avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

The rule of thumb for thickness is 10% of the diameter. This gives room
to re-turn after the wood warps during drying. The rule can be fudged
if you're familiar with how much the particular wood is likely to warp.

I wait about 6 months on a 10 inch bowl with 1 inch wall thickness. I
don't pack the paper bag with shavings unless I'm trying to encourage a
bit more spalting during the drying process. Some wait longer, but if
it "feels" dry, it's probably ready. Again, experience will guide you
after some time. I'd suggest you start with 6 months time, then
experiment until you have developed your own "feel"" for the wood by
species in your climate.

I've never heard of using a stick. It may work well on some woods, bu
will likely encourage others to split. The wood moves during drying to
relieve internal stresses that develop. These stresses are what causes
splitting. If you keep the wood from moving, the stresses are not
relieved, and it seems splitting is more likely.

The purpose of bagging is to slow drying, allowing less difference in
moisture content between the outside and inside of the wood. This also
reduces stresses by keeping the shrinkage rate more uniform. Packing
the wood in shavings further slows drying, as more moisture must move
through the paper barrier.

Jim

william kossack wrote:
I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.
I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.
One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

where are you located? The reason I ask is that if relative humidity is
a factor then it can make a difference where you are located.
For example, I've lived in places like south texas where the humidity is
90% much of the year. In Denver the humidity is 36% this morning and
often in the sumer it is lower.

One of my first bowls (redwood burl) was sopping wet when I turned it.
I left it out over night before finishing. By morning significant
splits had developed. I therefore use caution about leaving anything
that is not stone dry out. It may be that after an initial period of
bag drying I can take stuff out but I don't know.

The only experienced local turner I've been able to ask the question
about drying uses a kiln to dry his stuff but then again he sells his
stuff for $100s

PS In the sumer in south texas sweat drips off of you makes your cloths
soaking wet and forms a puddle at your feet. In the sumer in Denver it
never reaches the ground and you have to be working hard to know your
sweating. Therefore my concern about slowing the drying a bit.


Jim Swank wrote:

The rule of thumb for thickness is 10% of the diameter. This gives
room to re-turn after the wood warps during drying. The rule can be
fudged if you're familiar with how much the particular wood is likely
to warp.

I wait about 6 months on a 10 inch bowl with 1 inch wall thickness. I
don't pack the paper bag with shavings unless I'm trying to encourage
a bit more spalting during the drying process. Some wait longer, but
if it "feels" dry, it's probably ready. Again, experience will guide
you after some time. I'd suggest you start with 6 months time, then
experiment until you have developed your own "feel"" for the wood by
species in your climate.

I've never heard of using a stick. It may work well on some woods, bu
will likely encourage others to split. The wood moves during drying
to relieve internal stresses that develop. These stresses are what
causes splitting. If you keep the wood from moving, the stresses are
not relieved, and it seems splitting is more likely.

The purpose of bagging is to slow drying, allowing less difference in
moisture content between the outside and inside of the wood. This
also reduces stresses by keeping the shrinkage rate more uniform.
Packing the wood in shavings further slows drying, as more moisture
must move through the paper barrier.

Jim

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

You could try Eli Avisera's way. When he turns a wet bowl or hollow
form, he drills an 8mm hole through the base having taken a 10mm
'plug' of the same wood from scrap.

When the bowl is dry, drill out the distorted 8mm hole with a 10mm
drill and inset and glue the plug. It really does cut down a lot of
the distortion.

Eli's website is at http://avi-biran.co.il/avisera/ He is a brilliant
turner from Israel and no, he is not my uncle nor does he pay me to
say how good he is.

Kindest regards

Paul in the UK

On Wed, 05 May 2004 03:42:14 GMT, william kossack
wrote:

I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

Bill
I like to turn stuff that feels as if I stand in the shower when it goes
round, similar to your description of sopping wet. There are some weird
and wonderful ways of preventing warping but the world wide tried and
turn method is to wet turn to a thickness of 10% of the diameter, seal
the end grain and let dry for about 3 months to a year so the warping is
done and finish turning can be performed on a dry blank. See my web site
under
http://aroundthewoods.com/roughing.shtml
for some more info.
--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS, Canada
http://www.aroundthewoods.com

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

Well, duh! Have you deliberately ignored all talk about the LDD solution to
your problem?

