Air drying the California coast live oak

[BoonareeBurl]

So, I've been air drying the California coast live oak I cut around 9 weeks ago.

Every week I measure the weight of the two pieces. As a newbie, it's been really fascinating watching how they dry, even when it was cold and humid (winter weather).
Small Piece Big Piece
2/15: 29.4 40.2
2/19: 28.6 39.4
2/26: 28.4 38.0
3/5: 27.2 37.4
3/12: 27.0 37.0
3/19: 26.6 36.4
3/26: 26.4 36.0
4/2: 26.0 35.6
4/9: 25.6 35.0
4/16: 25.4 34.8
4/23: 25.0 34.6

Total loss (lbs): 4.4 5.6
Total loss (%): 15 14

It's tough to accurately say because I'm picking the pieces up weekly and that's a long time between comprisons, but they did seem to be lighter today than I remember them being when I first cut them. Or maybe I'm just getting stronger.

G

 

[Friedrich9]

It is always interesting how wood changes when it dries. I’ve learned the hard way more than once about letting it properly dry before using it on certain projects. I like turning bowls green, then microwaving them rather than doing the twice turning. They usually end up oval shaped, and it gives some texture that matches the figure of the wood.

out of curiosity will you have any California Live Oak for trade?

 

[Nature Man]

Half rounds that size will take quite some time to thoroughly air dry, perhaps even years. Do you have a moisture meter? Chuck

 

[BoonareeBurl]

It is always interesting how wood changes when it dries. I’ve learned the hard way more than once about letting it properly dry before using it on certain projects. I like turning bowls green, then microwaving them rather than doing the twice turning. They usually end up oval shaped, and it gives some texture that matches the figure of the wood.

out of curiosity will you have any California Live Oak for trade?

Hey Frederick. I'd be interested in hearing a little more about how you microwave to dry. I've read/heard about this a little bit here and on the 'Net. But not enough to really give it a go.

And yes, I would be willing to trade, though it depends on what size blank/block you're looking for, as well as what you have to trade. Let me know!

Thanks,

G

 

[BoonareeBurl]

Half rounds that size will take quite some time to thoroughly air dry, perhaps even years. Do you have a moisture meter? Chuck

Hey Chuck. My FIL has a moisture meter, so I'll probably borrow his. Yeah, I know there's the general rule of 1 year per inch of wood ... I've already got a couple of pen/turning blanks cut out of this live oak, so for my purposes, I've probably got less than a year to wait ... or I might try microwaving!

Thanks,

G

 

[Friedrich9]

Hey Frederick. I'd be interested in hearing a little more about how you microwave to dry. I've read/heard about this a little bit here and on the 'Net. But not enough to really give it a go.

And yes, I would be willing to trade, though it depends on what size blank/block you're looking for, as well as what you have to trade. Let me know!

Thanks,

G

As far as the microwave thing goes I’ve always kind of winged it. The microwave is supposed to heat more evenly than a kiln or oven, and I suppose air drying as well. From what I remember reading you microwave it for a small amount of time then let it cool and the moisture evaporate out, and you repeat the process several times. Over microwaving can cause problems from what I read. I’ve don’t it on a fair amount of bowls over the years. Most with good results. I turned a small American Chestnut bowl for my Dad’s birthday a few weeks ago. I normally microwave until it’s warm to the touch, and you can feel the moisture coming out of it. I’m not sure if it was luck or the wood responded extra well, but since it was thin and small 30 seconds in the microwave made it almost too hot to touch, but it still worked great. If the wood allows to make it a bit extra dry, I like to apply pure tung oil while it’s warm so the wood really sucks it up. I feel it helps stabilize the wood, that’s just a feeling though, no scientific evidence to back it up.

as far as trade, I’d just be looking for a small block to turn a bowl for my collection. I’m fairly flexible on size depending on what you’d want to offer.
I have a lot of different species to offer, especially if you are a turner. Do you have something particular you are looking for? Can we discuss the whole trade here, or do we have to do it in a trade thread. I’m new here.

 

[BoonareeBurl]

As far as the microwave thing goes I’ve always kind of winged it. The microwave is supposed to heat more evenly than a kiln or oven, and I suppose air drying as well. From what I remember reading you microwave it for a small amount of time then let it cool and the moisture evaporate out, and you repeat the process several times. Over microwaving can cause problems from what I read. I’ve don’t it on a fair amount of bowls over the years. Most with good results. I turned a small American Chestnut bowl for my Dad’s birthday a few weeks ago. I normally microwave until it’s warm to the touch, and you can feel the moisture coming out of it. I’m not sure if it was luck or the wood responded extra well, but since it was thin and small 30 seconds in the microwave made it almost too hot to touch, but it still worked great. If the wood allows to make it a bit extra dry, I like to apply pure tung oil while it’s warm so the wood really sucks it up. I feel it helps stabilize the wood, that’s just a feeling though, no scientific evidence to back it up.

as far as trade, I’d just be looking for a small block to turn a bowl for my collection. I’m fairly flexible on size depending on what you’d want to offer.
I have a lot of different species to offer, especially if you are a turner. Do you have something particular you are looking for? Can we discuss the whole trade here, or do we have to do it in a trade thread. I’m new here.

Thanks for the microwaving info, Frederick.

I will have to have my father-in-law (FIL) cut a small bowl block/blank off one of these half rounds, but he's tied up with an ongoing show (Renaissance Faire) for the next month and a half, so he probably won't get to this until mid June.

What I'll do is post in Wood for Trade then and give you first dibs on a small bowl blank. We can then go from there. I'm mostly a fine wood pen collector (and learning to turn), so we can go from there when I do post.

Thanks!

G

 

[Friedrich9]

Thanks for the microwaving info, Frederick.

I will have to have my father-in-law (FIL) cut a small bowl block/blank off one of these half rounds, but he's tied up with an ongoing show (Renaissance Faire) for the next month and a half, so he probably won't get to this until mid June.

What I'll do is post in Wood for Trade then and give you first dibs on a small bowl blank. We can then go from there. I'm mostly a fine wood pen collector (and learning to turn), so we can go from there when I do post.

Thanks!

G

Sounds good, thank you. So would it probably be pen blanks that you are interested in? If so I’ll work on getting a list together of what I got for June.

 

[BoonareeBurl]

Sounds good, thank you. So would it probably be pen blanks that you are interested in? If so I’ll work on getting a list together of what I got for June.

Yup, I prefer fat (minimum 7/8" square) pen blanks of the hardest woods, spalteds, and/or burls. However, I can also use smaller turning blanks/blocks.

Thanks, Frederick. See you in the Wood for Trade forum in a couple months!

G

 

[BoonareeBurl]

@Friedrich9 , okay, so it's been more like 2 1/2 years, not 2 months.

The good news is the wood is even drier now!

The small half round is down from 29.4 pounds at harvest to around 21.4 pounds now.

I will post pics of a couple of pieces for trade in the appropriate forum.

Thanks,

G

 

[DLJeffs]

Amazing how much water wood holds.