turning blanks

I don't know the exact temp, but a commercial sawmill near me dries basswood in about 7 days and oak in about 32. I used to test-dry small pieces of wood (< 5 pounds) in our kitchen oven which had a standing pilot. I was about 100 degrees in there. I would dry the piece, checking daily until the weight didn't change anymore to get the actual weight of wood with no moisture. For a 2 inch thick piece of white oak, it took a couple of weeks to reach that point, so I don't think commercial kilns get too much hotter than that. I have a friend who uses the upper 2 feet of his shop walls for drying wood. He has shelves all the way around and stacks and stickers his fresh wood there. He says in 6 weeks his wood is down to the 8 to 11 percent moisture area. I'd guess that the temp up there isn't even 100 degrees (10 foot ceiling) and he does turn the heat down at night.

Pete Stanaitis

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marc wrote:

in my experience, accelerated drying promotes cracking - turn to near final size, boil, and then finish if you are really worried, otherwise let it dry slowly - but most of us prefer turning bowls wet - a much nicer experience all around

It's not the heat, but the humidity. All you ever wanted to learn, should you care to, at