Additional DNA help requested

Lee Laird

Member
Messages
405
Location
Austin TX
I know I've read quite a few posts about the DNA drying methods for bowls. Has anyone ever used it for thicker pieces like mallets and such. Let's say a piece of fairly wet wood 3" x 3" x 14". Any idea if it would be successful and how long it might need to stay in the bath? I'm tired of watching my pieces split. :doh:

Thanks in advance,
 
Lee, I tried it on a couple of pepper mill blanks that are about 3 1/2" in diameter. I soaked them for a couple days, as I recall. They came out of the bath a couple weeks ago, and are still wrapped in newspaper. I'll know in another couple weeks how it worked. So far, they don't feel cracked (though the paper wrapping).
 
Last year I used denatured alcohol to dry some walnut for rolling pins. I rounded the green blanks; they were about 2 .5- 3" in diameter. I soaked them for awhile...maybe a week because I was away. I did not wrap them but I stood them on end. I weighed them about every 2 weeks and turned the down end up. It seems as if they stopped loosing weight after about 2 mos. The billets did not crack; they remained stable through turning and during the 2 week time period before the customer picked them up.
 
With the thicker wood you will have to soak longer as long as maybe a week. I did some green wood peppermills, let them soak for a week and then wrapped them in brown paper grocery sack. I let them dry for a couple of months, put them back on the lathe and they came out fine. I had a couple of maple, cherry and walnut.
 
Now a dense question

Sure appreciate all the valuable input. :thumb: I thought it might take a longer soak to absorb deep enough. Now another question based somewhat on where we are. Are there any specific woods that anyone has used that do not fit into the bell curve? :dunno: I'm just thinking that woods like maybe ebony (I guess really hard non-porus woods if not ebony??) might not respond as well or might require a longer period in the bath??? I'd love to hear thoughts or experiences.

Thanks again,
 
It's interesting that you guys are soaking your pepper mill blanks... I make a number of them and have never thought about soaking... I would think that after it's drilled, the stresses wouldn't be so bad as to cause cracking... have never turned a green piece for a PM though. Definitely have to keep this in mind on the next ones.
 
Sure appreciate all the valuable input. :thumb: I thought it might take a longer soak to absorb deep enough. Now another question based somewhat on where we are. Are there any specific woods that anyone has used that do not fit into the bell curve? :dunno: I'm just thinking that woods like maybe ebony (I guess really hard non-porus woods if not ebony??) might not respond as well or might require a longer period in the bath??? I'd love to hear thoughts or experiences.

Thanks again,

Lee,
I'll let some of the more experienced turners chime in on this, but I would think that the had dense woods and the oily woods won't do well in the bath... just my thoughts..
 
I'm re-touching on this older thread as I'm still looking for some input on the Ebony and other hard dense woods response to DNA baths.

Anyone out there that can assist?
 
Lee all the ebony, ironwood, etc. that I have turned has been dry. I did have some rosewood, cocobolo and bocote that I turned that was green and treated it the same as other wood. I guess I have never seen any green ebony or ironwood.
 
Bernie,

Thanks. Maybe this is a non-issue. :dunno: Just the thought of the density and oiliness made my brain run in circles. :eek:

I continue to see a wide range of these type woods that are sealed on all sides, for sale at our local WC. They are usually in the turners section. Last week there was a bowl blank that was sealed all around of White/Black ebony. The bowl blank was $65 I believe.

I guess I was just trying to mitigate my losses, in advance??
 
No problem Lee. For me the wood at woodcraft is very hard to tell what is dry and what isn't since the wax coat everything dry or not. I have thought about getting a moisture meter but haven't bought any wood from them for a long time now. My wife says wife about 120 bowl blanks and about 50 to 75 other turning blanks not including pen blanks she says that is enough for a while.

Of course I tell her you can never have to much wood. She just looks at me over the top of her glasses and rolls her eyes.:rofl::rofl:
 
Bernie,

Thanks. Maybe this is a non-issue. :dunno: Just the thought of the density and oiliness made my brain run in circles. :eek:

I continue to see a wide range of these type woods that are sealed on all sides, for sale at our local WC. They are usually in the turners section. Last week there was a bowl blank that was sealed all around of White/Black ebony. The bowl blank was $65 I believe.

I guess I was just trying to mitigate my losses, in advance??

Lee,
a lot of the exotics I get at the WC in K'ville are also sealed all around. I've turned one piece of B&W Ebony into a little bowl... it was waxed all around, but when I turned it, it seemed to be dry and turned well. I got a lot of good comments on the bowl before it finally sold.

B&W Ebony ain't cheap... my piece was about 3 x 3 x 2 and I think it was about $25.
 
Chuck,

I appreciate you commenting on some of the waxed woods you've experienced at WC.

Interesting to know that not all of the waxed woods there are green. I wish there was a way to easily tell whether the waxed piece was actually dry or if it indeed had a high moisture content. I've bought a couple of different types of wood that were sealed and so far I've hit ones that were green. Some of the sales associates at our WC seem to be confused and/or oblivious of the status of the sealed woods.

Regards,
 
Lee, I've turned black ebony and black and white ebony, both from Rockler and both sealed in wax, and I turned them to finished size from the get-go, with no DNA or other drying methods. These were all from spindle stock (bottle stoppers and finials), so it may or may not apply to a bowl blank. Even wet though, I believe ebony is pretty stable. (I could be wrong on that, but I don't think so.)

Any desert ironwood that you get your hands on will be dry. It's my understanding that it's illegal to harvest live trees, so only dead wood can be harvested. The chance of any of it having any appreciable moisture content is real slim.

Lacking a moisture meter, you can often tell if a blank is still relatively wet by touching a room temperature blank to your cheek. (Usually one of the cheeks on your face, but I suspect the other cheeks would work too, if that's how you roll.) :p If the blank is cool to the touch, it's still damp. And if someone happens to walk into the room and sees you holding the blank to your cheek (the one on your face), just start talking into it like it's a telephone. Then look up at them and say "Would you mind? This is a personal call". :rolleyes: :rofl:
 
Vaughn,

Thanks for the good info. I had no idea about the legalities of desert ironwood. :dunno:

As for the cheek thing, I guess I'd better make a quick scan of the store before trying that one! :eek: :D :rofl: Seriously, that's good to know. I'll have to try that out next time I'm at WC. :thumb:
 
Lee, I should have mentioned the cheek thing only works (as far as I know) on bare wood, so it might be hard to do at the store.
 
Vaughn,

Glad you specified bare wood. I'd misuderstood and thought you meant the waxed wood. I'm afraid they would have thought me crazier than currently!
 
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