To cook or not to cook

[hawkeyefxr]

I was wondering what the consensus is on micro waving wood here. I have only been turning a short while as you know, so i don't have a store of wood air drying for a few years like i know some of you have.
I have bought some wood but that seems to be cheating to me not to mention the cost at least at the rate i am turning wood anyway. The other side is i like turning a rough piece of wood now, to see something emerge from what was a lump of wood with all its imperfections is satisfying, well it is to me.

My recent Yew bowl i did just that, i microwaved it in stages, unfortunately i had the mortice and bottom of the bowl near to a turned finish. Putting it into the microwave caused distortion meaning i had to remount it on the wood screw to true it all up again making the finished bowl smaller that it would have been. .
At the moment i am doing another Yew bowl only this time i have just turned it so that it has a very rough bowl shape at the bottom, no mortice. I have run the microwave at 60% power and at one minute cook time. My piece started out weighing 734 grams and was at 18% moisture, i have done 25 one minute cooks writing down the weight after each cook, i got two consecutive weights at 564 grams and have stopped there to let it cool down, that is 169 grams of water i have taken out ! i weighed out 169 grams of water, it's a huge amount !!
i have not taken a moisture content reading whilst it is still hot as i think this will affect the reading. I will update this later with the moisture reading.

Yes i know i need to lay up wood for the future but have to find somewhere to do this.

 

[Penpal]

Microwaving in your own oven in the workshop is a way to go.

Peter.

 

[hawkeyefxr]

Well i used the house one (with permission) but we do have a spare micro that will now reside in my shed .
I have also been thinking of a kiln, the vacuum side is easy but the container to put the wood in is something else.

 

[Dalboy]

The best person to talk about microwaving wood is our [MENTION=365]Neil Lawton[/MENTION]

 

[wm460]

Well i used the house one (with permission) but we do have a spare micro that will now reside in my shed .
I have also been thinking of a kiln, the vacuum side is easy but the container to put the wood in is something else.

Be careful some wood is toxic.

 

[Neil Lawton]

The problem with Microwave seasoning wood is that you actually have to be patient to get a good result.
Most people Microwave for exactly the opposite, throw a hissy fit, then abandon the idea before their charred lump of lignum has had chance to cool down!

Basically you need to remove the free moisture first without actually cooking the wood, which will lead to the collapse of the cell walls, and ultimately splitting.

I'm looking at doing some "How wood Works" articles, and possibly videos soon that will include drying techniques like this, might be too ugly though!

Anyway, all I can say in the mean time is....

Only Microwave once in 24 hours!
Weigh before the first go, but do not weigh or check moisture content until just before the next blast a day later.

Adjust the time to suit!

The wood should be warm not steaming after each go. It will continue to lose moisture so make sure it is not touching another piece of wood or delicate surface.

Don't worry if the moisture content rises slightly.
This is due to the relative moisture content on the day, if it's raining etc.
Cheap moisture meters are not that accurate but are useful. Take a reading on a piece of bench, racking, or other permanent piece of wood that you consider dry that lives your workshop, if the wood you are force drying goes below this, it will rise again to the equilibrium of its surroundings.

Please feel free to pm if any questions Ken.

 

[21William]

I read many years ago in a wood turning magazine about soaking difficult to turn timbers in a mixture of 50/50 washing up liquid and water. I had a piece of 300+ year old Oak that I was asked to turn and soaking it for several months in the mixture then letting it dry out for a week or two did the trick. I wonder if this would work on green wood, ie replacing some of the sap in the wood with soap mixture, just a thought?

 

[Penpal]

There was a proturner here for yonks who kept his aussie burls in a large circular swimming pool for a long time before turning. He swore by the method , never heard of the soap.

Peter.

 

[hawkeyefxr]

I have my own microwave in the shed now ( no didn't buy it it's the old kitchen on. Didn't go with the colour scheme tut)
Anyhow i will go with Neil's suggestion and do it slowly this time around. (i don't have a swimming pool )

 

[Walter]

There was a proturner here for yonks who kept his aussie burls in a large circular swimming pool for a long time before turning. He swore by the method , never heard of the soap.

