Drying rough turned bowls

Perpetual question. My recommendation is to take a look at

especiallychapters two and three. That'll give you a good handle on how wood dries.A reply to someone growing hairy mildew on one turning , posted by me,recalls the two important moisture content levels. Until the unbound water(the stuff that hits the wall when you turn) is gone, leaving the wood at~30% moisture, no fiber collapse due to dehydration takes place. This isnot to say that there isn't a difference between inner and out. Indeed,control of this gradient is what drying is about. But feel free to flingall the water you can, and wait for the surface to look dry before puttingthe piece into a controlled environment. The second figure is ~20% moisture content, where nasty black mildew, which leaves lasting stains, doesn't grow. So bag, coat, or wrap as desired once the surface seems dry, though you might want to just leave it alone if you've a fairly high RH. Stay ahead of mildew with ventilation and rewrapping as required.

Oh yes, when you look at the information suggested, take a look at the volumetric shrinkage rates, then use them and your desired wall thickness to determine how thick to leave a blank. Thicker it is, longer it takes, and it doesn't seem linear.

Rod You may want to check out my web site as to how I handle rough turned bowls. There is nothing new there, just the tired and true method that a lot of us used for thousands of bowls.

Indeed,

desired once

thickness to

takes, and

Thank you for the help. You have a very interesting website that I will probably link up to from time to time. I am fairly new at serious woodturning but I have a wealth of material, mostly birch, tamarac, poplar and manitoba maple available as I live in northern Saskatchewan. Thanks again Rod