# Drying blanks



## fredito (Mar 5, 2016)

I got to thinking today of drying some wood before I stabilize it. I was wondering if there was such a place you can send wood off to in order to have it kiln dried and sent back? I have dried pen blanks and other small blanks in a toaster oven, but I'm not really sure how green or how big you can push it...in addition that I don't really like running it for 24 hours. I have also waxed and sat out larger chunks in the past and waited...and waited...and waited. I know I could probably make a kiln out of a fridge or something, but space is a premium. Anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks


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## hmmvbreaker (Mar 5, 2016)

Mail order kiln drying. Now there is an idea!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Sprung (Mar 5, 2016)

It's possible to make a small kiln for yourself that is smaller than a fridge. Use some foam board insulation and make a box - doesn't take up a lot of space, if you can spare a little space, even under a workbench. Even a box that is 2'x2'x3' shouldn't be too hard to find room for. A lightbulb or two for heat, a small computer fan to circulate air, a few vent holes for water to get out. I've got one that I cobbled together in about 30 minutes this past fall to do some bug kill cycles. I plan to rebuild it soon and find a good corner of the basement for it - probably around 2'x2'x4' or so.


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## fredito (Mar 5, 2016)

Sprung said:


> It's possible to make a small kiln for yourself that is smaller than a fridge. Use some foam board insulation and make a box - doesn't take up a lot of space, if you can spare a little space, even under a workbench. Even a box that is 2'x2'x3' shouldn't be too hard to find room for. A lightbulb or two for heat, a small computer fan to circulate air, a few vent holes for water to get out. I've got one that I cobbled together in about 30 minutes this past fall to do some bug kill cycles. I plan to rebuild it soon and find a good corner of the basement for it - probably around 2'x2'x4' or so.



Doesn't sound too bad to make how long do you run it? How do you power the fan and what wattage of bulb would you use? Do you think a toaster oven is enough to do a bug kill?


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## fredito (Mar 5, 2016)

hmmvbreaker said:


> Mail order kiln drying. Now there is an idea!


Haha that's what I was thinking when I posted it. If someone did it, it would be interesting for sure


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## Sprung (Mar 5, 2016)

fredito said:


> Doesn't sound too bad to make how long do you run it? How do you power the fan and what wattage of bulb would you use? Do you think a toaster oven is enough to do a bug kill?



If you're just looking to do a bug kill, a toaster oven certainly would be enough for that, but I'd want something different for drying green wood.

My cobbled together setup is a roughly 3' wide, 18" deep, 4' tall box made of foam insulation board, the pink stuff, because it's what I had on hand - it was free. Two lightbulbs to provide heat - 100w and 60w incandescent bulbs. I have the light sockets wired together on a rheostat so I can adjust for temperature. The fan is a 120mm computer fan that takes 12v DC (I have several computer fans of various sizes laying around from my former days as a computer geek) that is powered by a wall wart that outputs, you guessed it, 12v DC. I get temperature readings inside the kiln from a digital BBQ thermometer. When I rebuild, I plan to get one of these to control the temperature automatically for me, rather than having to adjust it with the rheostat and check it often until the temperature has leveled off where I want it. When I do some drying of green wood soon, I'll probably swap out the 100w bulb for something smaller, temporarily as I won't want a lot of heat to begin with.

The advantage of a small kiln over a toaster oven is that when you're drying green wood, you can start the temp low to start drying it slowly, then gradually increase the temperature as it gets closer to dry. Then get it up to close to 140 for a bug kill cycle once the wood is dry.

My cobbled together box, turned all the way up with 160w worth of lightbulbs, was able to hit 160 - didn't intend to see if it would get that hot, but I had a work emergency that I had to run out the door for one day while it was still heating up. By the time I got back to it, it was hot in there!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## fredito (Mar 5, 2016)

Sprung said:


> If you're just looking to do a bug kill, a toaster oven certainly would be enough for that, but I'd want something different for drying green wood.
> 
> My cobbled together setup is a roughly 3' wide, 18" deep, 4' tall box made of foam insulation board, the pink stuff, because it's what I had on hand - it was free. Two lightbulbs to provide heat - 100w and 60w incandescent bulbs. I have the light sockets wired together on a rheostat so I can adjust for temperature. The fan is a 120mm computer fan that takes 12v DC (I have several computer fans of various sizes laying around from my former days as a computer geek) that is powered by a wall wart that outputs, you guessed it, 12v DC. I get temperature readings inside the kiln from a digital BBQ thermometer. When I rebuild, I plan to get one of these to control the temperature automatically for me, rather than having to adjust it with the rheostat and check it often until the temperature has leveled off where I want it. When I do some drying of green wood soon, I'll probably swap out the 100w bulb for something smaller, temporarily as I won't want a lot of heat to begin with.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, I might try doing one that is about 2x2x3 and see how it works. I assume that small I could probably run about 60 watts and if I plug a light socket into the thing in the link I think that should be fine. I found some plugs that go in computer fans so I should be good to go there as well
Thanks!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Sprung (Mar 5, 2016)

fredito said:


> Thanks for the info, I might try doing one that is about 2x2x3 and see how it works. I assume that small I could probably run about 60 watts and if I plug a light socket into the thing in the link I think that should be fine. I found some plugs that go in computer fans so I should be good to go there as well
> Thanks!



No problem! I'm no expert on this - but from my little experience, the above is what has worked for me. Let us know how it goes for you!

Reactions: Like 1


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## manbuckwal (Mar 5, 2016)

What size material are you mostly wanting to dry ? I use a combination of microwave and toaster oven for 2x2x12 , 2x4x12 and just keep checking moisture of the blanks with a moisture meter . I won't put them in toaster oven until they get down to 15% MC ..........


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## fredito (Mar 6, 2016)

@manbuckwal nothing to big, I would say 8x11x3 would probably be about the largest.


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## manbuckwal (Mar 6, 2016)

fredito said:


> @manbuckwal nothing to big, I would say 8x11x3 would probably be about the largest.



Wouod you be stabilizing something that size ?


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## fredito (Mar 6, 2016)

manbuckwal said:


> Wouod you be stabilizing something that size ?


No I wouldn't. I mostly do calls and pens, maybe a pepper mill in the future. I like to try to keep the blanks a little larger until I decide what to do with them so when I cut them up, if It is something like fbe, I can maximize it. In reality, maybe cutting them up sooner is a better idea.


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## manbuckwal (Mar 6, 2016)

fredito said:


> No I wouldn't. I mostly do calls and pens, maybe a pepper mill in the future. I like to try to keep the blanks a little larger until I decide what to do with them so when I cut them up, if It is something like fbe, I can maximize it. In reality, maybe cutting them up sooner is a better idea.



I always cut green wood into "bigger" chunks and let em sit for a cpl months before cutting em into oversized blocks to begin any serious drying . IMO Burl no matter what species should be cut oversized to allow for movement . Have fun !!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Graybeard (Mar 8, 2016)

We have a kiln close that dries wood for pallets. It has to be dried hot enough for bug kill because some of the pallets will be used internationally. Neighbor took a few pieces down and the operator put them in the kiln at no charge, just to help the kid out. Now sure what you have around you but you might look around.


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## hmmvbreaker (Mar 8, 2016)

Graybeard said:


> We have a kiln close that dries wood for pallets. It has to be dried hot enough for bug kill because some of the pallets will be used internationally. Neighbor took a few pieces down and the operator put them in the kiln at no charge, just to help the kid out. Now sure what you have around you but you might look around.


Oddly enough i have a deal just like that. I do however give thr guy a couple bucks for gas.


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