# Microwave drying..



## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

I have a piece of dogwood that is about 6" around and has some great looking figure from what I can see but I want to make some pens from it. It is still in log form.I don't want to wait forever for it to dry.I have an old microwave so can I use it to help the drying process?Any idea on how long I should heat it for?Or will this even work?

Donny


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

I've done the same with some raw wood blanks, turned it on the lowest setting (warming) and wound the timer out to it's max of 35 minutes, ran it about three times. The wood shrank noticeably but it worked fine. If it's pretty dry the wood will not heat up so much as when wet.
Be careful about drying it before cutting into blanks, I've tried to do a very soft wood and it split on the insides without showing on the outside.
Don't try higher settings without watching it very closely, the heat may ignite the wood.


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

How about an old oven.Could you set it to "LO" or 125 degrees and dry it that way?Also do I need to go ahead and cut it into oversized blanks?I'm wanting to see what's inside this small dogwood tree.When I cut into it I will post some pics.I do know that it is wet.I think my moisture meter hit on about 38%.What is a safe % to work with?

Donny


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I would cut it to oversized blanks and nuke it. My method sounds different than others. I go on high for 30-45 seconds then let the piece cool for 3-4 minutes, repeat a few times. Some people weigh the piece before/during and when it stops losing weight (water) they know it is dry. But since you have a moisture meter I would shoot for under 10%, 6% being as low as I would go. I did a quick search "microwave drying" here on the forum and we have talked a little about it in the past.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

don716 said:


> How about an old oven.Could you set it to "LO" or 125 degrees and dry it that way?Also do I need to go ahead and cut it into oversized blanks?I'm wanting to see what's inside this small dogwood tree.When I cut into it I will post some pics.I do know that it is wet.I think my moisture meter hit on about 38%.What is a safe % to work with?
> 
> Donny


I'm not sure the oven would help, rather it might make things worse. The point behind the microwave is the ability to heat from the inside out and drive out the moisture more evenly. The oven would dry from the outside in and may cause cracks as the outside shrinks before the inside has a chance to dry. There may be techniques using a pan of water in the oven to prevent the outside from drying too fast but I couldn't say what the particulars are.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Don,
I have done something similar to what Daren recommended. 50% power for five minutes, let cool for 20-30 minutes. I don't have a moisture meter, but do have a digital postal scale. So I would weigh it each time till it stopped losing weight. Took about nine or ten cycles. It also depends on the wattage of your microwave. When I pulled the blank out after five minutes, it was pretty warm, kind of like notch below a hot potato. You could try different power settings starting at a lower setting and working your way up. Also, best to use an older microwave (read:spare). Don't use the one in your kitchen, or you may be making a few more projects for your wifey poo.
Mike Hawkins


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

I do have an old microwave that someone gave me a while back.I thought it would be nice for something like this.If I dry the blanks in there do you think it will crack on the ends?Either way I will try it this weekend.

Donny


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Man you learn new stuff all the time. I never would have guessed that microwave drying was for real.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

I saw in a video in which one commercial mill used a very large microwave kiln to dry the wood they cut. The idea is not so outlandish, eh?
Thats where I got the notion of using mine on low power at a long duration. The blanks I dried warped a little but didn't crack. Depends on the wood I guess. Try a scrap and see what happens.


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## Midiean (Apr 13, 2009)

nuking wood, hmmm, glow in the dark lumber might be a good way to go


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