- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
- Messages
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Theres been a lot of talk about drying on the forum, and i reutinly get emails asking what the fastest way to dry a burl is, or how to know if a piece of ebony is dry, or how to dry the ebony super fast ans so on.
So I thought I would post some photos of what I do, and what I recommend to others.
The first and most simple fact is that not all wood is the same. If you're drying douglas fir lumber, you can easily just paint the ends with some latex paint and leave them stacked and stickered under a cover and let the breeze dry them out.
The woods that knife makers are interested in, thats not so much the case.
I would grade woods on a scale of their difficulty to dry based on their moisture, the species and the figure presented.
Woods like Rosewood, cocobolo, Ebony, Desert ironwood, curly maple, Curly acacia and the like, I coat the ends with anchor seal and stack them up inside to let them regularly air dry.
This is a shelf of some fiddleback acacia I have in the shop drying this way.
For more difficult to dry woods, I go a step further. For these very green walnut burls, I use anchor seal on exposed end grain areas, and I then wrap the whole burl in plastic wrap. These I then stack in the back of the shop where they will get only light cross breezes. Im based in los angeles, so spring and summer temps are high and dry. This is how I treat most burls. As much bark as possible is cut away, end grain is sealed and the pieces are tightly wrapped in plastic. I do this for woods like Satinwood burl, Maple burl, Walnut burl, Amboyna burl, Teak burl, thuya burl and so on.
For REALLY picky or REALLY beautiful woods, I go all out. If im drying Black and white ebony, rosewood burls, acacia burl, coal black ebony or anything else I cant afford to have crack, I first coat the ends and sides with anchor seal, tightly wrap the wood in plastic wrap, then store in in a closed cardboard box packed with more plastic sheeting and store it away from any sources of heat or strong breeze.
My advice for drying wood or people who ask what the fastest way is? The fastest way is to throw it in your oven at 450 degrees for a few days. It will be bone dry. And burned. And cracked.
Whats the fastest way to dry it safely? I have no idea. wood cracking depends on moisture, existing stresses in the wood, the rate of moisture loss, the stability of the wood, the figure and a dozen other factors. Personally, as someone who sells wood for a living and buys incredibly expensive wood, I prefer a rout that may be slower than necessary, but limits the risk of cracks, checks or other defects as much as possible
So I thought I would post some photos of what I do, and what I recommend to others.
The first and most simple fact is that not all wood is the same. If you're drying douglas fir lumber, you can easily just paint the ends with some latex paint and leave them stacked and stickered under a cover and let the breeze dry them out.
The woods that knife makers are interested in, thats not so much the case.
I would grade woods on a scale of their difficulty to dry based on their moisture, the species and the figure presented.
Woods like Rosewood, cocobolo, Ebony, Desert ironwood, curly maple, Curly acacia and the like, I coat the ends with anchor seal and stack them up inside to let them regularly air dry.
This is a shelf of some fiddleback acacia I have in the shop drying this way.
For more difficult to dry woods, I go a step further. For these very green walnut burls, I use anchor seal on exposed end grain areas, and I then wrap the whole burl in plastic wrap. These I then stack in the back of the shop where they will get only light cross breezes. Im based in los angeles, so spring and summer temps are high and dry. This is how I treat most burls. As much bark as possible is cut away, end grain is sealed and the pieces are tightly wrapped in plastic. I do this for woods like Satinwood burl, Maple burl, Walnut burl, Amboyna burl, Teak burl, thuya burl and so on.
For REALLY picky or REALLY beautiful woods, I go all out. If im drying Black and white ebony, rosewood burls, acacia burl, coal black ebony or anything else I cant afford to have crack, I first coat the ends and sides with anchor seal, tightly wrap the wood in plastic wrap, then store in in a closed cardboard box packed with more plastic sheeting and store it away from any sources of heat or strong breeze.
My advice for drying wood or people who ask what the fastest way is? The fastest way is to throw it in your oven at 450 degrees for a few days. It will be bone dry. And burned. And cracked.
Whats the fastest way to dry it safely? I have no idea. wood cracking depends on moisture, existing stresses in the wood, the rate of moisture loss, the stability of the wood, the figure and a dozen other factors. Personally, as someone who sells wood for a living and buys incredibly expensive wood, I prefer a rout that may be slower than necessary, but limits the risk of cracks, checks or other defects as much as possible
. ) does not like to see a good piece go to waste, BUT he has a stash of wood ready to use “now” . He does not have a lack of availability, and so is not in a hurry to get that new piece dry.
on a part time basis!
