# microwaving wet wood?



## Blumax13 (Dec 21, 2010)

I was wondering if it is possible to microwave wet wood to dry it alittle to turn it without damaging the wood?


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

I'm not familliar with the process.

But if you type microwave in the search bar, it will bring up several threads.


----------



## Wrangler55 (Aug 8, 2009)

*Microwaving Wood*

I dry wood in my microwave often. Green wood turns so much easier than dry, so I rough out items on my lathe, then weigh them. I set my microwave on defrost for frozen items. I put in the weight and the microwave calculates the time needed. I weigh the wet weight, and weigh the piece each time I heat it up. Wrapping it in paper towels helps wick off the moisture that escapes. I let it cool between heatings and it takes two or three sessions to get the moisture out. Stop cutting while your turning is still oversize because some movement will occur. After drying and stablizing, finish your cut to final size then sand and polish your turning. Practice on some sample pieces you don't treasure. It's easy to overheat the wood and burn it. Women hate the smell of burning wood inside the microwave...


----------



## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Microwave*



Wrangler55 said:


> I dry wood in my microwave often. Green wood turns so much easier than dry, so I rough out items on my lathe, then weigh them. I set my microwave on defrost for frozen items. I put in the weight and the microwave calculates the time needed. I weigh the wet weight, and weigh the piece each time I heat it up. Wrapping it in paper towels helps wick off the moisture that escapes. I let it cool between heatings and it takes two or three sessions to get the moisture out. Stop cutting while your turning is still oversize because some movement will occur. After drying and stablizing, finish your cut to final size then sand and polish your turning. Practice on some sample pieces you don't treasure. It's easy to overheat the wood and burn it. Women hate the smell of burning wood inside the microwave...


Hey if it's morning, you can add a pop tart or two and have coffee with your fiber, I mean wood turnings. :laughing:


----------



## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Of course ya'll were talking about small scale wood-nuking, but this is a pretty interesting large scale technique for making good wood from "crummy" trees. From a 1993 copy of American Woodworker (now in my bathroom!)
http://books.google.com/books?id=vf...rican woodworker"&pg=PA88#v=onepage&q&f=false

And they're still doing it:
http://www.microwavewoodprocessing.com/introduction.htm


----------



## jack warner (Oct 15, 2010)

imo its a bad idea.


----------



## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

*bad idea*



jack warner said:


> imo its a bad idea.


 Why?


----------



## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Microwave drying definitely works. I've been doing it for years as well it's not even controversial, at least not amongst those of us who do it often with success - and yes an occasional "accident". Depending on the thickness of the wood I use a power setting of between 10% and 50%. 

Power level on a microwave does not work like you may think. The magnetron doesn't emit less power if you select a lower power setting than 100%. It still emits 100% of it's designed output (measured in watts), but when you select a lesser than 100% setting all that happens is a timer circuit is brought into play that automatically cycles the magnetron on and off for you. On my microwave for example, a 10% setting allows the magnetron to emit for 5 seconds and then keeps it off for the next 25 seconds, then back on for 5 seconds etc. It does the very thing others have pointed out (on a while off a while) necessary to avoid wrecking the wood by drying it too fast with a constant barrage of microwave radiation. 






.


----------



## tooljack (Jul 19, 2010)

Blumax13 said:


> I was wondering if it is possible to microwave wet wood to dry it alittle to turn it without damaging the wood?


:yes: Yes, wood can be cured in a microwave. Just be careful in doing it. Don't overheat it. When I have used this method I do it in short intervals I.E. a few seconds at a time, this keep the temp in control. I have also dryed finishes in the Micro also, and again only a few seconds at a time to keep it from causing bubbles in the finish. that also can be an effective trick when you have to present a piece of work on the day that you have finnally got around to finishing it.:laughing:


----------



## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

tooljack said:


> . . . I have also dryed finishes in the Micro also . . .


I can't imagine what kind of wood finish could possibly dry while the molecules of that finish were being spun around and thrown into each other at up to 2.45 billion times a second. :blink:













.


----------

