Wood Curing Advise

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greenchicken

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Nov 29, 2011
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Location
Ventura, California
Got my hand some fresh cut Olive Wood logs. Just beautiful! I sliced up one into pen blanks. Coasted them in Anchor Seal and put them in a brown paper bag.

I live is So California which is very dry. I figure 6 month before they are ready.

Any opinions?
 
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How are you going to know when they are dry? Did you weigh them so you can keep tabs on them until they stop losing weight?

With anchor seal, the blanks will take longer to dry. Putting them in a paper bag will slow it down even more. The combination of complete coating and paper bag may accelerate spalting, but not drying. After 6 months they may not be much drier than now.

I've used anchor seal on the ends of logs I won't be using for a while, but I don't see much reason to use it on pen blanks. As an experiment, you could leave a couple plain blanks (no anchor seal) sitting on a shelf and see how they dry in your climate. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Ed
 
I acquired some fresh cut olive about three years ago. I cross cut it into slabs and tried it after a couple of months. The pen cracked befor I got it on the table. I turned one this past week and it was hard and dry. I am not saying to wait three years but I doubt six months will be enough if the wood is not left open to the air and sealed.
 
greenchicken said:
Got my hand some fresh cut Olive Wood logs. Just beautiful! I sliced up one into pen blanks. Coasted them in Anchor Seal and put them in a brown paper bag.

I live is So California which is very dry. I figure 6 month before they are ready.

Any opinions?
Click to expand...

The problem with the green Olive wood (as most temperamental woods) is that, they crack regardless what you do however, you can reduce the amount of cracking by sealing the log ends and preferentially, process the log into slabs, planks, boards or make them oversize for the blanks you want to use later.

I believe that in your case, you want to process the Olive wood into pen blanks and for that, the quickest way to have them from green to dry/ready is to cut the wood into slight oversize pen blanks. Don't worry about making them any longer but, add 1mm, max. 2mm to the square size you like your pen blanks to be and wax or seal just the end grain lightly and this will prevent 80% of any cracks as they dry.

Drying time varies, depending on how they are stacked, how much ventilation/air circulation they have and average temperatures.

For stacking the best way is to stack 4 blanks with a space in between and add another 4 on top but in a 180° degrees, keeps stacking that way and then put a weight (brick, etc.) on top or, strap them up with wire, or any of the box strapping material, while this is not absolutely necessary, it prevents from the pile being knocked and fall apart and also make moving these, I cal, "drying towers" a easy and safe process, particularly if they are a meter tall as most of mine...!

Olive wood, due to its natural oils, is very difficult to get under 14%MC (moisture content) and in my experience, pen blanks in particular are very safe to use at 20%MC, this is normally achieve within 6 to 12 months from been processed and stored as above mentioned.

You can accelerated the drying process by microwaving a few blanks, for that I would suggest you to cut your blanks at 1" square at least as they will "move" in the process...!

Good luck...!

Cheers
George
 
Over the years I have acquired lots of mission olive from California. Some of it will never dry! I let one piece dry for five years and turned a 6" bowl which split while I was turning it. I let the wood sit for awhile and then filled the split with slow curing two part epoxy glue and have been using it for five years with no problem. Olive is a fruit wood and it will tend to split as it releases whatever stresses it contains. It is a beautiful wood and the smell is outstanding and I wish you well!
 
nativewooder said:
Over the years I have acquired lots of mission olive from California. Some of it will never dry! I let one piece dry for five years and turned a 6" bowl which split while I was turning it. I let the wood sit for awhile and then filled the split with slow curing two part epoxy glue and have been using it for five years with no problem. Olive is a fruit wood and it will tend to split as it releases whatever stresses it contains. It is a beautiful wood and the smell is outstanding and I wish you well!
Click to expand...

Yes, Olive wood is one of the most difficult and temperament woods I ever worked with, and I worked with a "few". Unless a quality kiln is available, air dry Olive wood is a big gamble however, for bowls and objects of similar characteristics, green turning will be the best way to handle the wood.

Coring/hollowing the Olive wood, as to many other woods, is the best way to reduce the stress movements of the wood, all that wood removed from its centre, takes away many of the wood fibres that make the wood crack uncontrollably, the traditional rough turning at 1" or so of overall thickness, has proven to produce more usable blanks for final re-turning, after a few months than, treated half logs, slabs, and so forwards.

Treating the rough turned green wood piece, with one of many wood stabilisers/sealer's, or one of many other processes, such as boiling, soap water, denature alcohol bath, etc., yield more finished pieces in the end so, Olive wood, is that respect, is not that much different that most other dense woods, the major difference is the natural oils that are part of the Olive wood cell structure, that can sometimes created some additional "situations" that can either worth in your favour or against however, Olive wood has been and will always be, my preferred woods of them all...!

Cheers
George
 
Thanks everyone. I think my take away is:

- cutting into pen blanks and sealing it was a good idea (sealing only the end brian, will sand off the rest)
- Will take 1/2 the blank and sand off the sealer on the side (leave
- wrapping and brown paper was not. I should take when out and stack them so they get maximum air flow.
- 6 month is unlikely to be enough. Probably be more like a year.

I think I will stack them up in my attic warm and dry there. But will probably exceed 90 since it has been in the high 90's all week. But it is starting to cool off now.


I have several log so I make slice up another (or partially) and let them sit unseal for a few month as a test. Let you knwo how it goes.

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll keep checking back in to see if there is more.
 
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I keep hearing comments of attics getting a little hotter when 90 outside.Iinstalled heating/ac for 40 years.175 and pluss was common.Yes ,drying wood may be good.
Avoid doing repairs or improvments up there in the summer.
 
I cut mine into 25mm slabs and seal ends. I then stack them and wait for 6 months.

When in a hurry, I cut the slabs slightly over length for pen blanks and width to suit my dehydrator, then throw them in at 135 degrees F for 40 hours. I then cut them into 25mm wide pen blanks and throw them back in the dehydrator for another 10-40 hours depending on timber. Finish sand them to size at 22mm square and they are ready. Yes some will crack, but most are fine, keeping them in slabs for the first run helps.

Cheers
 
Rule of thumb when air drying wood one year for every inch in thickness plus one year. That is one of the reasons to rough turn bowls while the stock is green. Since the wall thickness is thinner than the entire blank would be cuts way down on drying time. Olive as has been stated earlier is prone to more checking than most woods.
 
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