Questions

Jack Tanner

Member
Messages
53
Location
Nashville, Ar.
Hi everyone,
I have a couple of questions, 1- could someone tell me what DNA means and #2 is, I have seen somewhere on one of the forms a list of terms used on our forms, but can't find it, could someone help me locate it. Thanks, Jack
 
Thanks Nancy and Robert
I appreceate your answers and my next question is two foil, is this the same stuff you buy in the local drug store and do you mix it or use it straight?? Thanks Jack
 
Jack you can get denatured alcohol at the local hardware or lumber yard in the paint section. The stuff you get at most drug stores is not Denatured and IIRC is only 30% alcohol. Denatured is straight alcohol with a additive added to make it undrinkable.
 
DNA is Ethanol with additives to make it undrinkable.

Most DNA that is sold at a Big Box store is between 90%-95% alcohol

If you know somebody with a still that will sell you "White Lighting"...
 
Jack you can get denatured alcohol at the local hardware or lumber yard in the paint section. The stuff you get at most drug stores is not Denatured and IIRC is only 30% alcohol. Denatured is straight alcohol with a additive added to make it undrinkable.

Undrinkable? :doh: Hick!;)

Ok, I was going to try and answer the #2 question about #2, but I'm not well versed enough to express my feable thoughts. I found this site you might look at. Explains it pretty well.

http://www.beautifuliron.com/mttaper.htm
 
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Undrinkable? :doh: Hick!;)

Ok, I was going to try and answer the #2 question about #2, but I'm not well versed enough to express my feable thoughts. I found this site you might look at. Explains it pretty well.

http://www.beautifuliron.com/mttaper.htm

Thanks everyone, but so far no one has explained how to use it, for how long, and if you mix it or not.

Paul, I thank you for the link, but it lead me to a site about Beautiful Iron . Thanks Jack
 
Thanks everyone, but so far no one has explained how to use it, for how long, and if you mix it or not...
In a nutshell, it's typically used straight (not diluted or mixed). A rough-turned green wood piece is submerged in a bucket or pan of DNA for anywhere from 18 hours to a few days. Most folks soak for about 24 hours, but going longer is not a problem. After the piece has soaked, it is removed from the DNA bath and wrapped in a few layers of paper, A lot of folks use newspaper or brown paper bags. This helps prevent the wood from drying too fast, but still allows it to breathe. Everybody has their favorite way to wrap the soaked piece...some wrap just the outside of the bowl and leave the inside exposed to the air, others don't wrap at all and instead place the piece is a paper bag (sometimes with more wood shavings in the bag as well). I think some people have a special dance they do while waving a string of chicken bones and chanting ancient Inca woodworking prayers. :p Me, I wrap the whole thing pretty loosely in about 4 or 5 layers of newspaper, sometimes leaving some of the inside of a bowl unwrapped. It seems to work, so I keep doing it that way.

The end result of all this extra effort is that the rough-turned piece dries faster than if it had been left to dry naturally. Typically, the DNA-soaked piece will dry in 3 to 4 weeks, whereas if it was not soaked, it might take up to 6 months to dry. It is also theorized that cracking and warpage are minimized by soaking in DNA, but I don't know of a good way to prove that.

Dave Smith has done a lot of studying DNA soaking. Here's an article on WoodCentral for more info:

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_473.shtml
 
Jack - the following links should provide you with all the info about the DNA process that you will ever want or need. If you have any questions after checking the links out - let us know and we'll all figure something out!

http://alcoholsoaking.blogspot.com/
http://alcoholsoaking.blogspot.com/2006/11/determining-alcohol-percentage.html
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_473.shtml

Steve, I am so glad to see that Dave Smiths instructions are referenced. So many people have altered his method that sometimes incorrect directions are given. Dave spent a long time researching the denatured alcohol soaking method.

I have used it with very good results especially with wood like Holly which I needed to dry a little quicker than normal and without staining.:thumb:
 
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