Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
"Ding" - - - the light just came on...
Pete in Holland
>Is part of the reason I'm having problems alcohol drying white oak bowls without cracking due to the fact that the open grain allows passage of moisture too quickly, and extra precaution is needed to retard the drying process? (ever take a 6" long stick of straight grain dry white oak and blow bubbles in water like with a straw?)
This is a follow-up to a posting late last week.
Re: "Ding" - - - the light just came on...
DaveZ
>I think red oak is the bubble blower ;)
Re: True. White oak is the barrel material.
Al Crandall
>
Re: "Ding" - - - the light just came on...
Ron in Drums PA
>White oak has a closed grain
Red oak has a open grain.
Whiskey and wine barrels are made from white oak.
Re: "Ding" - - - the light just came on...
Barry Irby
>When I saw your post last week I was wondering abut the idea that white oad is used for aging alcohol. It must be resonably "Alcohol Proof" as in waterproof. White oak is a difficult wood to dry in a kiln and has a very slow drying rate. I have not tried the alcohol drying method, but I think this is the "DING".
Try charring the bowl blank and submerging it in bourbon in a sealed glass or stainless steal container for a year or so, Filter the bourbon and drink it. Throw the rest away or if you try to turn it wait until the effects of the bourbon have worn off. Probably won't turn any better, but it should smell better than oak.
Barry Irby
Re: "Ding" - - - the light just came on...
Greg in Oshkosh
>I have had problems drying larger oak bowls both white and red due to splitting. I believe that oak has one of the largest shrinkage movements of domestic woods. Although I have not attempted to use alcohol, I have used boiling. Boiling reduced radial cracking by 90%. Now I still need to bag the blank and make sure it dries slowly after boiling or it will get longitudinal cracks typically on the bowl bottom. I would suggest retarding the drying with a paper or plastic bag even after alcohol soaking. Also as mentioned above, white oak because of its sealed cells may not respond well to the alcohol method.
