preparing unseasond blanks for grinders

[Brown Dog]

I have recently taken delivery of some very nice turning blanks :U ... and was wanting to turn a few of them into salt and pepper grinders.

As all the blanks are unseasoned, I wanted to know what is the best way to prep them for making into grinders to give me the quickest drying time. Do I rough turn them ? Should I bore a smaller hole down the midddle ?( Im thinking not with that, but I dont have much experience with green stuff except for bowls).

any suggestions/help would be appreciated

cheers
BD:2tsup:

[DJ’s Timber]

Just seal the ends, weight them and write the date and weight on them and put them away and check em once a week or mth till no more weight loss

[Brown Dog]

hi DJ

thats kinda what I do with bowls anyway, rough turn stickem in shavings in a box and forget about them for 6 months or so...I was just hoping to speed up the process a little:U

[DJ’s Timber]

You could bore an undersized hole thru them, but as it dries the hole moves or shrinks in size and when you go to bore the correct size, it will try to follow the wavering hole thru the blank.

Same as the outside, if the hole has shrunk in places the outside collapses in the same spot

[dai sensei]

You could try microwaving the blanks.

For 75x75x250 grinder blanks - 1min high, 1min rest, 45 sec high, 2 min rest, 30 sec high, 3 min rest. Then repeat 30 sec high 5 min rest another 10 times, then leave for a day to normalise. You should keep weighing your blank, but I find the above is about right.

Beware of open grained timbers like Silky Oak, they tend to split from the inside out. So you think there are Ok, but then you find ever increasing crack as you turn.

You could also place your blank in the freezer for a few weeks, not as fast as the microwave, but does work. The freezer can crack your blanks as well though.

Soaking the blanks in 50/50 metho/detergent for a couple of weeks, then dry in the sun for a few more weeks can also work for mill blanks, although I haven't had much success.

The only dissadvantage of any of these so called fast methods is that it dries the timber, but doesn't age it, hence you won'y get the natural deepening of colour etc. Only time will age timber I've found.

[Brown Dog]

You could bore an undersized hole thru them, but as it dries the hole moves or shrinks in size and when you go to bore the correct size, it will try to follow the wavering hole thru the blank.

Same as the outside, if the hole has shrunk in places the outside collapses in the same spot

So reading between the line its probably not a good idea to that....thanks DJ

Neil...thanks for the info. The freezer method sounds appealing. I have heard of that before... and as I have a few to do I dont really fancy spending the day in front of the microwave :U .

Is there anything I need to do to the blanks before sticking them in the freezer ?


cheer
BD:2tsup:

[BernieP]

G'Day BD

You might find some ideas on this http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WoodDrying/wood_kiln.htm
if not makes some interesting reading.

With freezing I do the following and so far works for me, put wood in sealed plastic bag and put in freezer ( I do so for three days but is only small items e.g lidded boxes 12 high x 7 dia.) take out of freezer and out of plastic bag and put in fridge for a week.
As I said works for me but no responsability taken, try it out first you may get a pleasant surprise. Two things if a lidded box leave lid in place and my fridge/freezer is frost free.

Forgot to say this is before using your ubeaut products i.e sanded raw item.

Cheers
Bernie

[dai sensei]

Is there anything I need to do to the blanks before sticking them in the freezer ?

I've only ever done pen blanks in freezer, and I just chuck em in


..put wood in sealed plastic bag and put in freezer ( I do so for three days but is only small items e.g lidded boxes 12 high x 7 dia.) take out of freezer and out of plastic bag and put in fridge for a week.

Why put them in, inside a plastic bag to start with Bernie? Is this a way to avoid them cracking or something?

Brown Dog - another option I've heard of, but not tried: Heat up your oven just before going to bed, then turn it off and put blanks in. Repeat as you go to work next day. Keep repeating until dry. What ever you do, don't leave the oven on with the blanks inside.

[BernieP]

G'Day Neil

This is the way I was told to do it, no idea why but have yet to see anything go in our freezer not sealed, as I say works for me so (shrug) supposedly something to do with the fact a freezer is a dehumidifer?

Cheers
Bernie