# Silica Gel Packs



## rocky1

Was just looking at a post on some green blanks someone had received and was talking about drying them down in shavings, and I had a brain fart of sorts...

Has anyone here ever tried drying blanks down with silica gel packs? You know the little white packets that come in about everything you buy these days. Why couldn't one toss a dozen pen blanks in a gallon zip lock bag with a handful of silica gel packs and dry them down?

So thinking on this, the first reason you can't, is because we all throw them away.

-- You can buy them on-line, very reasonable. - Silica Gel Packs on E-Bay - $2.98/100 - 1 gram packs shipped

But what happens when you use them up?

-- You can recharge their absorption capacity by simply tossing them in the oven for 2 hours at 200 - 250 degrees.

Do they really absorb enough water? That one I'm not sure... How much moisture should one typically encounter in a dozen pen blanks?

-- In review of desiccant absorption capacities... Silica Gel tops the list.

-- 100 grams of Silica Gel is capable of absorbing 37 grams of moisture from the air at 77 degrees w/100% humidity.

-- At 77 degrees w/75% humidity they'll absorb 32 grams of moisture, in just 6 hours.

https://www.sorbentsystems.com/desiccants_charts.html#table1

_And, at that point my mind is screaming, OK... so what happens when you toss a hundred grams of them fresh out the oven at 200 degrees, into a gallon ziplock bag with a dozen pen blanks and shavings? _

At about that point, someone is gonna start yelling, yeah but who wants to deal with that many little bags of Silica Gel when you're trying to dry a medium flat rate of call blanks or Knife scales, or bowl blanks.

Well... if you Google Silica Gel Packs, you will find a link for ULine listed there. Uline supplies all nature of commercial and industrial goodies, for those of you not familiar with them, and they offer silica gel packs in some seriously large packs!! For instance you can purchase 150 - 100 gram packs for $279. Less than $2 per 100 grams. And, if several folks were to get together and buy a drum of them, toss a few in large flat rate envelopes and redistribute, you're talking less than $10 for several hundred grams.

Probably not gonna fit in a gallon ziplock bag, but what about large air tight storage containers?

_Oh yes... and for those that reload, they would work great tossed in an ammo can with your primers too._ 

Have any of you guys ever tried this? What kind of results did you find?

Reactions: Great Post 2


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## Nature Man

Great question! Subscribed! Chuck


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## CWS

Very interesting. I put all my little silica packs in my toolbox. Help keep rust off of tools in unheated shop.

Reactions: Useful 1


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## Tony




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## rocky1

CWS said:


> Very interesting. I put all my little silica packs in my toolbox. Help keep rust off of tools in unheated shop.




Hadn't thought of that one... Have a hundred dollar toolset in the truck, in one of those nifty molded plastic cases that is notorious for condensation. Might give that a whirl there, but I don't know how I would get the monkeys to leave them in there.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## woodtickgreg

Interesting thoughts on this Rocky, I wonder if it would pull the moisture from deep within the blanks? Maybe might help to pre dry the blanks in the microwave or oven. The micro might really get the drying process started.


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## rocky1

Well, I was thinking on that too Greg, and the 6 hour absorption rate thing came to mind as well. One has to stop in the midst of all this theorizing and remember, the Silica Gel Pack is not really going to be an instant dry answer to things. You are still going to be limited in dry time, to the rate at which the wood will allow evaporation. The silica packs may enhance that to some extent by absorbing all moisture in the environment in the bag/container, but moisture in the blank is still only going to dry so fast.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## F.W.von

I bet a diaper Insert would do similar
Just wrap your green blank or what in a diaper n ship it.

Cool ideas
Catlitter too?


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## Blueglass

Might help after getting to EMC but then you would have to put the silica packs in the oven daily, I guess?


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## rocky1

F.W.von said:


> I bet a diaper Insert would do similar
> Just wrap your green blank or what in a diaper n ship it.
> 
> Cool ideas
> Catlitter too?




Actually there are desiccants used in cat litter, that came up in my research on desiccants. Kinda figured if you had some shitty smelling blanks it might be a good alternative!

Reactions: Funny 5


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## Blueglass

rocky1 said:


> Actually there are desiccants used in cat litter, that came up in my research on desiccants. Kinda figured if you had some shitty smelling blanks it might be a good alternative!


DIW or so I hear. It has been said around here that working it smells like a decomposing cat. I haven't worked it , yet.


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## rocky1

Spalted Mango came to mind! Piece I turned smelled just like a wet musty jungle floor covered with rotting leaves smells. It was kinda nasty!!

Talked to a friend on another forum, and he said his wife was not even a little impressed when he turned a piece of it in the basement.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## F.W.von

Use the fresh cat litter, they got febreeze flavored!
What lady doesn't dance at the stench of febreeze?

Ha!

On the serious note, the Turner at wood products said he packs rough bowls in sawdust to dry for 6 months....and hasn't seen a check.


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## barry richardson

Thanks for bringing this up Rocky, I always thought those little things were spice packets

Reactions: Funny 5


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## CWS

F.W.von said:


> Use the fresh cat litter, they got febreeze flavored!
> What lady doesn't dance at the stench of febreeze?
> 
> Ha!
> 
> On the serious note, the Turner at wood products said he packs rough bowls in sawdust to dry for 6 months....and hasn't seen a check.