Leif
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...
I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

Hi William,
My thoughts while reading your thread:

1. Is warp just an incipient crack?
2. Are shakes, warps, cracks, splits, and
splinterings basically different or are they stops along a
timber's natural drying cycle that we consider to
have gone wrong? Mother nature
may not think it went wrong. :)
3. You can't generalize about wood any more than about people.
Too much
diversity, even in the same log or even in its parts. Where
grown, time of year harvested, how sawn, where being
dried are just a few of the variables that plague us..
4. Actually, it's the diversity that we prize.
5, Obviously there is no best way to dry wood or we would all
be using it. The
unique solutions that you mention are just as likely to
work as many others.

You asked for any thoughts. You didn't stipulate that they had to be
politically or botanically correct... or dish washer safe! Arch

Fortiter,

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I'm in Northwest Arkansas, probably warmer and more humid than your
area. Still the difference is likely less than between a garage and a
basement. That's why I say to pick a rule of thumb to start with, then
adjust as your experiences indicate.

Jim


william kossack wrote:
where are you located? The reason I ask is that if relative humidity is
a factor then it can make a difference where you are located.
For example, I've lived in places like south texas where the humidity is
90% much of the year. In Denver the humidity is 36% this morning and
often in the sumer it is lower.
One of my first bowls (redwood burl) was sopping wet when I turned it.
I left it out over night before finishing. By morning significant
splits had developed. I therefore use caution about leaving anything
that is not stone dry out. It may be that after an initial period of
bag drying I can take stuff out but I don't know.

The only experienced local turner I've been able to ask the question
about drying uses a kiln to dry his stuff but then again he sells his
stuff for $100s

PS In the sumer in south texas sweat drips off of you makes your cloths
soaking wet and forms a puddle at your feet. In the sumer in Denver it
never reaches the ground and you have to be working hard to know your
sweating. Therefore my concern about slowing the drying a bit.

Jim Swank wrote:

The rule of thumb for thickness is 10% of the diameter. This gives
room to re-turn after the wood warps during drying. The rule can be
fudged if you're familiar with how much the particular wood is likely
to warp.

I wait about 6 months on a 10 inch bowl with 1 inch wall thickness. I
don't pack the paper bag with shavings unless I'm trying to encourage
a bit more spalting during the drying process. Some wait longer, but
if it "feels" dry, it's probably ready. Again, experience will guide
you after some time. I'd suggest you start with 6 months time, then
experiment until you have developed your own "feel"" for the wood by
species in your climate.

I've never heard of using a stick. It may work well on some woods, bu
will likely encourage others to split. The wood moves during drying
to relieve internal stresses that develop. These stresses are what
causes splitting. If you keep the wood from moving, the stresses are
not relieved, and it seems splitting is more likely.

The purpose of bagging is to slow drying, allowing less difference in
moisture content between the outside and inside of the wood. This
also reduces stresses by keeping the shrinkage rate more uniform.
Packing the wood in shavings further slows drying, as more moisture
must move through the paper barrier.

Jim

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I was waiting for the high priest of LDD to weigh in..

Jim


Leif Thorvaldson wrote:

Well, duh! Have you deliberately ignored all talk about the LDD solution to
your problem?

Leif
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...

I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I had thought about LDD but only remembered it for avoiding cracking not
warp which for many seemed
to be a seconary problem.

By your duh! you say it will solve problems of warp?

Leif Thorvaldson wrote:

Well, duh! Have you deliberately ignored all talk about the LDD solution to
your problem?

Leif
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...


I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I am just mortified that this group of answerers didn't even consider
suggesting "The Way" to this suffering turner who must deal with the
fickleness of green wood. Buy ya books, buy ya books and all ya do is eat
the pictures! *G*

Leif
"Jim Swank" wrote in message
...
I was waiting for the high priest of LDD to weigh in..

Jim


Leif Thorvaldson wrote:

Well, duh! Have you deliberately ignored all talk about the LDD
solution to
your problem?

Leif
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...

I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I was looking for generalities. My current batch of free wood is some
siberian elm and some
hackberry. I also have some aspen and russian olive in small diameters.

This saturday I'm going searching for more local free wood.

Its all a process of learning while dealing with several family members
that are
expecting salad bowl sets for christmas. Arggggg

Arch wrote:

Hi William,
My thoughts while reading your thread:

1. Is warp just an incipient crack?
2. Are shakes, warps, cracks, splits, and
splinterings basically different or are they stops along a
timber's natural drying cycle that we consider to
have gone wrong? Mother nature
may not think it went wrong. :)
3. You can't generalize about wood any more than about people.
Too much
diversity, even in the same log or even in its parts. Where
grown, time of year harvested, how sawn, where being
dried are just a few of the variables that plague us..
4. Actually, it's the diversity that we prize.
5, Obviously there is no best way to dry wood or we would all
be using it. The
unique solutions that you mention are just as likely to
work as many others.

