oven

What did you find when you did a Google Groups search on this newsgroup?

Hello Ron,

I typed in "Microwave Drying Wood" in the search on this newsgroup and there were 236 posts came up. Some of those should answer your questions.

Fred Holder

Wow, thanks for the tip to us "unwashed", Jack! I've always wondered how all the "regulars" could find answers so quick. SALUTE!

Old Chief Lynn

I didn't search the newsgroup, but I did a small test a few months ago with some small, green curly willow branches. (too small, really, for most turning projects) but the unpeeled 1 1/2" or so branches were splitting rapidly and far up from the ends. I tried heating them in the microwave three or four times over a week or ten days, and it seemed to really reduce the splitting. I didn't leave them long enough to do any real drying, just to heat them up so they were too hot to handle bare handed. Boatbuilder friend said heating the green wood loosens the lignin bonds so many of the stresses in the uneven drying wood are relieved, reducing the splitting forces. He cited the steam bending of wood as an example. Not so much the moisture, but the heat. Does sort of make some sense to me.

Old Chief Lynn

In message , coffelt2 writes

I did some playing earlier last year with some pieces of wild cherry. As I was using the household microwave. I placed the pieces in a plastic food bag, with the open end trapped in the door. The microwave is a deltawave so no turntable.

Switched on for 2 minutes till the water was steaming out. Carefully removed the bag and drained surplus fluid, repeated the operation 10 times, each time weighing between. Was loosing about 2% weight each heating. None cracked, compared to pieces that were left to air dry, which would make nice toothpicks

Hopefully this year I will experiment with some large pieces

when I tried this with Olive, and some other mystery wood, my results were massive cracks - boiling in water closed them back up

That sounds harsh! And I might point out dangerous.

The seal on a microwave is critical and one of the federal requirements.

Litton had a lock on it for years due to the background and precision.

A bag in the crack would or could let those waves out of the cracks or through the plastic.

I microwaved wood bowls and preforms on low heat. I had an old workhorse

600 watt and could turn it down to 10%. Steam can crack wood and explode trapped liquid areas.

I was able to dry with fewer cracks - and smaller cracks by doing it slower.

I never put it in a bag - put it in a glass dish.

Mart>

In message , Martin H. Eastburn writes

Only if you don't know what your doing.

It is not uncommon to rip the magnetron out of a microwave and utilise it for Amateur radio. Most microwaves operate on a frequency of 2.45GHz or a wavelength of 4.8 inches.