drying blanks

[vbatwork]

Hi all! I recently bought some Osage Orange blanks from an Ebay vendor that were advertised not dry. The picture was just too pretty to resist. I thought, thats okay, things sit around my shop all the time. The blanks came completly sealed in wax to prevent checking. Is that common? As a woodworker, I'm acustomed to seeing lumber treated on the ends of boards to allow moisture to escape along the length of the board. How are these blanks going to ever dry? I will retire in 20 years, and they must be ready by that time or I'm gonna leave negative feedback for that guy! Do most of you dry your blanks or check for wood moisture before you dig? Thanks!

 

[Dario]

First off, welcome to IAP!

Yes, it is common to seal the entire blank...safer than just doing the ends.

OO is notorious for slow drying...my advise is to cut it to length, drill then microwave dry. You can probably turn those the same day if you do it right. Caution...don't over do the microwave else you may end up with charcoal afterwards. You may have to re-drill before gluing your tubes since drying may cause some shrinkage and little warping. To be safe use a smaller diameter drill to begin with.

Goodluck!

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

The wood will dry slowly when completely covered in wax. This is good to do if one is planning on turning a bowl and can't get the wood on to the lathe quickly. As a guestimate (too many variables) 1-2 years for each 1" of thickness.

When I harvest a tree, I store half logs and only seal the ends.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA
<br />The wood will dry slowly when completely covered in wax. This is good to do if one is planning on turning a bowl and can't get the wood on to the lathe quickly. As a guestimate (too many variables) 1-2 years for each 1" of thickness.

When I harvest a tree, I store half logs and only seal the ends.

Same here. But I nave a tree of OO in the garage. Ends sealed with Anchorseal at cutting. But the big sections still cracked.

 

[rlh]

Quick question-can you microwave the blanks without removing the wax first?

Originally posted by Dario
<br />First off, welcome to IAP!

Yes, it is common to seal the entire blank...safer than just doing the ends.

OO is notorious for slow drying...my advise is to cut it to length, drill then microwave dry. You can probably turn those the same day if you do it right. Caution...don't over do the microwave else you may end up with charcoal afterwards. You may have to re-drill before gluing your tubes since drying may cause some shrinkage and little warping. To be safe use a smaller diameter drill to begin with.

Goodluck!

 

[Daniel]

Richard,
I have but put a napkin or paper towel under them thick enough to absorb the melting wax. change it for each cycle of heating up the blank. the wood should not ever get hot enough for the wax to cause an odor so if you start smelling it end that heating session and let it cool.

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

Originally posted by Rifleman
<br />

Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA
<br />The wood will dry slowly when completely covered in wax. This is good to do if one is planning on turning a bowl and can't get the wood on to the lathe quickly. As a guestimate (too many variables) 1-2 years for each 1" of thickness.

When I harvest a tree, I store half logs and only seal the ends.

Same here. But I nave a tree of OO in the garage. Ends sealed with Anchorseal at cutting. But the big sections still cracked.

When I have wood that is prone to crack, such as black cherry, I will paint two coats of anchorseal. The second coat goes on just before it is dry.

 

[wayneis]

I dry my OO by setting it on top of my furnace, it worked just fine.

Wayne

 

[ldimick]

Originally posted by Dario
<br />
OO is notorious for slow drying...my advise is to cut it to length, drill then microwave dry. You can probably turn those the same day if you do it right. Caution...don't over do the microwave else you may end up with charcoal afterwards. You may have to re-drill before gluing your tubes since drying may cause some shrinkage and little warping. To be safe use a smaller diameter drill to begin with.

Goodluck!

Do you really drill it before you dry it in the microwave?? When I have dried wood in the microwave I get some curl and twisting so I would hesitate to drill it first. Do you think I'm drying it too fast?

 

[Dario]

Originally posted by ldimick
<br />

Originally posted by Dario
<br />
OO is notorious for slow drying...my advise is to cut it to length, drill then microwave dry. You can probably turn those the same day if you do it right. Caution...don't over do the microwave else you may end up with charcoal afterwards. You may have to re-drill before gluing your tubes since drying may cause some shrinkage and little warping. To be safe use a smaller diameter drill to begin with.

Goodluck!

Do you really drill it before you dry it in the microwave?? When I have dried wood in the microwave I get some curl and twisting so I would hesitate to drill it first. Do you think I'm drying it too fast?

Possibly. Depending on the wood I may drill using smaller drill bit. On others, I actually use the right size but still have to re-drill because of minor shrinkage.

Of course pre-drilling is optional but it helps speed the process in my experience.

Note that microwave drying have various factors...power of MW, time, volume of pieces being nuked, etc. I experiment and adjust time per cycle accordingly. I had some that I started freshly harvested and in less than half a day...I have a finished pen out of it (epoxy glued and CA finished). []

 

[woodmanplus]

I have microwaved both ways,drilling first and not drilling. I find that I have better results with fresh cut wood by first drilling with a smaller bit as posted here.
I am in the process of drying 2" rounds of soft maple fresh cut w/bark. I found that the best think,by experience is to make sure that the blanks are nearly the same size. I had some smaller blanks come out smoking ,but if I cook the near same sixes I have better luck. I use 2 minutes in and 30 minutes out. I also use a scale and when they stop loosing weight,they are usually are done.
Just my experiences.

 

[fuzzydog]

Woodmanplus mentioned using a scale to check that the wood is dry (no longer losing weight with each microwave session) this is critical or your headed toward ash. It is also important that after the MW drying to let the wood set and come to an ambient moisture level or what is called EM (equalibrium moisture) level. The wood will absorb moisture until it reaches the relavent humidity or somewhere near it. We prefer wood that has a set percentage of moisture, kiln dried will vary slightly but usually around 10 to 12 %. Remember that when you glue your brass your adding a high moisture level to just the inside which causes those wood cell to absorb the moisture from the glue at a faster rate then the exterior wood has available the end result could cause checking on the out side of the blank.
In short: after drying give the wood a chance to absorb some moisture.

Sorry about the length.
David