Does anyone have advice on how to keep my green wood from cracking during the drying process? I buy wood from Woodcraft that is cut green and dipped in wax or wood given to me from friends freshly cut. I tried to microwave some beautiful olive wood and it split in half in just under a minute. Maybe in the oven at 170 for an hour? Any advice?

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Joel Green Studios Inc.
joelgreenstudios.com

Paint or dip the end in wax and allow to dry then sticker the wood. If the pieces are small enough, weigh each piece daily and once the weight stabilizes for a few days then it should be dry enough to work. There are no guarantees that you wont have spits but the wood will be stable.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Good advice, thank you

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Joel Green Studios Inc.
joelgreenstudios.com

Greetings 

I use microwave oven to dry wood if I'm in hurry to turn green wood but use only defrost mode, weight the piece before you start, put in for max 2 min on defrost mode. Leave it to cool down, weight it, microwave it again 2 min. Keep doing till weight does stay 3 times in the microwave. Even then I leave it at least overnight to stand before it touch it. I do one more weight in and microwave round. 

Bigger pieces can handle 3 min in 1 go in microwave. Slowly the better. Its not fast system but beats leaving the wood to dry for year as it is.

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Keep on turning, if not today, do it tomorrow.

You have to be able to remove it slowly. Taking the moisture out too fast even in the oven will cause it crack or move. I usually try to put them up on wire shelves to give them some time to dry even it people give them to me green. I paint the ends with Anchorseal that I get from WoodCraft. Once you get an inventory you will have time to let it wait before you turn it, unless the piece is just so beautiful you can't wait.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Great advice gentlemen. Noted and will try on my next peice. Awesome. Thanks again.

Another way to remove the moisture is to put it in DNA (Denatured Alcohol). Pour it into a container large enough to hold your piece of wood and completely cover it with DNA, Leave it for about 24 hours and  you should be good to go. Weight it before and after.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

For small pieces like bottle stopper blanks & pen blanks I've read where people have used food dehydrators. You can make your own with a simple box, some hardware cloth and a box fan. You are just looking for air flow around the pieces. As mentioned before weigh the pieces before you start and during the drying process.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops