Drying Rough turned green bowls - Pentacryl

Apr 11, 2004 5 Replies
S

I turn all of my bowls green, and have been trying different drying techniques. I have used the boiling technique, but I still have some cracking. I have recently tried Pentacryl "The Wood Stabilizer". I dipped my bowls into the Pentacryl once, and after a few weeks, I haven't gotten any cracking. But now I'm not sure what to do. It is easy to tell when my boiled bowls are dry enough to finish turn from their feel and their weight. How do I know when the rough bowl that is treated with Pentacryl is ready for finished turning. Do I need to wait until it feels dry, or can I finish turn the bowl before it feels dry and not worry about warping or cracking.



Thanks, Scott H.


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F

I have somewhat limited experience with Pentacryl, but all of it was positive. I found that the rough turned bowls dried faster and were ready for final turning in as short a time as 4 to 5 weeks. A redwood bowl dried enough for final turning in three weeks. I had no cracking on the bowls that I treated. I think the old tried and true technique of weighing the bowl when you put it on the shelf then checking the weight once a week. When two weeks have passed and the weight remains the same, final turn the bowl. My bowls warped less and had no problems with cracking. One was walnut and the other was redwood. I final turned the walnut bowl in two months after roughing and treating with Pentacryl.

Fred Holder

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L

Try rubbing mineral oil all over the bowl and put in in the microwave for 1 minute, then remove and recover with oil again and put back in microwave for

2-3 minutes. The oil allows the bowl to dry consistantly and prevents cracking. hope this helps...................................................................... Lumberjack
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J

Don't forget to rub your palms with the backside of an albino toad and wave a wing from a long dead crow over the microwave while performing this moisture exorcism.;-) (wink-wink)

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L
*HINT* Read "The World-famous Treatise on LDD." Never boil, bake, fry, smoke, bury in manure, freeze, pentacryl or wait for a year of air drying. "Treatise" available on request at deep discount charges. *G*
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M

Scott- I use Pentacryl a lot for bowl turning. I rough turn blocks down to about

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