Corn Cob Stablization

[Bellsy]

My shop is on my dads farm and I have access to acres of corn. How dry do the cobs have to be? I have a moisture meter for my wood shop and I thought if I knew what was acceptable for moisture content I could just monitor the cobs.

 

[fiferb]

I would think they need to be as dry as they could get. Any moisture loss after turning may result in shrinkage or warping. You could put them in the oven on low for several hours. Then let them sit for 24 hours to restabilize with the ambient air and humidity.

 

[stolicky]

I found a handful of corncobs on the golf course last spring left behind by some critter. I just picked them up and tossed them in my bag as I walked past them. They sat in my workshop and I turned two of them over the summer. No problems so far. However, I did use deadly amounts of CA to stabilize them. I don't have a moisture meter, but they are fairly porous and dry out pretty fast compared to wood.

 

[workinforwood]

It's pretty porous stuff too. I'd drill a 1/4" hole down the center then pump it full of alumilite at 80 lbs. I just did that with some antlers that were so punky they drilled like saltines, and then I spun them and they were perfect.

 

[Woodlvr]

Thanks for the tip Jeff. I have some found cobs from the 'CORN MAZE", my granddaughter grabbed Grandma by the hand and said "Grandpa makes pens out of everything, doesn't he?" She has not turned a pen as of yet but after she does I bet she will understand.

 

[Skye]

Keep in mind, the corn we eat isn't really the same as most corn that's turned. You try to turn a small pen from one of them and you may be down to nothing but pith, which will fly apart and also loses the snakelike look of a good corncob pen.

If you take the average ear of corn from the grocery store and crack it in half, you'll see the pith is pretty large. Something like Flint (Indian corn) or Dent (field corn) corn will often have a smaller pith from what I've seen.