You asked for any thoughts. You didn't stipulate that they had to be
politically or botanically correct... or dish washer safe! Arch

Fortiter,

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...
I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?
=============================================
William,
2 or 3 things to look at.
1. Wall thicknes 1/10 of Bowl diameter is one "standard"; turn to final
shape when dry.
2. Dryness can be determined with a weight check taken as it dries. When the
weight stabilizes, it's reached equilibrium for you location.
3. Microwaving is also touted by some as a quick dry solution. Check RCW
archives for MANY details.
4. Turn to final shape while wet, let it warp and call it a "feature"

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

Nobody has mentioned the microwave. I hesitate to because I'm such a
newbie my ideas change from day to day. But I have been zapping almost
all of my bowls and vessels and all are turned very green. If they are
turned to a uniform thickness and fairly thin (1/4" or less) then I
get very little warping or cracking. The only bad cracking I've had is
when I turned end grain, with the pith in, and left the base thick. I
guess that's an invitation for problems no matter what you do.

If you want a perfect bowl, turn to about 1/2", zap, then re-turn.

I've found that anything much thicker than 1/2'' just doesn't get dry
in the middle no matter how much you zap.

I use O'Donnel's method--4 min. at 40%, wait to cool, then repeat. At
1/8 to 1/4 inch it takes 4-6 cycles. 1/2 takes a whole bunch of
cycles.

Earl

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I have privately emailed Mr. Kossack "The Treatise," so he should shortly be
on the path of rectitude! *G*

Leif
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:v0imc.29848$TD4.4554300@attbi_s01...
I had thought about LDD but only remembered it for avoiding cracking not
warp which for many seemed
to be a seconary problem.

By your duh! you say it will solve problems of warp?

Leif Thorvaldson wrote:

Well, duh! Have you deliberately ignored all talk about the LDD solution
to
your problem?

Leif
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...


I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.

I've not had too much problem with cracking but my finished bowls are
warping considerably. As an experiment I've started few new bowls using
very wet wood and then buried them in paper bags filled with fresh
shavings inorder to slow the drying process. Using this process I have
placed 5 bowls in bags over the past month and only found cracking in
one. However that one had a rather large tenon and a bottom much thicker
than the sides. None of the others appear to have cracking in them.

One question is how long to leave the rough turned bowl in the bag. In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not. I've heard anything from a couple weeks to many months.

Another question is how thick to leave the rough turned bowl. This
should depend on how much warp I might get as the bowl is drying. Most
solutions to the problem of cracking and warping seem to mainly be for
cracking.

One solution would be to wait until the logs/blanks are dry before
turning them but frankly I don't have enough room to store large logs
for years and years.

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

Hackberry and the elm I have obtained locally both move a lot during the
drying process. Both woods spalt readily in this arrea, and become much
more attractive in doing so. While I wouldn't particularly suggest
spalted wood for a salad bowl, you might set a few pieces aside. I
don't have aspen or russian olive available, but i've seen some nice
things turned from russian olive on the net.

Jim


william kossack wrote:
I was looking for generalities. My current batch of free wood is some
siberian elm and some
hackberry. I also have some aspen and russian olive in small diameters.

This saturday I'm going searching for more local free wood.

Its all a process of learning while dealing with several family members
that are
expecting salad bowl sets for christmas. Arggggg

Arch wrote:

Hi William, My thoughts while reading your thread:

1. Is warp just an incipient crack?
2. Are shakes, warps, cracks, splits, and
splinterings basically different or are they stops along a
timber's natural drying cycle that we consider to have
gone wrong? Mother nature may not think it went wrong. :)
3. You can't generalize about wood any more than about people.
Too much diversity, even in the same log or even in its
parts. Where
grown, time of year harvested, how sawn, where being
dried are just a few of the variables that plague us..
4. Actually, it's the diversity that we prize.
5, Obviously there is no best way to dry wood or we would all
be using it. The unique solutions that you mention are
just as likely to
work as many others.

You asked for any thoughts. You didn't stipulate that they had to be
politically or botanically correct... or dish washer safe! Arch

Fortiter,

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

interesting but then I would have to clean out the food spatters from
when my teenagers nuk
stuff uncovered;-)

dos the microwave pick up any smells from the wood?

Earl wrote:

Nobody has mentioned the microwave. I hesitate to because I'm such a
newbie my ideas change from day to day. But I have been zapping almost
all of my bowls and vessels and all are turned very green. If they are
turned to a uniform thickness and fairly thin (1/4" or less) then I
get very little warping or cracking. The only bad cracking I've had is
when I turned end grain, with the pith in, and left the base thick. I
guess that's an invitation for problems no matter what you do.

