Rough Turned Boxes - Drying

Dan Mosley

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1,169
Location
Palm Springs, Ca
I hollowed out a couple small green wood boxes a few days ago and left them about 1" thick but hollowed to near final depth (still 1" thick). Then put them into paper bag and put in the house to dry slowly. After couple weeks I opened up the bag and they had not cracked but had warpped so bad that I could not see trying to finish turning them - threw them into the designer firewood pile and moved on.
Anybody dry rough hollow boxes another way?? It could be the wood which is pepperwood but I have had good luck with it drying in rough bowl form................................

Pictures 1-2 are small boxes I turned out of some dry wood that was sitting around - Walnut and Mesquite - Picture 2 is interesting because both top and bottom
came from the same tree but in different areas and did not look different at first but turned out much lighter as I got closer to finishing.............Finished
with EEE and Shellawax

Pictures 3-4 is a NIP Vessel turned to approx 3/16 thick - 5 1/2 wide and 11
inches tall - Finished with EEE and Shellawax
 

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Dan nice looking bunch of turnings. I dry my boxes the sames I do for bowls.
I rough them out, seal them totally with anchorseal, tape the tenons together and sit down on the floor to dry. Works for Raffan so guess it can't be to bad.
 
Yeah im going to put anchor seal on the next bunch. I never thought about putting the tenons together and taping them.....Ill try it....im guessing your putting them end to end (tenons) and then wrapping with tape?

Thanks for the advice
 
I was and still use a trash can filled with shaving to slow the process but in the case of the rough boxes I did not do that. I just put them into a bag and placed them in the house. Ill use the anchor seal next time (and try the tenon taping idea Bernie mentioned) and either put them in the trash can of shavings or bag them......thanks
 
I have a DVD at home on just this issue...maybe Dale Nish did it, but I think it was Raffin...really good stuff!! When I get home, I'll look it up and see if you'd like to borrow it.
 
I have never anchor sealed my roughed out boxes. On occasion I will do the alcohol soak but most of the time I rough them out being careful to take into account any warping that might occur and tape them together tenon end to tenon end. Seldom do I have a rough out that has warped so much that I cannot use it as long as I have taken into consideration what box I am going to finish turn during the roughing process.
 
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