Thread: Drying cocobola and olivewood

I ordered some 1x1 blanks to make some scales out of, from bell forest. Both where listed as not dried, and came covered in wax on both ends. Since these are oily woods, do you try to dry them or will they work like they are due to the heavy oil content?

They sound like turning blanks. The wax keeps them from drying out. They are easier to turn when they are wet - I've turned some wood that literally had drops of water in the shavings. For scales, I think they should be dry before they are finished. I'd suggest cutting them down to slightly thicker than finished thickness, and let them dry for awhile. It shouldn't take very long when they are that thin - around 1/8th inch. Put spacers between the blanks for air circulation, and make sure they stay as straight as possible so they don't warp - check regularly. If you have a place you can put them that is around 120 degrees,that would be good. You could make a simple kiln out of some kind of container and a light bulb - I use a 7 watt bulb to heat my drying oven for curing polyester, and it runs at about 115 degrees. Good luck - coco and olive make great scales.

Bell Forest is really good about delivering a pretty dry wood.. Oily woods are oily woods and the finishes must be appropriate regardless

Also just a hint for future orders since you obviously can cut your own blanks out, their Hobby Short pieces that are 6 x 1.5 x 1.5 give you a bit more wood to work with, at almost the exact same price...

This is always a conundrum when buying turning blanks.I never buy wood of more than 13% water content,anything over that will always check. The coco if left as bought will take a couple yrs to dry properly.
I would cut it to size,clamp in place and let it set for a month or so.