If you want a perfect bowl, turn to about 1/2", zap, then re-turn.

I've found that anything much thicker than 1/2'' just doesn't get dry
in the middle no matter how much you zap.

I use O'Donnel's method--4 min. at 40%, wait to cool, then repeat. At
1/8 to 1/4 inch it takes 4-6 cycles. 1/2 takes a whole bunch of
cycles.

Earl

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I'm blessed with a basement, so 3/4-1" thick on a 9-12" piece is pretty much
the way I go. I spin the shape up to throw as much water as possible, then
set it to dry in open air until I no longer see wet on the surface. This to
keep from mildew in woods prone to it.

Only then would I coat, If I coated any more, which I don't because it
seemed to grow mildew,and no change in shrink, therefore in split. I also
tried the cross-grain brace, end grain brace,and circles. Every one
promoted splitting, in my opinion. Never lost so many roughs. Back to my
original method,which keeps them low in the basement for a couple-three
weeks,then on to the shelf until I turn again. I have tented them in
newsprint, worked fine, and bags the same, though you really need to change
the paper or bag a couple times early on or get mildew problems. I hate to
fuss,so the present system is what I use. If you're in a _really_ dry
climate, you might consider a big box with modest venting where you can set
a batch. Wet below, dry above, move as required, and that is a reasonable
substitute for a basement at my house.

When they start to deform, they can be moved up, or taken from under cover,
as they have decided to relieve tension by gentle rather than catastrophic
movement.

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...
I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.
SNIP

I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

thanks

denver many times gets down to 10-20 percent humidity in the summer and
really also in the winter so mold is not really a problem. I have
several aquariums in the house and even the ones in the basement go down
by an inch and a half in a week from evaporation (the large 65 gallon
aquarium can go down by a couple inches)

George wrote:

I'm blessed with a basement, so 3/4-1" thick on a 9-12" piece is pretty much
the way I go. I spin the shape up to throw as much water as possible, then
set it to dry in open air until I no longer see wet on the surface. This to
keep from mildew in woods prone to it.

Only then would I coat, If I coated any more, which I don't because it
seemed to grow mildew,and no change in shrink, therefore in split. I also
tried the cross-grain brace, end grain brace,and circles. Every one
promoted splitting, in my opinion. Never lost so many roughs. Back to my
original method,which keeps them low in the basement for a couple-three
weeks,then on to the shelf until I turn again. I have tented them in
newsprint, worked fine, and bags the same, though you really need to change
the paper or bag a couple times early on or get mildew problems. I hate to
fuss,so the present system is what I use. If you're in a _really_ dry
climate, you might consider a big box with modest venting where you can set
a batch. Wet below, dry above, move as required, and that is a reasonable
substitute for a basement at my house.

When they start to deform, they can be moved up, or taken from under cover,
as they have decided to relieve tension by gentle rather than catastrophic
movement.

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52...


I'm trying to solve a problem coming from the fact that most of my bowls
are turned from sopping wet wood.


SNIP


I ran upon a couple unique solutions for the warping problem and I'm
wondering if anyone here has tried them.

Some ausi turners mentioned putting a stick into the roughed out bowl
against the grain ends to prevent warp from closing in from that
direction. Another post suggested circles cut from MDF.

Any thoughts?

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

That's us in winter. Dewpoints in negative and house at 70!
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:Lermc.40271$Ik.2658551@attbi_s53...
thanks

denver many times gets down to 10-20 percent humidity in the summer and
really also in the winter so mold is not really a problem.

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

"Chuck" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 May 2004 13:08:49 GMT, william kossack
wrote:

interesting but then I would have to clean out the food spatters from
when my teenagers nuk
stuff uncovered;-)

dos the microwave pick up any smells from the wood?

I've dried elm and apple in mine with no problems. Just leave the
door open when you're done, and the steam and smell will dissipate.

===="And don't let it hit you in the butt on the way out", sez his wife as
she "dissipates" him! *G*

Leif

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I've dried elm and apple in mine with no problems. Just leave the
door open when you're done, and the steam and smell will dissipate.

===="And don't let it hit you in the butt on the way out", sez his wife
as
she "dissipates" him! *G*

Just clean the inside of the microwave with LDD! It works for everything and
anything.

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I went and checked out a few pawn shops, and sure enough, I picked up a
"large" microwave, and I beat the dealer down to $20 bucks, to boot.
Now my shop, er, studio that is, has it's own dedicated micro-wave.

