Blanks look like pretzels

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stevers

stevers

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Hello All,
A week or so ago I posted a topic titled "Burl Find". I cut some of the wood up and set it on a rack of stickers to dry and now a fair number of them look like pretzels. Below is a pic of a couple of the worst ones.
My question is, did I do something wrong? Should I have done something like Ozzy explained? Microwave drying. Should I have waxed the entire blank like Bill mentioned?
I still have a couple of good chunks left uncut. Could I dry them completely and then cut them?
I'm at a loss, I didn't expect that much twisting and deformation. a few are so bad, I don't think they will be salvageable for pen blanks.
Here they are,,,,,,,


200712920295_burl%20blanks%20600.jpg
 
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Steve,
I cut them in slabs, anchorsel and then let dry. I also will put them in cardboard box with paper (or sawdust) over them. It lets them slowly dry to help them stable. You also gotta figure what the outside temp/humidity is so you can try to slowly dry them, you need to keep them at moderate temp and slowly loose moisture. I have never tried the micro. I am working on a vaccuum kiln to try and speed the drying process up. Hope you get to save some.
Nolan
 
If I recall correctly, I think BigRob called his version of these "curly fries". I believe that if they were dipped in wax, it would have slowed down, though probably not completely eliminated, the warping.
 
We all want fast. Sometimes fast does not go with good. Nolan says it, moderate temps and slow moisture loss. Without using some "fancy" methods, like microwave, alcohol etc. try putting the cut blanks in paper bags with shavings or not. I have some in plastic bags, but I open them every so often to let the condensed moisture evaporate, before mold forms. The trick with most methods is to let the inside dry at the same rate as the outside.
 
You should see yellow birch crotch. I just cut some up, the sections without crotch wood were as straight as an arrow but the sections with swirly crotch wood were like bananas.
 
Got some of those myself! [:D] You should see how madrone burl curl [:0]

Nolan's tip says it all. Best part is, some of those are still usable...more challenging but workable.
 
The reason they are doing that is the wood is slightly spongy and drying at different rates. The soft sections are drying faster and shrinking, while the hard sections are keeping their shape. There have been different methods of drying mentioned, but even the best will have a little warp and curl in them. Waxing, like I mentioned, helps keep their shape along with allowing them to dry uniformly (although very slow). They still might bend a bit though. Hope you can recover those cuz they look like they were some nice burls.[:(]
 
Curly fries and bananas, ya that about sums it up. I like the idea of putting them in a bag with chips. It's free. Sorry, I do have a little Yankee blood. Especially with no overtime lately.
I'll see how much I can save. I'm going to let the other slabs dry some more before I cut them.
And Bill, once again you where right, the wood has spongy spots and thats where the pieces are curling the worst. The spongy spots in the slabs is retreating back away from the hard wood creating pockets in the slabs.
Thanks and any more ideas are appreciated.
 
Steve,

I usually cut my blank at about 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 if they are something I have plenty of. Then if they curl like that, I can still re-saw them later to get them straight at 3/4+. Might be double work but I am quite impatient and would rather have a little extra work with some wasted wood then have to wait months on end.
 
I understand that Gary. I'm in no big hurry. The wood is going no where. And when summer comes around, it Will take no time at all for the wood to dry. Maybe by then I will have learned enough about stabilizing to take care of it. I may start with casting blanks first. We'll see. Thanks for all the responses and answerers.
 
Originally posted by Rifleman1776
<br />You will have to turn those on a bent mandrel.

Below is for those too dense to see that I am joking.
[:p][;)][:o)]
Click to expand...
I just happen to have a bent mandrel if you want one.[:D]

hope you can save those blanks. it would be a shame to see em go for firewood.

the 2 that you showed here would make a couple of key chains if you cant make pens out of em.
 
Waxing would not have solved the problem. I has some waxed burl blanks that make those look straight. This is the joy of drying burl.
 
I "has" some waxed burl blanks too and they is MUCH straighter than yours!

Sorry Drew, couldn't resist the typo![:o)]

Waxing doesn't solve the problems, but it will reduce the bend and curl if full coated and thick. I've got some burls that squirted water everywhere when I cut them (now thats wet) and I coated them in wax immediately. Some pieces I threw over on the wood pile and they curled and cracked everywhere. The waxed ones...still looking good...although not perfectly straight.
 
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