Leif Thorvaldson wrote:
"Prometheus" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 17 May 2005 13:20:16 -0500, "Dr. Deb"
wrote:


And then there is the LDD approach. 50/50 mixture of liquid dish
detergent
and water, soak the nearly finished bowl for 24 hours wipe most of the
solution off, cover the bed of your lathe with plastic sheeting, chuck the
piece up and finish it on out, I usually use shellac and wax for a finish.
Depending on the type of wood, warping will be either non existant or give
you a nice oval effect (oak is bad about going oval). However, I have had
no problems with any of my pieces splitting.

How exactly is this supposed to work? Does the detergent lower the
moisture content of the wood somehow? I'm not saying it doesn't work,
of course, just wondering why it would. One of the other responses
mentioned that the wood may appear milky under the finish without
drying it, does the LDD method cause that to occur, or does the soaked
wood behave in effectively the same manner as dried wood? I'll
definately give it a try, as I've heard of this before. Thanks for
filling in the details of the method.


SNIP

Its manner of action can be only speculated on. Some ascribe mystical,
alchemical qualities to it, but a "vast consensus" of turners (errh, well,
at least myself and two others!) seem to believe that the soap solution
draws out water from the cell walls and replaces it with some substance in
the soap. I have never had a finish appear milky from use of the soap
solution. It makes the wood cut easier. And it takes any kind of finish
with the wood still damp after final turning and sanding. Don't mention that
I sent you the samizdat on The Soap Solution as you will receive the same
scorn and loathing that I have had to suffer from the reactionary turners.
You know the type: the boilers, the bakers, the microwavers, the soakers,
the spin driers, the drycleaners, the air driers for ten years, etc. They
will cause you to doubt the truth behind The Soap Solution, yea, verily, to
cause it to appear un-Constitutional. Heed not the fearmongers! I am
available for a limited time only free consultation by email. *G*

Leif

P.S. I have turned complete salad sets for my two nieces (18 Pieces in all)
and not a one has warped or gone out of round. Maybe it is the type of oak
that is referred to above, but in my experience, if you follow the
directions you will not suffer from cracked, out-of-round turned items,
chilblains, cracked hands, low libido,

SWMBO wants to know if it will _increase it_ -- or should I stick to
other "methods".



etc!*G*




--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek