Pen blank drying

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seawolf

seawolf

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Joined
Oct 2, 2007
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436
Location
Tulsa, Ok., USA.
I have read about solar driers for lumber and I am thinking about a smaller scale solar oven to dry pen blanks. I have aquired a bunch of 1/4 inch clear plexiglass and am thinking of a box 12 X 20 X 30 with a grid in the bottom with a couple of small fans to move the air. I might use a cement cap block on top of the pen blanks to help prevent warping.
Has anyone tried this and if so please post your results and fixes or let me know it won't work because______.
Thanks in advance, Mark
 
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why wouldn't it work? Just miniature... watch them carefully so they don't get too dry
 
Another dryer will be a similar box with a low wattage (15 -20w) light bulb in it. You can run this 24 hours even in cloudy and rainy weather. The number of holes along with sizes can will determine the internal temp. This will generally allow a more consistent temp that the fluctuations of solar days and night time.
 
No need to get all fancy about it, just take the blanks up to the attic. Mine gets plenty warm in a couple of months from now. I'll have dry blanks in a week any time between June and September. I make what are basically chicken wire envelopes. I fill them with blanks, and hang them from a nail in the rafter. I wire the sides of the envelope together so the blanks stay one thick and don't all fall to the bottom. Caution, wife really thinks you are nuts when she sees you hauling blanks into the attic of the house. JUST HOW MANY OF THOSE DAMN THINGS DO WE NEED AROUND HERE!
I have also carried blanks around in the back of my van in the summer. It gets plenty hot sitting out there all day while I'm at the day job. Most of them smell kinda nice when warmed all day. Better than the Christmas tree hanging from the mirror. Don't tell the wife, she doesn't know about the van drier! Maybe a guy could buy a 1967 Barracuda and use the back deck? Portable solar kiln!
 
Don't laugh, I'm driving Mobile Solar Kiln #3

low_48 said:
No need to get all fancy about it, just take the blanks up to the attic. Mine gets plenty warm in a couple of months from now. I'll have dry blanks in a week any time between June and September. I make what are basically chicken wire envelopes. I fill them with blanks, and hang them from a nail in the rafter. I wire the sides of the envelope together so the blanks stay one thick and don't all fall to the bottom. Caution, wife really thinks you are nuts when she sees you hauling blanks into the attic of the house. JUST HOW MANY OF THOSE DAMN THINGS DO WE NEED AROUND HERE!
I have also carried blanks around in the back of my van in the summer. It gets plenty hot sitting out there all day while I'm at the day job. Most of them smell kinda nice when warmed all day. Better than the Christmas tree hanging from the mirror. Don't tell the wife, she doesn't know about the van drier! Maybe a guy could buy a 1967 Barracuda and use the back deck? Portable solar kiln!
Click to expand...

Like you I realized that my car sits in a parking lot all day and gets pretty warm in the summertime. Mobile Solar Kiln (Moby) #1 was a Subaru Legacy that dried the limb sections of a downed bradford pear from the common area in our development. Moby #2 (wife's cast-off Taurus wagon) dried the rest of the pear, some osage orange and cherry limbs from a friends tree. Moby #3 (compact SUV) has processed a load of apricot and has a maple burl cap sitting in it at the moment.

Now that I am on to pen blanks, I'm wondering what sort of open container I could make to hold them.
 
Then there is that most basic drying machine -- the top of the hot water heater!! Opps unknowingly play jinga with a spouse --- that is what those small stainless baskets are for.
 
galoot_loves_tools said:
Like you I realized that my car sits in a parking lot all day and gets pretty warm in the summertime. Mobile Solar Kiln (Moby) #1 was a Subaru Legacy that dried the limb sections of a downed bradford pear from the common area in our development. Moby #2 (wife's cast-off Taurus wagon) dried the rest of the pear, some osage orange and cherry limbs from a friends tree. Moby #3 (compact SUV) has processed a load of apricot and has a maple burl cap sitting in it at the moment.

Now that I am on to pen blanks, I'm wondering what sort of open container I could make to hold them.
Click to expand...

Thats really funny I just heard a botany professor saying last week that he dries his samples in the back of his jeep.
 
galoot_loves_tools said:
Like you I realized that my car sits in a parking lot all day and gets pretty warm in the summertime. Mobile Solar Kiln (Moby) #1 was a Subaru Legacy that dried the limb sections of a downed bradford pear from the common area in our development. Moby #2 (wife's cast-off Taurus wagon) dried the rest of the pear, some osage orange and cherry limbs from a friends tree. Moby #3 (compact SUV) has processed a load of apricot and has a maple burl cap sitting in it at the moment.

Now that I am on to pen blanks, I'm wondering what sort of open container I could make to hold them.
Click to expand...
Don't mostststes have a law prohibiting open containers???????

Oh, wait a minute.......that only applies to alcoholic beverages.
 
Homemade Recycled Kiln

I use an old freezer that I pulled from the junk yard. Drilled a few holes on the top and bottom for circulation and put a couple of 60 watt bulbs on the bottom. This method is free and works great, I can point you to an article from a fellow woodturner on this subject if interested.
 
I'm a fan of the microwave. When done right, it is hands down the fastest way to dry wood. It's tougher on the bloodwood, blackwood, etc. But the normal woods work great.
 
I got the drying box built. 12 X 13 X 31. It will hold up to 150 blanks. The plexiglass was free ( stolen from a dumpster) Special acrilic glue $6.10 Sirenge for glue $.60 piano hinge $9.80 total cost $16.50 plus four hours of my time. I will lt you know how it works.
Mark
 

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