It's been a while since my last entry and I am regretting it. The past couple of weeks have definitely been interesting and of course, there is much to report. I guess I should start with shop news. I delved further into the world of bowl turning, and so far it has been quite the education. I have been experimenting with green wood turning, and while I love this technique, it has one major drawback; the wood cracks and splits terribly if it isn't properly cured. I have been searching for curing methods beyond the old-skool hit-or-miss and lengthy process of "controlled" air-curing.

I've tried microwave curing and it seems to work fairly well, but the results are definitely inconsistent as the timing and power levels must be inferred based on wood species and size of the piece. I've had good luck with walnut, but my recently harvested honey locust seems to require an increased cooking time due to it's higher density. A definite advantage of the microwave techinique is that it kills fungus and insects; both serious issues when selecting recently felled timber from wood piles.

Another classic curing method is to soak the rough piece or blank in PEG (polyethelyne glycol) which chemically "dries" the wood. Evidently this method works well, but PEG is rather costly at tens of dollars per gallon. I did a bit of searching online, and discovered a very promising alternative- concentrated dishwashing detergent. The detergent seems to do the same job of displacing water in the wood as PEG, but it is far less dollar intensive and reports indicate beneficial wood condiditioning properties. In addition, the process of rough turning, soaking, finish turning and finishing can be accomplished in one full shop day. Fantastic! I think a combination of microwaving (to kill "bugs") and soaking should produce the results I seek- a cheap, quick way to condition and stabilize turning stock.

** EDIT **

We picked up a 90 ounce bottle of dish washing detergent this afternoon, and whipped up a batch of 3:1 water to soap solution. A few test pieces are soaking now, and we'll se how things turn out. I suspect we should up the amount of soap in the mixture, but we'll see what happens. After all, the only advice I've seen on the process recommends a 1:1 ratio, but that comes without any observations or experimentation to support it. That said, there are factors that will affect my current test. Some of the pieces are rough turned and have been air-drying. Others are finish-turned and have been insufficiently microwave cured. My goal is simply to stabilize the wood to prevent further degredation.

Comments

bruce42
Tue, 04/19/2005 - 20:03
Soak
So after a good soaking, the cracks easily visible on the pieces in the above photos have closed. The question is whether they will stay closed or will re-open. Everything is currently resting in a bed of shavings and I hope that this will allow the drying to procede safely. If all goes well, I will probably mix up a larger batch of "goo" for soaking more and larger pieces. I have a huge pile of logs and blanks to go through, and I need to come up with several choice pieces by mid May for an art show at the Octagon Center. This brand makes the thing which a consumer is satisfied with. - engrish.com

heavy pie
Wed, 04/20/2005 - 14:22
Closure
Indeed, hopefully they stay closed. Hmmmm..... this probably isn't very feasable, but with oil finishes, sanding the wood after a finish is put on fills a lot of cracks. It worked wonders on some veneered pine I turned. It might work to give a piece a quick coat of wax, only instead of buffing it right away try giving it a sand. Then, when it's sanded/filled add a little wax and buff it shiny. The theory behind it is to sand the oily wood to make a "paste" that fills in cracks and then dries hard with the rest of the finish. ------------------------ Other time... other space.

bruce42
Wed, 04/20/2005 - 14:37
Problem
I like oil finishes- especially when used to fill the wood. The problem is that the pieces weren't static- the cracks were growing and spreading. The wood was air-curing and doing so too rapidly. So far, everything I tucked away in my bin of shavings seems to be drying well. I'll check it again later this afternoon. This brand makes the thing which a consumer is satisfied with. - engrish.com

bruce42
Fri, 04/22/2005 - 15:12
Update
Well, the soap curing seems to work pretty well. I was turning a Mulberry bowl yesterday, and the process was going very well. Unfortunately I had drilled the depth hole too deep and the bottom of the blank became thin and weak to the point that it shattered on the lathe as I was finishing off the edge and getting ready to sand it. Thank goodness for face shields! While disappointing, the wood did turn very well and seems to have been well cured- no cracking or movement has appeared in the bowl's halves even after a day of exposure to the air. This brand makes the thing which a consumer is satisfied with. - engrish.com

bruce42
Sun, 04/24/2005 - 11:34
More soapiness
I must further test curing methods. The soap seems to work best on thin pieces of wood. Whole blanks and sprig pots will require a much longer soak. In the end, I have yet to find a curing method that works really well. I think I need to be more patient and experiment further. I should invest in a scale and try a more scientific approach to curing method experimentation. This brand makes the thing which a consumer is satisfied with. - engrish.com