I read about that 10 years ago in an article about Rude Osolnik in
American Woodturner (vol. 10, no. 1, mar 1995, p7). If it worked for
Rude, that's a powerful recommendation.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co


Fred Holder wrote:
Hello Mark,

One of the fastest methods of drying wet wood that I've tried is Dave Smith's
method of using Ethanol. Dave recently did a demonstration at the Seattle
Chapter of AAW and my wife and I tried it on some madrone and maple bowls
shortly afterwards. The bowls were rough turned to about 10 percent wall
thickness and soaked in the ethanol for about 24 hours, Dave says that two hours
is enough, there were no cracks and minimal warping. We final turned and
finished them in 10 days when they were completely dry.

There will be a story on our trials in the December 2005 issue of More
Woodturning, which will be in the mail about the 21st of this month.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

In article . net, M&S says...

Hello to the group,
I am new here and have been turning (just a self taught hacker) for a
few years with an old POS harbor freight lathe. Sheet metal a square
tube bed rails and the like.
I am looking into a better lathe, leaning towards the Jet JW-1236. I am
however looking to make some last minute holiday gifts as tacky as that
sounds and due to some shop constraints I am thinking of picking up one
of the small mini lathes (JML-1014) to get me through a year or so.
We own a band mill so I have tons of wood kicking around, walnut,
cherry, red (slippery) elm, hackberry, sassafrass, sycamore, poplar,
basswood, ash, loads of many major oaks, and some others. Most are small
rounds (8"-10" dia.) that were cut offs saved for firewood. I also have
a lot of wild cherry peices that I have saved for a year or two for
turning. Lastly I have a 24" diameter wild cherry stump from a tree that
fell in an ice storm two years ago. I cleaned the stump and saved it for
turning in the event I ever followed through with the initial ambition.
Anyway, I am also a potter and have an affinity for lidded forms and
have been thinking of turning several small lidded jars/boxes as gifts
for friends however given the one month deadline I am wondering if there
is anything I can make that will stay in tact after I give it to the
individual with only a month between turning and the holidays. I am also
very partial to nesting bowls.
I have been reading these threads about microwave drying but we dont
have a microwave. Is there any species (preferably something from the
inventory mentioned) that would handle some sort of accelerated drying?
Are there any that would allow me a single turning on the lathe? i.e.
not a rough and finish turning? Any other ideas?
I realize the lidded forms may be tough with regards to a single
turning and tolerances but any input would be appreciated.

Thanks, Mark