# turning wet wood



## djnoble (Mar 11, 2009)

So I'm new to turning. I'm interested primarily in making bowls. 

I hit the jackpot yesterday when I came home from work to find an oak tree being cut down across the street from me. I asked the guys if I could have some logs, and they told me take all I wanted. So now I have a ton of white oak bowls in my back yard just waiting to be turned. 

I've already turned a couple. My question is, now what? How long will it take them to dry before I can finish them?


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Nice find. Provided you turned them down to about 10% of their diameter 6 months at the least. We probably need more info such as size. Do you have an end grain sealer? Are they in a paper bag or wrapped in newspaper. Oh yea, without pics it didn't happen.


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## Mrs. Texas Timbers (Nov 26, 2008)

We have lots of wood, but it is _all_ dry. I have yet to turn anything green. Sorry, can't help you out.


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## misfire (Oct 27, 2008)

I dont know if you have access to this or not, but if you can get a large barrel of denatured alcohol, drop the unfinished bowl in the alcohol and allow it to soak iin that for one hour per 1/4" of thickness. So if it is 1/2" thick, soak for 2 hours. Pull the bowl out and allow it to dry overnight. It should dry down to 8-10% over night


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Turn it to 3/8" or less and just let it warp. If you don't leave the pith or any knots in it there probably won't be any cracks. Turn it in one sitting. If you have to stop for dinner or for the night cover it with a plastic bag.
Since it's Oak spray your lathe with WD-40 before you start and maybe wipe it down while you turn or you will have a very rusty lathe in the morning. The same goes for any tool around the shop that the shavings land on.
If you want to try the twice turned technique, turn the bowl to roughly 10 Percent thickness for the final size. Set it somehwere where there is little air movement and out of direct sunlight. You might even put a paper sack over it or pile several in a box. If they are about 1" thick they will dry in about 3 months or so. The remount them on the lathe the finish turning them.


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## the marlboro man (May 24, 2010)

I suggest you exsperiment with an oven on low tempeture . A microwave will work to. I saw a exsperienced turner tell me that most of the drying is done on the lathe when working it. Also the cut of wood you use is important don't ever use the pith as the center of the turning as it will always give you trouble. the quartersawn section is all I use . Always cut a circle out of the side of the pith. You have so much wood turn and turn until you find a happy medium. Always cover your tree in a tarp during the night and open it during the day to let the interior water out of the inside. That is why lumber cracks the interior mosture is trying to get out but the outer layers dry faster. Happy turning


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

An oven doesn't work the same as a microwave. The problem with a piece of wood checking is the outside is drying quicker than the inside. When wood dries it shrinks. If the outside shrinks and the inside doesn't, well you know what happens. 
A microwave tends to heat from the inside out. This evens out the drying so more or less the whole piece of wood is drying at the same rate. This prevents checking. 
You have to experiment with the microwave. I start at a lower power and heat the wood until I can still touch it. Let it cool and heat it again. It might take 10 or 15 cycles to dry a fairly thick piece.


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## miles11we (Sep 13, 2010)

what about a track saw?


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I recommend this book.

Lots of great info in there on turning green wood. Great info here, too, but if you have this book, you can easily reference it anytime.


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## woody woodturner (Jul 9, 2010)

what about a microwave nuke it dry or P.E.G. its a chemical they use when they dig up 1000 year old boats from the mud and it dries and seasons timber


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

A microwave does work. It takes a little experimentation. I've only lost one or two things in the years I've been doing it. Patience is the key. Start off heating it gently and as it dries you can use higher heat and/or longer times. 
I weight the items and when they stop losing weight I stop. I let them sit in the house at least a day to pick up some moisture otherwise they will still move on you. We are trying to match the moisture content of where the piece will be stored when done.
PEG works. However, you can't use very many finishes with it because they won't stick. I've been in woodturning a long time and have heard a lot of people mention it. However I almost never hear of anyone actually using it. I think it's because of the expense and the reputation of finishes not sticking to it. Ed Moulthroup of Atlanta who turned very large vessels used it and probably pioneered the use. His pieces were finished in epoxy because it was one of the few things that would bond to it.


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## the marlboro man (May 24, 2010)

Mr. lucus has the best idea for microwave. I agree with him totally on the peg solution. Someone said anti freeze has the same properties as peg and will exspell water also. I wonder if anti freeze has peg in it and still has the finish problem.


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## woody woodturner (Jul 9, 2010)

i use a microwave it is tricky but it works i hate waiting for blanks to dry a pet hate members of my club say thay leave it for a year or two 
i would have forgotten what i was going to do with it lol


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