band saw and already jumped the blade 3 times and
had to replace it once since it wore out.)

I've left about a dozen logs untouched until I can find an alternate
solution to drying and storage. Also, is there a product that will
seal the minor checking? I hate to loose what I've already cut.

Any suggestions? Any appreciated.

`Casper


Hello Casper,

Drying is the part of collecting wood for turning that can be most
destructive to the turning blanks and disappointing to the collector.
I consider that one has two options: seal the wood and store it on a
shelf out of the weather and sun and allow it to dry slowly or rough
turn the wood to a 10 percent wall thickness and place it on the shelf
to dry using one of several methods available.

Assuming that you have cut the wood into turning blanks as previously
described, the wood should have its end grain part sealed to slow the
drying time and should then be stored on a shelf with little wooden
stickers (little strips of wood about ¬ inch thick and up to 1-1/2
inch wide, I've found that old lath make fine stickers) separating the
blanks so that air can flow all around the wood. Drying occurs best
when the wood is stored out of the weather and sunshine in a location
where it can get sufficient airflow to carry away the moisture. Every
species of wood behaves differently and some of the worst are fruit-
woods and Madrone, with Madrone being one of the most difficult to
season without cracks.

Richard Raffan says that he tosses his newly turned wet wood bowls
into a pile and allows them to air dry for a day or two. He then puts
them into cardboard boxes and puts them on the shelf to finish
drying. He writes the date on the box and waits up to a year before
he final turns the bowls in the box. During the drying process, the
bowl will warp and sometimes crack. I assume that the box keeps air
from drying the bowls too quickly and the cardboard box may absorb
some of the moisture. I've had very good luck putting rough turned
bowls into old paper grocery sacks and placing them on the shelf.
There are several other methods that people are using to dry bowls and
keep them from cracking, namely, microwave drying, boiling, soaking in
dish detergent mixture, and soaking in alcohol. I've tried all of
these with fair results. I recently heard another theory on drying
that violates all of the methods set forth on drying wood. This fellow
says that an old logger friend told him about this method. Dry the
wood while it stands vertically as the tree grew. He says that there
is minimal checking and warping is kept to a minimum. I think he was
drying boards, rather than bowl blanks, but it is worth trying.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net