# Blank drying



## Brumar72 (Mar 8, 2021)

Hello,
I was wandering how long do you wait before using wood blanks cut to size (about 140x20x20mm) from fresh log.
A couple of months ago I got a cherry tree log from which I cut several blanks and then I waxed the head... They are beautiful but I would like to know how long to wait.
Thanks a lot,

Marco


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## sorcerertd (Mar 8, 2021)

Typically, you would weigh the wood while it's green, then weigh it every so often to check progress.  When it stops losing weight, it should be ready to go.  Might be hard to tell with a piece of wood that small unless you have a scale that's really accurate.  A postal scale would probably work for that.


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## alanemorrison (Mar 8, 2021)

If you are in a hurry you could give the blanks 10 seconds in the microwave oven every couple of minutes and keep a good eye on them so that they don't burn.


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## ccccchunt (Mar 8, 2021)

I put my blanks in my toaster oven at 225 degrees (just over 212 water boiling)  I have had good luck with it but every once in awhile I get some warping on burls.  I weigh the blanks before they go in and afterwards.  I think I get the moisture content down to about 2-3 percent but I am not sure as moisture meters are not accurate that low.  Usually an hour is good enough to dry them out, at least so they are not losing any more weight.  I know some people frown on speeding the drying process but it has worked for me!


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## Old Hilly (Mar 9, 2021)

ccccchunt said:


> I put my blanks in my toaster oven at 225 degrees (just over 212 water boiling)  I have had good luck with it but every once in awhile I get some warping on burls.  I weigh the blanks before they go in and afterwards.  I think I get the moisture content down to about 2-3 percent but I am not sure as moisture meters are not accurate that low.  Usually an hour is good enough to dry them out, at least so they are not losing any more weight.  I know some people frown on speeding the drying process but it has worked for me!


Your comment about moisture meters not being accurate at low levels is spot on! I have a cheap "pin" type meter that will read 8% when the pins are a foot away from the timber. I don't know if I should just take 8% from a contact reading or accept the contact reading as true? I guess I got what I paid for.


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## papaturner (Mar 9, 2021)

I  made a kiln using a dorm frig and it takes 1 to 2 weeks depending on how wet the blank is going in.


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## MRDucks2 (Mar 9, 2021)

Old Hilly said:


> Your comment about moisture meters not being accurate at low levels is spot on! I have a cheap "pin" type meter that will read 8% when the pins are a foot away from the timber. I don't know if I should just take 8% from a contact reading or accept the contact reading as true? I guess I got what I paid for.


Is that even after you calibrate it?


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## sorcerertd (Mar 9, 2021)

ccccchunt said:


> I put my blanks in my toaster oven at 225 degrees (just over 212 water boiling)  I have had good luck with it but every once in awhile I get some warping on burls.  I weigh the blanks before they go in and afterwards.  I think I get the moisture content down to about 2-3 percent but I am not sure as moisture meters are not accurate that low.  Usually an hour is good enough to dry them out, at least so they are not losing any more weight.  I know some people frown on speeding the drying process but it has worked for me!



How long does this usually take?  I might give that a try.  My wife has a toaster over she bought for poly clay that she hasn't been using.



papaturner said:


> I  made a kiln using a dorm frig and it takes 1 to 2 weeks depending on how wet the blank is going in.



This is very intriguing.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one interested.  Would you tell us more about it?  Any pics of the setup?  What is your source of heat?  Or are you just using a de-humidifier in it?  I could make good use of something like this for some holly I just was asking about in another post and some box elder burl I cut not long ago.

Also, I did just do a search, as I should have before I made my own post, and found this in the site resources:  Wood Drying Methods


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## ccccchunt (Mar 9, 2021)

I put my blanks in my toaster oven at 225 degrees (just over 212 water boiling) I have had good luck with it but every once in awhile I get some warping on burls. I weigh the blanks before they go in and afterwards. I think I get the moisture content down to about 2-3 percent but I am not sure as moisture meters are not accurate that low. Usually an hour is good enough to dry them out, at least so they are not losing any more weight. I know some people frown on speeding the drying process but it has worked for me!


sorcerertd said:


> How long does this usually take?  I might give that a try.  My wife has a toaster over she bought for poly clay that she hasn't been using.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A normal pen blank takes about 1 hour at 225 degrees.  I have done mostly Big Leaf Maple Burl and some Spalted Buckeye Burl.


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## sorcerertd (Mar 10, 2021)

ccccchunt said:


> I put my blanks in my toaster oven at 225 degrees (just over 212 water boiling) I have had good luck with it but every once in awhile I get some warping on burls. I weigh the blanks before they go in and afterwards. I think I get the moisture content down to about 2-3 percent but I am not sure as moisture meters are not accurate that low. Usually an hour is good enough to dry them out, at least so they are not losing any more weight. I know some people frown on speeding the drying process but it has worked for me!
> 
> A normal pen blank takes about 1 hour at 225 degrees.  I have done mostly Big Leaf Maple Burl and some Spalted Buckeye Burl.



Thanks!  I tried this today.  The results are here in a separate post where I was asking specifically about drying Holly.  We will see what they look like when turned before too long (hopefully).


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## papaturner (Mar 10, 2021)

sorcerertd said:


> How long does this usually take?  I might give that a try.  My wife has a toaster over she bought for poly clay that she hasn't been using.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Todd my "kiln " is very simple . I used a dorm frig about 30 inches tall removed the inters wired in for a light bulb (130v300w ) also wired in a water heater thermostat that turns the light on and off as needed . I have it set to turn on at about 100 degrees and off a about 125 degrees. I also wired in a Computer cooling  fan to exhaust the moisture. put in wire shelves to hold the blanks. Thought the wire shelves would give me better air flow. I drilled hole in the bottom and the fan is at the top to pull air thru the frig.  When I have blanks in drying I let the fan run continuous. Hope this helps. If you have questions let me know.


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## Old Hilly (Mar 12, 2021)

MRDucks2 said:


> Is that even after you calibrate it?


Calibrate? Not on this cheap piece of junk. It basically measures the resistance/conductivity of the material when the probes contact the surface. I'm waiting for it to die, then I can pull it apart and see what's inside. There won't be much to see, probably a couple of ICs and the display. There may be some sort of adjustment that was set at the factory bit that's about it.


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## Alchemist (Mar 13, 2021)

Brumar72 said:


> Hello,
> I was wandering how long do you wait before using wood blanks cut to size (about 140x20x20mm) from fresh log.
> A couple of months ago I got a cherry tree log from which I cut several blanks and then I waxed the head... They are beautiful but I would like to know how long to wait.
> Thanks a lot,
> ...



I don’t see it mentioned, but when you cut your own green blanks, you need to make them over sized. The reason is that the moisture evaporates from the heat, they will shrink, distort, and you run a chance at them checking or cracking. 

Moisture meters are great. I don’t use one. I weigh each piece of wood, put it in the toaster oven and let it heat up. Check back in a couple of hours. Weigh, put back in the oven on the opposite side from before. Rinse and repeat until the pieces no longer lose weight. If you use too much heat, the wood will have issues before it burns. 

Green wood will twist and check and split if not careful.

This is my process for stabilizing. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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