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Thread: Drying using Alcohol (long)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    440

    Drying using Alcohol (long)

    Many will recall a couple of weeks ago there was a discussion concerning the drying of green wood using alcohol.

    This time of the year we are going night and day with orders so I haven't had a lot of time to record specific detail(s) but I wanted to share this with you as I must admit I am a bit shocked.

    Denatured is not readily available at a reasonable cost so I bought Methyl Hydrate, I figured for $11.00 (2 gallons) I had nothing to use. My son received a birch log from a client two weeks ago (white) who wanted bowls for Christmas as the log was from their front yard and was brought down by hurricane Juan. I also had orders for Birdseye bowls buy all my bigger birdseye is in log form and very green.

    We cut bowl blanks and rough turned to 3/4", the bowls are 8 to 10" being the max for the Jet Mini. I soaked them for 24 hours each in Methyl Hydrate let them air dry overnight then followed Daves instructions to place paper on the back and tape around the rim. They are in a room that is not heated, avg daytime temp would be around 30 F, night time it dips to 24 or so. Moisture level was 30 to 34%. I left one bowl of each with no soaking to compare.

    It is now 10 to 12 days later and I decided to check the moisture this morning using my wagner pinless meter. I was shocked, all are in the 10 to 14% range, the bowls that we did not soak are still at 30%.

    I am no scientist but all I can say is whatever this process does to the wood, it works. Not one bowl has warped even the slightest nor are there any cracks.

    Come January when there is more time, I will compile a list of woods, measure them each day and produce a chart.

    All I can say is thanks Dave, this will make someone's Christmas and it has sure made mine!!

    Andy

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Southern Kentucky
    Posts
    2,218
    Well guess I am going to have to give this a try myself. I got some real nice Cherry that is wanting to jump up onto the lathe but it is way to wet right now.
    I will let you know how it works out.
    ---I may be broke---but we have plenty of wood---

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,691
    Very interesting, Andy, and very useful for anyone doing production work that wants or needs to speed up the process. I'll be interested in seeing the additional details you post after the first of the year.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
    As Andy knows I don't recommend Methyl Hydrate.

    However Andy did use it out side and dried the bowls in an unoccupied shed. I expect the alcohol has evaporated by now. I would move the bowls into the shop and let them acclimate for a couple days before turning. No need to chance having a problem with a Christmas order.

    Andy my experience with birch is that is dries fast and with little distortion using the alcohol drying protocol. Sounds as if you are seeing the same thing.

    If anyone has questions feel free to email me or visit my web site.

    Dave Smith

    Four chess pieces to go in Longview, WA.
    "Every man is as heaven made him and sometimes a great deal worse."
    Cervantes

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    440
    Thanks Dave:

    As Dave mentioned I am soaking the woods in a wood shed where there is no chance of a spark or fire. I also use rubber gloves when placing the woods in or removing them.

    I checked some Apple and Cherry today, they too are at 11% however they have only been exposed to the air for 7 days, bowls not soaked are at 28 and 32%. The Apple did warp, but the amount is a joke....only 3/16"...geeze I have a hard time getting those results using the old 9 month method.

    I moved the Bordseye and Birch bowls into the shop this morning where I will let them sit until Tuesday and then do the final turning.

    Dave, What is your website??

    Andy

  6. #6
    Hi Andy,

    You can find my web site address in my member profile page. Since you are a computer tech you probably can figure it out from my email address.

    When you told me you were testing apple and cherry which are difficult wood to dry, I had to chuckle. Plum is more of a problem for me, especially the root wood. Holly is a problem also but I seldom get clear pieces of any appreciable diameter to work with. The worst wood I have tried to dry was eucalyptus. I got some pieces of a tree cut down in the Puget Sound area and it went into destruction mode no mater what I tried. It might have worked if I had turned it as soon as I got it.

    Thanks for sticking your neck out and trying some different and for some people illogical.

    Dave Smith

    I may be illogical but I am not illegitimate in Longview, WA.
    "Every man is as heaven made him and sometimes a great deal worse."
    Cervantes

  7. #7
    Using alcohol to dry something would make sense... Way back in my chemistry class day we would clean out the test tubes after cleaning them with a little squirt of alcohol and pour out the excess... It made the tube nice and dry... so it would make sense that this would translate to the water in wood. I believe that alcohol "disolves" the water and perhaps loosens the tension on the surface of the water so that it would let it escape easily from the cells of the wood. Just my theory and I am no chemist just a computer geek.
    I can pay retail anywhere, so how's your service?
    Grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory one project at a time
    Maker of precision cut firewood


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