My cat uses fabreeze

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1

barry richardson said:


> Thanks for bringing this up Rocky, I always thought those little things were spice packets



Since we haven't gotten any experience offered on it, I ordered 500 grams, and I'm going to do a few tests with it. Have some spalted oak in the wood pile yet that I can cut up into blanks and see how well it works. Wasn't but $15 and change, so if it doesn't I ain't out much, and if it does, I may order a drum from U-Line to try on bigger chunks of wood!!

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Mr. Peet

Rocky, it does work, with similar results to dry fine shavings with a touch of dry sawdust. I used the beads that turn blue, like those used in gun safes. Then pop the beads in the oven and bake until white, then repeat the process. The risk is drying the outer layers too fast. Many old timers have said to be patient. I don't want to admit they were right, so carry one.

Second point, microwaves can super heat moisture within the wood. Often, since wood is an insulator, the user will not sense the heat produced until moments to minutes after the microwaving process. Additionally, the water within can boil, or covert to steam. Yeah, let's add another 540 calories, not a good idea. Both boiling and steaming the water out can cause micro-fracturing from expansion, different than the less amount of fracturing from contraction. Microwaves can be used, but can be harmful as well.

My oops was with a piece of "Cuban / Floridian Mahogany". It had high iron content in the wood, no obvious mineral stains, but through out the wood. How did I find this out, one minute and 4 seconds into a 2 minute bug treatment on mid power, a burst of flame and a black spot were immediate. Pissed is a good way to start how I felt..

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 2


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## rocky1

Thank you sir! Appreciate the info; knew it had to work to some extent, before coming to the realization that the wood itself is essentially your limiting factor on time to dry. That the wood itself will only transmit water so fast, and there's only so much you can do to speed things up. 

Haven't tried any in the microwave, I've experienced entirely too many plates full of food that are superheated in one spot, while items an inch or two away are still refrigerated, to think of that as even a remotely viable alternative for quick drying wood. That's just, well... kinda iffy, in my book. I envision it as being kinda like wringing out one end of a wet dish towel, handing it to a 5 year old, and telling them to dry dishes with it. You know there's gonna be a lot of wet spots left, going into that proposition.

And, we've recently seen pictures of what happens when your toaster ovens melt down, so no leaving them unwatched in the shop cooking moisture out of blanks.


While, I can see where drying the outside down too quick could cause issues; I think this concept could maybe offer an interesting alternative to speeding up dry time on blanks in some cases. If a guy truly needed to speed up dry time on pen blanks for instance, you could pre-drill your blanks, preheat your silica gel packs, pack the blanks in shavings and the preheated silica gel packs using a good insulated cooler to retain heat longer. They may speed up dry time in your homemade kiln as well.

I guess I'm looking at it from an environment where the humidity is far higher than what a lot of you guys accustomed too. Having spent 25 years in ND, I know how much faster things dry in that environment, compared to how they dry here in FL. I can gain substantial time to dry simply by removing my blanks from the ever present humidity down here, and these gel packs could be an answer, or at least a part of an answer to that problem.


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## Mr. Peet

Rocky,

The few friends that I have in Florida simply purchased a dehumidifier and placed it in the area of their "green" stock. Some have their stock in sheds, garages and basements. The one guy did say it may cause the AC to run and extra 1-2 cycles a day in the heat of the summer. I've seen several folks use dehumidifiers up our way as well. Download the kiln schedule for the wood you are drying and use that as a base line to time out your experiments, implying how to gauge dry times.


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## rocky1

Thanks Mr. Peet... will check out the kiln schedule.


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## barry richardson

I've been trying the freezer lately for drying smaller stuff. Put it in a plastic bag, take it out daily and let it dry and thaw for an hour or 2, rebag and repeat, seems to be working pretty good. I'm drying eucalyptus burl, so the goal is drying without cracking, more than speed. My theory is the freezing and thawing cycles relax the wood fibers a bit.....

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 2


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## rocky1

Interesting concept, and very plausible. It probably goes deeper than simply relaxing the wood fibers however. My guess would be that you are actually breaking down a portion of the wood fiber therein causing it to relax.

In the case of frozen foods, fish and vegetables in particular, it is best to freeze them rapidly. (See Flash Freezing) As it promotes the growth of smaller ice crystals within the fibers. Items containing a high concentration of water, tend to have more delicate fiber walls, and while I'm not sure about vegetables, some fish actually have longer muscle fibers than others, which are more prone to rupture during freezing.

In Flash Freezing, the rapid formation of smaller ice crystals, actually forms a structure of sorts that helps alleviate stress on the fiber wall.

Wood being more dense than fish or vegetables would likely have a shorter fiber wall, and very likely less fiber holding water, so it probably isn't going to get mushy freezing it slowly, or thawing and freezing, but causing a portion of those fibers holding water to rupture, would in fact relax the grain of the wood and prevent twisting, warping, and checking.

Done bought a Toaster Oven, and a Microwave, and a Refrigerator for the shop, now I gotta buy a freezer too!!??

Reactions: Like 2


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## Kevin

Rocky the silica drying has been around quite a while. It does work. I haven't used the method but I've seen many turners give it a thumbs up over the years. 

Barry freezing definitely works, and it is much slower than air drying which is what you want on a rough turned piece. All you have to know for proof that ice evaporates in a freezer is that even ice cubes shrink over time.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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