drying wood question????????

[B . Buxton]

I read a while back that someone uses a cooler with a light bulb in it to dry their handle material wood. What size bulb do you use? do you drill any holes in the cooler lid for moisture to escape?

Thank you,

Bill

 

[canranger]

Using a cooler is a good idea some people just make a plywood box and line the inside with plastic. Putting hooles in it would allow a bit of fresh air cerculation if you had them on top best to place them on the bottum. As the air heats up it will have a staking effect filling the box. Since cold air doesn't rise the holes on the bottom wont allow fsh moisture filled air in as much.

A better way is to hook up a dehumidifier to the box. The wattsage of the bulb will depend on how large and area you have.for a cooler I wouldn't think a large wattage would be reco mended drying too fast will promote warpage and cracking.


Abe

 

[Alpha Knife Supply]

Our kiln is made from OSB over 2x4's with foam insulation. I used a fan hooked to a thermostat and humidistat to control the temperature and humidity. The thermostat controls intake/exhaust fan. The humidstat controls a dehumidifier. Separate fans keep the air circulating when the kiln is turned on.

When we first put the wood in the kiln we let it heat up to 125-130 degrees for a few weeks then we lower the humidistat to start pulling out the moisture. Every few weeks we lower the humidistat again until the inside of the kiln is down to about 10% humidity. Then we lower the temperature until we gradually get to room temperature.

The blocks are then put on the shelf for a few weeks. Then we test the moisture content to verify the wood is dry enough. If the wood is still wet it goes back into the kiln for another run.

This sounds much more complicated than it is. All we do is open the door once every few weeks and turn the dials.

I don't know if this setup will work with bigger pieces of wood. We put only handle sized blocks or scales into the kiln.

 

[B . Buxton]

Thank you, I rigged up a 40 watt bulb in a 48 qt. cooler and placed a rack up close to the top. The wood gets nice and warm but I don't know if it will dry much. I wouldn't mess with this at all, but I have a big oak tree with a big (probably 2' x 3' x 10" thick) burl hanging on it and I'm going to cut it this winter when the sap goes down. I cut a small burl last winter off an oak and it has some fantastic handle pieces in it, so this other piece should have some really good stuff in it.

Thanks again,

Bill

 

[Anthony Chaney]

Sorry Bill,

I have been away at work for the last few days and just now saw this. To answer your question. Yes you will need vent holes. I have had mine for the last year and a half. I made mine from an old ice chest that the lid was broken on. I put a couple of bricks in the bottom of the chest and layed a rack on top to put my wood on. I guess you could have more than one layer if needed. I also rigged a small computer fan to keep the air moving, I don't know if it's necessary, but I had an old one so I went ahead and used it. I used a 15 watt appliance bulb. I have had some maple and mesquite in the cooler for about a year and a half. I don't know what moisture content the wood is at. I was thinking about buying one of the gadgits that Chuck posted and testing them one of these days. My cooler has just been out of site out of mind. I hope this helps you. I found a tutorial a long time ago on the web about how to make the dryer, so the idea isn't mine and I am afraid that I can't remember where I found it to give the proper credit.

 

[B . Buxton]

Thanks anthony, I did just about the same thing you suggested, I drilled several holes in it today and its got 2 racks in it, I used a 40 watt bulb, I might ought to get a smaller bulb, its nice and warm in there, thats for sure. I placed a thermometer in it today for about 1 hour and it was reading 145 degrees. I hope it works, it sure appears like it should, but what do I know.

Thanks again,

Bill

 

[Don Hanson III]

Bill, we used to sell a whole lot of walnut burl, my Dad and I, we dried it in an old refrigerator, came with a door lots of shelves,worked good. I think we had two 60 watt bulbs in the bottom, started with both on for a day or two then turned one off, had holes in the bottom and top but sometimes we would crack the door, lots of moisture would come out of this thing, we would have 200 to 300 blocks in at a time. Your cooler should work fine.

Don Hanson lll