PEG Wood Processing

I've tried it on Mulberry, let the wood soak for a month, rough turned it, and watched it crack over the next couple of days before I could get back to it. I'll stick with LDD. YMMV.

Dave in Fairfax

I think PEG is more popular in the wood-carving world. Compared to Anchorseal it is very expensive. billh

You should have followed the directions.

PEG works great on turnings which are already at final dimension. That is to say great, if you want something that's almost impossible to get a finish to stick to, and which continues to pull water from the air. Dimensional stability is good.

I wouldn't use it on a gunstock because it does soak up water from the air. Sounds like a recipe for extensive corrosion. The "Bible" of PEG is _Working Green Wood With PEG_ by Patrick Spielman. In it, he details the process of soaking for months at higher temperatures to get the PEG into the wood. I soak mallets for three or four months at lower temperatures with good success up to six inches in diameter, with a final product where the water and glycol keep the surface soft, producing a great dead-blow mallet surface which is easy on the elbow.

This was several years ago, while I was still in lurker mode. I didn't know there *were* any specific directions. The thread didn't seem to sggest anything hard and fast. It seemed that the questions were; Does it work, How long do you have to soak it before you can turn it, and Is PEG the stuff in anti-freeze. This is one of the threads, but I think the one I was looking for was earlier, there seems to be a fair amount of purging going on by Google.

About 10 years ago I used PEG exclusively on green Bowl turning. I would turn the bowl to approximately a 1" thickness and soak it for 3 to

I intend to go back to green turning in the near future but will probably use some of the newer drying methods. The one thing I do not like about PEG is that it is a bit of a messy operation. I still have some of these bowls around and use them extensively.

=====>Ralph: You wouldn't think of crossing over to the "dark side" and use LDD? We have started an anonymous program for LDD users trying to recover from the multitude of time and money consuming alternative methods. Saves a lot of the hassle you mentioned, What are the newer drying methods you are referring to. LDD is a wood stabilizing method while turning until the finish coat can be applied and the drying then takes place very slowly through the finish, thereby avoiding wood movement sufficient to crack or warp the bowl. The only scoffers at LDD are those who have not tried it rightly! *G*

Leif

Leif, I guess Newer drying Methods to me is what I meant. I have limited experience with finishing mushrooms , soaking them in oil while still wet and letting them stand.(It seems to work) I intend to do this on other items as well. I also plan to try Mr. Jordans method of complete turning and finishing bowls. I also want to increase my experimenting on micro wave drying. I may even try LDD. \\ However this will have to wait until I relocate and and find a place to work out of.:)

PEG is NOT the stuff in antifreeze: antifreeze is either ethylene or propylene glycol-the latter being the more animal/kid ingestion friendly variety. PEG is a ploymer of ethylene oxide and is significantly higher molecular weight

Kip Powers Woodturner and retired R&D chemist Rogers AR

Good to hear from you again Kip. I realize that they're different, that was illustration of one of the points in the thread. I promise, I didn't use anti-freeze. %-) Thanks for being concerned though. BTW, my UIL is really proud of the hollow turning with the turquoise inset that he got from you a few years back, it's sitting in his living rooom on the mantle. Fits in well with his timber-framed house and the MASSIVE beams.

Dave in Fairfax