The reason I didn't reply to Stu's DNA or this thread earlier....I know DNA works..too many turner's swear by it. .....So far, I've only had about 60% success rate.....I think the extremely dry conditions where I live has a lot to do with it and I'm going to have to modify the normal procedure to make it work here.
Ken, I think you need to try the high-altitude special*, which is a combination of all the tried and true methods...
1. Rough-turn the blank to 1/5 the square of the diameter over pi.
2. Boil it in DNA for 4 days.
3. Dip the end grain in paraffin wax melted on a high open gas flame.
4. Wrap the blank in exactly 5 alternating layers of paper bags and newspaper, starting with newsprint for darker woods, and paper bags for lighter woods. Except zebra wood, which is anyone's guess.
5. Tape the circumference with the 4" stretch wrap (the 3" isn't good enough).
6. Bury the blank in the back yard under a garbage bag full of beer for about 336 hours.
7. Oh, and don't forget the chicken bones.
Kidding of course.
It seems there are a bazillion successful ways, so eventually I'm betting you'll find one that works for you in your climate. As dry as it is there, I'm guessing you need to make sure your wood dries slowly. Dunno how to correlate that with DNA drying, but that's my guess anyway.
* Kids, don't try this at home. This is a joke. If you follow these steps there's a good chance you'll burn down your mom and dad's house.
Now put down the matches and go read the next post.