--
James Barley
www.members.shaw.ca/jbarley
----return address not valid
I can be contacted via my web link.


"Chuck" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 May 2004 13:08:49 GMT, william kossack
wrote:

interesting but then I would have to clean out the food spatters from
when my teenagers nuk
stuff uncovered;-)

dos the microwave pick up any smells from the wood?

I've dried elm and apple in mine with no problems. Just leave the
door open when you're done, and the steam and smell will dissipate.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

On Thu, 06 May 2004 03:18:54 GMT, william kossack
wrote:


Its all a process of learning while dealing with several family members
that are
expecting salad bowl sets for christmas. Arggggg

Now is the time to introduce your family to the pleasures of
collecting dollhouse miniatures in 1:12 scale!


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

On Thu, 06 May 2004 13:08:49 GMT, william kossack
wrote:

interesting but then I would have to clean out the food spatters from
when my teenagers nuk
stuff uncovered;-)

dos the microwave pick up any smells from the wood?

I've dried elm and apple in mine with no problems. Just leave the
door open when you're done, and the steam and smell will dissipate.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

I tried it as a joke. I grabbed a piece cut off a redheart blank and
fitted it to a set of
smaller jaws and turned a bowl about 1 inch across and 1 inch deep. It
was perfect.

Unfortunately one of the dogs thought it was a treat left on the
breakfast table and
chewed it to pieces the next day. I'm now saving all my larger
cutoffs. Its a shame
that April 1st has already passed this year.

Chuck wrote:

Now is the time to introduce your family to the pleasures of
collecting dollhouse miniatures in 1:12 scale!


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

today I checked a couple of the syberian elm pieces. No cracks.
The larger natural edge piece about 9 inches across had about 1/4-1/8th
of an inch of warp. It had been in the paper bag for maybe a month. I took
it out and coated the outside with sealer to see what will happen. One
local
turner said he coats the entire piece with sealer and waits 6 months.

I'll have to price soap also to run my own LDD experiment.

As for microwave I'll have to find a time when nobody will be home

Tomorrow morning I'm heading back to the tree service company where I
got the elm to see if they have anything. Hopefully they have not spit
everything for firewood
I'm taking the first bowl from the elm to give to them. Its all sanded
and polished
and looks great.Hopefully it will help establish a connection for the
future. Maybe
I can find something besides syberian elm.


George wrote:

That's us in winter. Dewpoints in negative and house at 70!
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:Lermc.40271$Ik.2658551@attbi_s53...


thanks

denver many times gets down to 10-20 percent humidity in the summer and
really also in the winter so mold is not really a problem.

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

"James Barley" wrote in message news:B2Umc.407136$Ig.142748@pd7tw2no...
I went and checked out a few pawn shops, and sure enough, I picked up a
"large" microwave, and I beat the dealer down to $20 bucks, to boot.
Now my shop, er, studio that is, has it's own dedicated micro-wave.



Please let us know how it works. As I said, it works great for me,
but I don't read about many people using the microwave technique.

Earl

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

Earl wrote:
"James Barley" wrote in message news:B2Umc.407136$Ig.142748@pd7tw2no...

I went and checked out a few pawn shops, and sure enough, I picked up a
"large" microwave, and I beat the dealer down to $20 bucks, to boot.
Now my shop, er, studio that is, has it's own dedicated micro-wave.




Please let us know how it works. As I said, it works great for me,
but I don't read about many people using the microwave technique.

Earl
Earl,
I guess I should have mentioned that I purchased this microwave oven
several years ago.
I for what I use it for it works fine.
My method of use is quite simple, I use it to heat up freshly turned
green-wet rough outs, this drives a lot of water to the surface right
now, and I feel it gives the "bound water" cells in the piece a bad time
also.
Secondly, and my real reason for this initial heat treatment, is to
neutralize some of the mold spores and cut down on almost all of the
mold-mildew problems one can get from green turnings.

Regards
James Barley
www.members.shaw.ca/jbarley

avoiding warp in wet turned bowls
 

In article poZlc.34324$kh4.1693690@attbi_s52,
william kossack wrote:

In
denver the humidity runs fairly low but I don't know if that should be a
factor or not.

I just watched a Trent Bosch video (Decorative Utility Bowls) - he's
from Ft. Collins, CO and addresses the various drying methods in this
video - I don't recall if he goes into much detail in his other video.
It appears he uses a homemade drying kiln with low heat and a
dehumidifier. He talks about many other methods and you might get an
idea of how to better work within your environment from his experiences.