Thread: Fire!

You could dry them near a wood stove as it puts out a very dry heat.
that sucks the water out of stuff.
but I would coat it in mineral oil first so it don't dry to fast and crack.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I have tried a few things in the microwave but never had anything exciting as all this happen. Most times the results were less than stellar so I just use it for some food warming or baked potatoes. You can get water to blow up in your face with one of those things if your not careful.

My wife once attempted to dry out my son's homework in our microwave, after he spilled some water on it. It worked, but it did burn a nice, big hole in the middle of his homework.

The next day my son had to explain to his teacher that the reason he couldn't submit his original homework assignment sheet was because his mother had set it on fire in the microwave.

Putting wood in a microwave requires a low setting for short periods of time and wrapped in a paper towel or similar absorbent material. The goal is to make the wood "sweat" a bit. Then remove it from the microwave and wipe it with the paper towel. Let the wood cool a bit. Then repeat a few times. The wood will get hottest in the center. So it will require you to let the wood cool overnite after just a few sessions in the microwave. This is faster than air drying but requires patience.

Just my 2¢

^^^^^^^^^^^ what he said

Why not dry it in a small convection oven?

Spalted woods of any kind really needs to be stabilised IMO.Working with any dry spalted woods will just turn it into dust.

The good thing about using a microwave is that you can dry wood very quickly. Anything else takes a lot more time. Having said that, I'm thinking about how to make a simple drying oven - something like a box, a light bulb and a small fan. I did get a moisture meter, so I can check progress. I'm going for 5% or less.

Originally Posted by skipnord

The good thing about using a microwave is that you can dry wood very quickly. Anything else takes a lot more time. Having said that, I'm thinking about how to make a simple drying oven - something like a box, a light bulb and a small fan. I did get a moisture meter, so I can check progress. I'm going for 5% or less.

wood moisture meter is a great tool,i like turning blocks around 8%.When I lived in the bay area I had a friend with a real kiln.Here I just by Pad wood and store it in my attic,takes about a month to go from 13/14% to 8Ish

I'm looking for less than 5% before stabilizing.

[QUOTE=skipnord;1188930]I'm looking for less than 5% before stabilizing.[/Q
be interesting to see if you can get to 5% I think not.