Well I am thinking of making my own reel seat. Is this a burl? Is there a way to dry the wood quickly? What do you use for finish on the wood? Should I cut the wood a particular way to show the grains?
Thanks for the help
Mike
Do a search for drying wood in the microwave. Otherwise it will take about a year per 1 inch of thickness to dry. I think there is an article right now on rodbuildingforum.com . Post some pictures when you get it cut open.
Mike
on wood of this density and grain pattern if you try to dry it too fast you will not be happy with the results. I would look for a lumberyard in the area that has a drying kiln and get them to put it in the kiln with a run of their lumber. Using a kiln to dry wood will keep the moisture content of the wood equalized and will help to keep it from splitting and warping when you try to work it.
I believe that burl is best dried slowly. The “grain” is so squirrley that it is just ready to check and split everywhere. On every cut surface I melt in a good heavy coat of paraffin wax using a propane torch. Then the blocks stay inside the house for a year or two depending on thickness. Then I will rip them up into square blanks and let them sit another six months or so.
AgMD
AgMD and dleo, This is what I always believed but folks are claiming very good results with the micro method. Have not tried it yet myself so this is all second hand. Going to try a piece soon.
Mike
Thanks Mike, if you try it, let me know how it works out, that would be really interesting. Who knows may be a new method!!
here is one link I found doing some research on it, looks interesting
http://mgorrow.tripod.com/microwave.html
Leo
here is the first reel seat I turned from that burl. There are many more pieces with more character that I am drying more slowly. I dried this one in the microwave. There a 3 more in the oven now.
the other picture is while we were just starting to saw the burl.
MIke
Mike, Looking good! I think it was worth all your effort especially if there is some more highly figured stuff in there. Mike
Mike, that is certainly a beautiful piece of wood and workmanship, very very nice. Did you Microwave it?
Leo
I microwaved the 1.5 x 1.5 x 4.5 pieces for 20-30 second with time to cool in between. I thought they might not work because they were starting to crack in the ends but it only went in about 1/4". I was also weighing them every cooking time.
I have read about slow drying pieces in paper bags, one place said to fill the bag with saw dust then mix in the pieces. Now I just have about 30 pieces loosely stacked in a paper grocery bag. I wonder if the sawdust acts as a wick for the moisture??
Thanks for the kind words, I’ll post more pics as I turn them.
Mike
If you don’t want to mess up a microwave there are other way to dry wood to largley prevent cracking. One way I like is to cut the wood to rough size and then soak it in a soap solution for at least 24 hrs. The solution is made from 1 part liguid dish soap and one part water. You will need to add rocks or something to keep the wood from floating. You can also soak wood in denatured alcohol
I think the function of the sawdust is to allow the wood to dry slowly. It acts as moisture storage system. The whole mass slowly gives up its moisture until it reaches equilibrium with its environment. If wood, particularly something squirrly like burl or crotch wood, dries too fast the outside always dries faster than the inside. Drying causes shrinkage. Uneven shrinkage causes cracks. The problem is not one of drying, but of preventing cracks due to uneven drying.
Wood always dries faster on the end grain. This is where the wood is more open and moisture can escape faster. I always wax all the end grain (or any cut surfaces for burl). Some folks use paint but I lay the wax on pretty thick and get a better seal than paint will ever give.
AgMD