Boiling?

I've done it on a few small pieces. On one it even healed a crack that didn't reopen when the piece dried.

djb

================================ Max, Check the Google archives under the rcw newsgroup. There has been MUCH discussion about this in the past few years in the group. Steven Russel has done a lot of research on his production pieces, and according to him, it works great. Apparently, the physics behind it has to do with expanding the the internal moisture to reduce internal pressures. Microwaving is supposed to do approximately the same thing. If you have time, also Google microwaving and have fun reading.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

there have been people badly burned with this process. As the wood gets to the boiling-point it will expand, and therefore it is important to have a pot large enough for the wood item to not become sealed in the container. if it does, the whole thing might explode. be certain to check out all the issues and safety considerations.

The woodturner that I know of that has the boiliny steps and stages documented is Steven D. Russell. Check out

I have not done it my self but I have seen him at the Woodworking show in Dallas for the last 2 or 3 years.

Yes it's valid. I've used the technique on some hard-to-dry-without-splitting woods like plum and filbert - though I boil much longer than 30 minutes.

I picked up an enameled lobster-sized pot at a thrift or yard sale for a couple bucks. Fill it about 1/2 way with water, drop the turning in and start the heat. I let it soft boil or simmer for at least an hour or 90 minutes then just turn the heat off and let it cool down with the water. I then let it surface dry for a few hours and place it on a shelf in my basement to finish up for a month or two.

I've had much better success (practically perfect) with boiling over microwaving in regard to cracking. It's very easy to overdo the nuking and end up with a bunch of small or not so small checks. I believe the heating in the water alleviates any rapid moisture loss that can occur when microwaving.

(Hmmmm - I was complaining about my experience with Red Oak and its tendency to split when microwaing and/or bag drying. I'll have to see how boiling works on that - for some reason, just didn't consider boiling...)

attended. The

If you think about this, this is nearly what a wood drying kiln does, = not with water, but with steam. Saturated steam under pressure is not = much different than submerged in boiling water. The disadvantages are = boiling uses more energy than steam. The advantages are you don't have = to invest in a pressure vessel.

Thanks, Ken, and all the others for your responses. As soon as I posted that, I feared it probably had been discussed here in detail, so I did a Google and found quite a bit about it. I finally have a use for that old beer brewing pot.

Max

Has anyone here tried a kitchn pressure cooker for drying smaller pieces or maybe a discarded autoclave for larger? I can never leave well enough alone, so how about boiling in hypertonic saline solution or LDD solution? ......or sour mash! OR....., for the young who can wait, just a brown paper bag. :) Arch, (who is dry enough already)

Fortiter,

Paper industry has tried pretty much all of the below.

Of course, their objective is wood that falls apart....

Acid methodologies are used to digest pine cellulose in Fl/Ga paper mills and the stench is awful, blowing on the wind miles away. Heat processing methods used in Maine are pretty much odorless. Both produce a wet slurry, not dry wood. Not sure about Jack Daniels in Tenn. Arch

Fortiter,

I just couldn't get larger red oak bowls (14-24")to dry without cracking until I tried boiling. I have a 55 gallon drum cut across the middle. one half sits with the cover down and makes a super container. The other sits with the cover up and with some of the sides removed makes a dandy stand. Put the bowls and water in the top and light a fire with the trimmings in the stand. Weigh down the bowls with bricks etc. boil for an hour or so and then leave overnight to cool. Remove and let air dry and then bag and dry slowly. Greg

Thanks, Arch. That finally explains the god-awful odor permeating the Michigan lakefront for dozens of miles around Muskegon. That paper mill must use acid and pine logs.

Max

This raises another query. I've been told that the green piece (Greenpeace?) should be added to the water already boiling. Any comments.

Max

Microwaving the bowl blank does basically the same thing except the source of moisture is the wood itself. The purpose of both is exposure to moist heat which causes the rupture of cell walls thus allowing moisture from the wood to escape, and evaproate at a faster, and more even rate thus lessening the chance of warpage, and/or cracking.

Spy in Hawaii

I've only done it by bringing the water and bowl up to a boil at the same time - no reason, just didn't think about doing it the other way 'round.

More on point is that this is exactly what happens when steam bending = wood. Perhaps boiling's success isn't that it lets wood dry faster, but = with less checking?

Emphasis on 'basically'. True, it is a heat process, but most wood = drying methods are. Besides the obvious investment and energy costs, = micorwave drying suffers from creating defects from localized pressure = within the wood as well as uneven drying.

Is this proven or conjecture? Inquiring minds want to know. Dan

Greg, Thanks! Neat setup and one I can replicated this afternoon. I have = an unlimited supply of open top drums.=20