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comments on my blank kiln - scpapa - 12-07-2020
I built this last week just for turning blanks. It's about 8 cu ft. Has 60w bulb, 4 1 3/4" holes and a fan to draw the air out. The intake is near the bulb. The wood I get is very green, cut just a few days before I get it. I don't want it to dry too quickly and crack, but I don't want to wait 9-12 months. I put anchor seal on the end grain and wrap the blanks with stretch wrap. Please critique it so I can make it better.
Thanks
Rick
I hope the pics come thru.
[attachment=31484]
[attachment=31485]
RE: comments on my blank kiln - AnthonyYak - 12-07-2020
If it's wrapped, it wont dry
RE: comments on my blank kiln - scpapa - 12-07-2020
(12-07-2020, 04:29 PM)AnthonyYak Wrote: If it's wrapped, it wont dry
I was hoping to slow it down some, but I wrapped based on seeing what you have done. Do you only wrap the perimeter?
And thanks for the response; this is what I'm hoping for.
Rick
RE: comments on my blank kiln - Stwood_ - 12-07-2020
Some bowl turners wrap with brown paper. Paper would release moisture.
RE: comments on my blank kiln - Wildwood - 12-08-2020
Think if you understand logs lose moisture twelve times fast from the ends than sides, makes drying wood lot easier. So end sealing slows down the drying process, but still need air circulation for blanks to reach EMC!
See figure 13-1 recommended average moisture content for interior use of wood products in various areas of the U.S. Table 13-2 Recommended MC values for various wood products at time of installation.
Wood Handbook, Chapter 13: Drying and Control of Moisture Content (fs.fed.us) The Wood Handbook is a nice reference for getting basic understanding of many things about wood whether for building of crafts if don’t get wrapped around the axle with technical stuff!
So what Anthony and others will tell you is take the plastic wrap off! Lot of woodturners use their homemade kilns for drying rough turned items!
R. Bruce Hoadley, (deceased) wood scientist and wood carver has written numerous articles on drying wood. Might see what can find on line.
RE: comments on my blank kiln - MichaelMouse - 12-08-2020
(12-07-2020, 02:53 PM)scpapa Wrote: I built this last week just for turning blanks. It's about 8 cu ft. Has 60w bulb, 4 1 3/4" holes and a fan to draw the air out. The intake is near the bulb. The wood I get is very green, cut just a few days before I get it. I don't want it to dry too quickly and crack, but I don't want to wait 9-12 months. I put anchor seal on the end grain and wrap the blanks with stretch wrap. Please critique it so I can make it better.
TDT (Turn Dry Turn) is the process I use, and, based on forum chat, so do most others. Some use a "kiln" to speed the descent to EMC, but I do not. Takes a couple months for open-air pieces ~3/4-1" thick to reach EMC, so a Saturday's rough-out every couple of months produces enough material for as many weekend sessions as I need. An entire weekend will fill shelves that never go empty.
If you stop and think, it takes less time for a 1" board to reach 8-10% than a two, and much less than a 4-6 thick piece, even unwrapped and in a low relative humidity "Kiln". So turning a rough, tossing it where there's room and no extremely dry conditions makes sense. Wrapped, or even, in my experience, end sealed blanks are mildew-makers in the higher RH basement, though less so than if a buffer of dry shavings or a double-wrap paper (it's wood!) bag is used. So I let ambient air hit all sides. No marking or monitoring needed. The piece tells me when it's ready by the relative shrink of my holding mortise, or, if I were to use it, tenon. When a 2" mortise measures 2 X ~1 7/8, it's ready.
Turn off the fan and use the warming box to help cure the finish, not the log.
RE: comments on my blank kiln - AnthonyYak - 12-08-2020
I wax the ends and dry for normal wood. Now it's a whole different story
RE: comments on my blank kiln - EightFingers - 12-09-2020
I’ve turned a couple thousand bowls and never used a kiln.
RE: comments on my blank kiln - scpapa - 12-09-2020
(12-09-2020, 03:29 AM)EightFingers Wrote: I’ve turned a couple thousand bowls and never used a kiln.I haven't turned as many as you, but I have done more than a few, buying dry blanks is expensive. My quest is to dry them, but not too fast, so I'm not waiting months to a year for them to dry out. I prefer not to turn them twice.
RE: comments on my blank kiln - Wildwood - 12-10-2020
My first turning symposium, fellow gave talk and slide show on his homemade kiln. Said it improved is success rate for rough turner bowls, hollow forms & vases 80%. Over the years have see and read about all kinds of homemade kilns. Your “Kiln” should work as good as any homemade one out there.
What I and other trying to say you cannot end seal and wrap those blanks and expect them to dry faster. The addition of some racks to place rough turned item so with air circulation provided by fan warmth provided by bulb make an ideal drying situation. If this link works might give some idea of what am talking about! If not plenty of article out there to guide you.
Microsoft Word - bowldryingkiln.doc (baltimoreareaturners.org)