drying wood for pen blanks

[MarkD]

A coworker brought me some freshly cut Lilac branches that have some very interesting colors in the wood. I have no experience drying wood for pen blanks. I did a quick search for drying methods but it didn't turn up many discussions.

Can someone explain how I would about process this wood for future pen blanks?

 

[TomW]

This article is in the library. I have never dried wood, but it's a start.
Tom

 

[GColeman]

I dried some redwood root by cutting them oversize, soaking them for a week in DNA (I forgot they were soaking), and then letting them air dry for another week. I weighed the blanks and considered them dry when they did not lose weight for two days.

 

[David M]

The one I use is DNA. I cut the wood around inch long, ruffly 3/4 x 3/4 . put them in a old plastic coffee container . ( standing them up ) and fill it up with denatured alcohol and put the lid on it . i soak it for about a day then i flip the wood over so the the wood that might have floated up and came up out of the alcohol is at the bottom . let it soak till next day then i remove them ad let air dry for about a week . you can use the alcohol ovey and over . if it discolers the wood it is very thin and dont soak in .
David

 

[Rick_G]

I use the microwave. I cut the blanks about an inch square then 4 at a time microwave them on defrost for 3 minutes. Let them totally cool down (about an hour) then do it again. Continue until dry. Usually 3 - 5 cycles. I have a cheap (about $25) moisture meter that starts reading at 7% so when it doesn't read any more they are dry. Really wet wood like weeping willow I might give it 4 minutes in the microwave and it has sometimes still taken 10 or more cycles to be dry.

Things to consider,
1 don't use your wife's kitchen microwave and
2. stay in the room while microwaving the blanks.
3. It's a good idea to have a pot of water near by to drop the blanks in if need be. If they start to burn they burn from the inside out so watch them for a while after you take them out of the microwave.

Don't ask how I know the last 3 things.

 

[Dave Turner]

You don't say how thick your lilac branches are. If these are greater than 1.5 inches in diameter, then you should cut them about 7 inches in length and split them in half length-wise, removing the pith. This is most easily done on a bandsaw. You can then stack them log-cabin fashion so there is air space between the sticks. Wait at least 6 months with the stack indoors.

The various heating methods will speed up the drying time by breaking the cell membranes. I'm never in that big of a hurry for the wood.

 

[MarkD]

The branch I have is about 2" in diameter. The nice colors are in the center 1" of the branch.

 

[Drstrangefart]

I simply cut mine to slightly oversized blanks, stack in a patteren that allows maximum airflow, and forget I own them for a few months. But, then again, I'm not selling for a living.

 

[Dave Turner]

One thing I was thinking of trying on some smaller branches was to cut the blank so that the pith was in the very center. Since most checking seems to originate from the pith, I would then drill a hole length-wise through the blank to drill the pith out (making sure this hole was undersized relative to the tube diameter I was going to use - I will redrill to the correct diameter once dry). I haven't tried this yet, but this might preserve the color you have centrally.

 

[MarkD]

I'm now sorry that I gave away the old microware I had sitting around!
I kind of like the idea of drilling the center of the branch to preserve the color.
Would you coat the ends of the blanks with anything or maybe just leave them long and remove any checking when they are dry?

 

[Dave Turner]

For smaller branches, I haven't had many problems with no coating. Getting above 4 or 5 inches in diameter, I'll Anchorseal the ends.