Peter.

A friend of mine keeps his elm logs in a Scottish burn that runs by his house. Neil and Phil will know who I mean.

 

[wm460]

A friend of mine keeps his elm logs in a Scottish burn that runs by his house. Neil and Phil will know who I mean.

A "burn", Scots Gaelic: "allt" (anglicised as "Ault/alt"), used for smaller rivers and larger streams.

Thats a bit Irish calling a river a burn, INNIT.

 

[Phil Dart]

A "burn", Scots Gaelic: "allt" (anglicised as "Ault/alt"), used for smaller rivers and larger streams.

Thats a bit Irish calling a river a burn, INNIT.

Burn is lowland Scots for a stream. Allt is highland Scots for a stream, but burn seems to have prevailed throughout Scotland. The term Allt tends to be part of the name of the stream, whereas the term Burn tends to be used to describe the fact that it is a stream rather than a river. For instance, I have the Altour Burn running through my grounds, which in its Gaelic form would be Allt-Odhour, meaning brown stream, but its Anglicised form is Altour Burn, literally meaning brown stream stream.

I bet you wish you hadn't mentioned it now don't you?

A friend of mine keeps his elm logs in a Scottish burn that runs by his house. Neil and Phil will know who I mean.

Ah yes, the great John Hodgson RPT - a man who has had a great influence on my turning over the years. He's a near neighbour of mine in Highland terms - he's only a ferry crossing and an hour and a half drive away. We still bump into one another in the supermarket now and again.

 

[Walter]

"Burn" has also found its way into Northumberland as a description of a stream or small river. A few I can think of are also called by that name (e.g.Blaydon Burn)

 

[Penpal]

"Burn" has also found its way into Northumberland as a description of a stream or small river. A few I can ttink of are also called by that name (e.g.Blaydon Burn)

When I used to go for a burn it cost me big money in the traffic court. Interesting English language coupled with slang in other countries.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

Burn is lowland Scots for a stream. Allt is highland Scots for a stream, but burn seems to have prevailed throughout Scotland. The term Allt tends to be part of the name of the stream, whereas the term Burn tends to be used to describe the fact that it is a stream rather than a river. For instance, I have the Altour Burn running through my grounds, which in its Gaelic form would be Allt-Odhour, meaning brown stream, but its Anglicised form is Altour Burn, literally meaning brown stream stream.

I bet you wish you hadn't mentioned it now don't you? .

Blimey whatever happened to the English language.

 

[Phil Dart]

Blimey whatever happened to the English language.

It's Scottish Mark, but to answer your question, I believe English is still used in some small areas of England.

 

[Penpal]

If the Scottish member of Parliament gets her way you will be independant Scots and back as members of the Euro Community, speaking Gaelec? again compulsory in all schools, call anything and everything what you choose.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

It's Scottish Mark, but to answer your question, I believe English is still used in some small areas of England.

 

[Phil Dart]

speaking Gaelec? again compulsory in all schools
Peter.

It's already compulsory in all secondary schools. There are even primary schools where they speak nothing BUT Gaelic. My daughter's step daughter attends one and she cannot read or write in English, and will not be taught to do so until she is eight.
(don't get me started or I might feel compelled to close this thread):mad:

 

[Penpal]

It's already compulsory in all secondary schools. There are even primary schools where they speak nothing BUT Gaelic. My daughter's step daughter attends one and she cannot read or write in English, and will not be taught to do so until she is eight.
(don't get me started or I might feel compelled to close this thread):mad:

I try to convey our way of life here happy to learn what its like over there. Bear in mind from this distance we are uninformed,get mad until the cows come home.TV and newspapers convey mostly headlines.
Recently from Scotland people are not around where I live,thank you for enlightening members outside of the country to what is going on currently.

Peter.