Speed drying Alder wood and burls?

Randydb said:
Poking holes in the bag would be too much like "pushing til I found the edge" and I know that I will be minus a nice piece of wood when I find the edge!!
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I guess that is why i so often seem to produce conflict with some of the folks here. I have no problem at all with finding that edge ... and just accept it will produce some damage/lost material. I do understand your sentiment though.
 
LCoop said:
Interesting discussion. I have a question though. How does the wood dry at all completely wrapped in plastic?
I mostly have used finely curled maple. I stack it my attic of my garage and depending on the thickness of it as to when I cut scales from it. Knock on wood I've not had a problem. I've dried other woods ( curly maple, sassafras, walnut and red elm) like that back when I made fiberglass laminated recurve bows and those at taken down to 100 thousand at the thick end and tapered down .002 per inch for 36"
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Well ... if you used really thick plastic , wrapped it tightly, and taped up the seams, i would think you would have a problem. If wrapped completely, but fairly loosely, and you dont tape it up, there *should* be enough open channels for the moisture to escape while still producing a higher humidity environment immediately around the wood... (at least that is what i am thinking).

or ... you could do as randy said ... and periodically unwrap it...
 
Or open it/them on a schedule...
I store my scale blocks in the airtight type that have a rubber seal and snap locks.
But any kind (Tupperware?) would do for the drying.
 
Plastic is surprisingly not that impervious to moisture. It's the reason that chip bags and anything else that needs to be really moisture free is always coated in aluminum on the Inside.

Honestly it just feels like everyone is overthinking stuff a bit here.

I have black and white ebony, one of the most expensive and so most difficult to try woods in the world, drying in my workshop right now.

The ends are waxed, its stacked together in a box with other pieces of ebony from the same log to make a resivor of moisture to buffer anything like a strong santa ana wind blowing through LA, it is loosely wrapped up in plastic sheeting and placed in a cardboard box in the back of my workshop. Every two weeks or so I'll take a few pieces out and take readings with a contactless moisture meter. Ill keep doing that till its dry.
 
Here is an answer I got from a Norwegian knife maker forum:
Quote translated by google:
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"I myself have dried woods that quickly crack by soak it in denatured Alcohol with good results.

Did a test with cross-cut oak and beech. Some of the pieces I just left, some I glued on the ends, and some I left in alcohol. No doubt that the pieces bathed in alcohol had fewest cracks.

Bought some technically cheap alcohol. Let the pieces I should dry in a bucket and filled up with alcohol. Left them for 3 days. Then I let the pieces air dry for a few hours, then I wrapped them in newsprint. Weighed the pieces regularly and most stopped losing weight after about 1 month. And then was dry and completely crack free."
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End of quote.

Anybody here who have tried something like that?
 
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Wood turners do that and claim to have good results. Wood turners also soak wood in a dish soap water solution and claim good results.
I have not tried either method.
 
Tom Lewis said:
Wood turners do that and claim to have good results. Wood turners also soak wood in a dish soap water solution and claim good results.
I have not tried either method.
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Ok!
But the dish soap water solution will dry very slow compared to the alcohol solution if they don´t put it in an oven for quick drying. Is that what they are doing?
 
Since I have never done either I can't answer your question but if you go to some of the wood turning forums they can give you the information you are looking for.
I would recommend the AAW site or the Sawmill Creek site.
 
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