Answers are interspersed below:

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Ok, tried it on 3 bowls this weekend, after reading your post and studying
Ron
Kent's page...

Questions:

Have you used it on soft wood, or only hard woods?


====Hi! I have only used LDD on yew, but no other softwoods. I figured
Ron's use of Norfolk Pine Yew amply proved that LDD would work on them.

Does the LDD/water combo tint your work?
(with pine and fir, it turned them the same apple yellow as the LDD)

If you finish turn all the color (see above) off when thinning walls,
etc., do
you then have to dry it conventionally, or can you still
stain/seal/buff/oil/whatever ?

=====Interesting. I tried applying LDD to various pieces/types of wood and
noticed no staining. Since it is believed that LDD penetrates only a cell
or two deep, turning and sanding should remove it as well as any perceived
stain. As soon as you have done that, apply the finish coat immediately.
More on that below!

Was my procedure roughly correct:
Rough turned very green, wet bowls and soaked them in 50/50 LDD over
night....

=====Yes on the LDD ratio. Otherwise, fine but not necessary if you plan to
turn the green blank immediately. If not, then immediately immerse in LDD
and basically, keep it in the solution until you are ready to finish the
piece off.

Put them on a drying rack, flipping them occasionally, until dry to the
touch..
(Ron's method?)

==== I have had some success with that until I tried madrona. That stuff
cracks and warps if you even look at it! From that unsuccessful moment, I
have applied the rule of always keeping it in the solution until you are
ready to turn it and sand to finishing -- applying whatever finish
immediately.

Mounted on lathe and finish turned and sanded them..

=====Yes, but with the caveat stated above about immediately putting on the
finish coat or sealer.

Wet sanded 1st one with mineral oil... didn't seem to pick up the luster
that
this process usually does..

=====Before or after the sealer? The wet sanding should have been done in
effect after the finish turning. There will very likely be LDD still in the
wood at this point, which you will note, cakes on your sandpaper but can be
cleaned to a degree by slapping the sandpaper on the ways. Mineral oil is a
miscible oil and should mix with any water or LDD. Did you wipe the turning
off of excess moisture/oil? I haven't done wet turning with mineral oil
until my sealer coat is on.

Stained and waxed the other 2, they seemed to be very nice, but all three
still
felt slightly heavier than they would/wood have if dried "naturally...
maybe
because it was soft wood???

====Speculation here, but think the wood is heavier as water is still in
the wood. The object with LDD is to keep evaporation down (thereby,
cracking and warping) while working the wood. The object to applying the
finish is also to slow down evaporation and retard cracking and warping.
This will occur over a period of time, my bowls have become increasingly
lighter as the evaporative process continues over months and years. All
finishes allow migration of water vapor. Some slower than others. Don't
know about the heavy plastic ones which may effectively seal the wood to
prevent that compared to lacquers, shellacs, oils, waxes, etc.

HELP ME, MARGE!!!!


mac