Re: Drying Bowl Blanks
Gary Evans, Tallassee, TN
>Tom,
Like many others, you are looking for the holy grail of wood drying; drying 3" or thicker pieces with minimal degrade in the shortest possible time.
I have been studying this very issue for a number of years. The only technology that I have seen that meets both your requirements is vacuum drying. Unfortunately, vacuum drying requires a substantial capital investment by the time you build a drying chamber, buy a sufficient vacuum pump, and then provide a means of pumping heat to the wood while it is in the vacuum.
I personally think you are going to have to give up on one of your parameters. You can achieve minimal degrade or shortened drying time, but not both at the same time with thick material.
Microwaving and alcohol drying both work well with relatively thin-walled material. If you are talking about drying 12/4 and up material, then you have to start with the basics of drying 4/4 lumber and then cut those drying rates to 1/3 or less.
You can get a lot of info from "Drying Hardwood Lumber." It's available from the Forest Products Lab. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-118.
Let me know if you need more info.
Gary
