Thanks for all the good advice. I've now blanked up the pieces,
sealed the end with 3 coats of exterior grade paint, and put them in
a
brown paper bag and covered them all with wood shavings. I'll check
on them in a couple months and see how they have made out. Old
guy...my friends name is Chris. Also...one reply made mention of
using a microwave to speed up the drying process. Is there any truth
to this?? Is there a temperature and time frame that I could put the
blanks into a regular oven, and use it as a makeshift kiln?? I am
not
sure what temp and time goes into a commercial kiln to dry lumber??

I don't know the exact temp, but a commercial sawmill near me dries
basswood in about 7 days and oak in about 32. I used to test-dry small
pieces of wood ( 5 pounds) in our kitchen oven which had a standing
pilot. I was about 100 degrees in there. I would dry the piece,
checking daily until the weight didn't change anymore to get the actual
weight of wood with no moisture. For a 2 inch thick piece of white
oak, it took a couple of weeks to reach that point, so I don't think
commercial kilns get too much hotter than that. I have a friend who
uses the upper 2 feet of his shop walls for drying wood. He has
shelves all the way around and stacks and stickers his fresh wood
there. He says in 6 weeks his wood is down to the 8 to 11 percent
moisture area. I'd guess that the temp up there isn't even 100 degrees
(10 foot ceiling) and he does turn the heat down at night.

Pete Stanaitis
-----------------------------------

marc wrote:

Thanks for all the good advice. I've now blanked up the pieces,
sealed the end with 3 coats of exterior grade paint, and put them in
a
brown paper bag and covered them all with wood shavings. I'll check
on them in a couple months and see how they have made out. Old
guy...my friends name is Chris. Also...one reply made mention of
using a microwave to speed up the drying process. Is there any truth
to this?? Is there a temperature and time frame that I could put the
blanks into a regular oven, and use it as a makeshift kiln?? I am
not
sure what temp and time goes into a commercial kiln to dry lumber??

in my experience, accelerated drying promotes cracking - turn to near final
size, boil, and then finish if you are really worried, otherwise let it dry
slowly - but most of us prefer turning bowls wet - a much nicer experience
all around


marc wrote:

Thanks for all the good advice. I've now blanked up the pieces,
sealed the end with 3 coats of exterior grade paint, and put them in
a
brown paper bag and covered them all with wood shavings. I'll check
on them in a couple months and see how they have made out. Old
guy...my friends name is Chris. Also...one reply made mention of
using a microwave to speed up the drying process. Is there any truth
to this?? Is there a temperature and time frame that I could put the
blanks into a regular oven, and use it as a makeshift kiln?? I am
not
sure what temp and time goes into a commercial kiln to dry lumber??




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"spaco" wrote in message
.. .
I don't know the exact temp, but a commercial sawmill near me dries
basswood in about 7 days and oak in about 32. I used to test-dry small
pieces of wood ( 5 pounds) in our kitchen oven which had a standing pilot.
I was about 100 degrees in there. I would dry the piece, checking daily
until the weight didn't change anymore to get the actual weight of wood
with no moisture. For a 2 inch thick piece of white oak, it took a couple
of weeks to reach that point, so I don't think commercial kilns get too
much hotter than that. I have a friend who uses the upper 2 feet of his
shop walls for drying wood. He has shelves all the way around and stacks
and stickers his fresh wood there. He says in 6 weeks his wood is down to
the 8 to 11 percent moisture area. I'd guess that the temp up there isn't
even 100 degrees (10 foot ceiling) and he does turn the heat down at night.


It's not the heat, but the humidity. All you ever wanted to learn, should
you care to, at http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/ where you'll find, among other
things, The Wood Handbook,
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fp.../fplgtr113.htm where
chapters 3 and seven will be a great help.

On Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:01:22 -0700, marc
wrote:

Thanks for all the good advice. I've now blanked up the pieces,
sealed the end with 3 coats of exterior grade paint, and put them in
a
brown paper bag and covered them all with wood shavings. I'll check
on them in a couple months and see how they have made out. Old
guy...my friends name is Chris. Also...one reply made mention of
using a microwave to speed up the drying process. Is there any truth
to this?? Is there a temperature and time frame that I could put the
blanks into a regular oven, and use it as a makeshift kiln?? I am
not
sure what temp and time goes into a commercial kiln to dry lumber??

This should help:

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/solarkiln/plans.htm

I'd be more inclined to go with that than using the microwave or oven,
personally.