Stabilizing question "wet wood"

[Buzzzz4]

I have a block of burl I just purchased and was told it had sat for 3 years. When it arrived, it was covered in wax, so I know it was green. When I cut into it, I tested it and found it to have a moisture of 38%. I sealed the ends and now have them drying. I feel they will need stabilizing. Can they be stabilized with this much moisture in them or do they need to be down in the single digits?

Thanks!

 

[Justturnin]

My experience with anything like that is it has to be bone dry to stabilize or the resin will cloud.......DAMHIKT..Talk about a waste of $$$$. You can cut a few blanks off and soak them in DNA for a day or two and let them dry out. For a blank I am sure it would dry w/in a couple of weeks. You can weigh it and when it stops dropping grams it is dry.

 

[Bellsy]

Eric,

Place the blanks in a vacuum and close the valve. The remaining vacuum in the chamber will slowly draw out the moisture. Every once in a while hook up the vacuum and draw it down again if the chamber has a slight leak.

When a vacuum is present the first molecule to be removed is Hydrogen......which is a part of water... This is what makes vacuum drying of wood so effective. Add heat and it even speeds up the drying process more.

Dave

 

[robutacion]

I have a block of burl I just purchased and was told it had sat for 3 years. When it arrived, it was covered in wax, so I know it was green. When I cut into it, I tested it and found it to have a moisture of 38%. I sealed the ends and now have them drying. I feel they will need stabilizing. Can they be stabilized with this much moisture in them or do they need to be down in the single digits?

Thanks!

The 3 years that the burl was totally sealed with wax, most certainly to protect from major crackings, has slow down the natural process (air dry) considerably and the MC% reading you got just after you sliced the burl, are always very high, after the wood was expose the air (oxygen) a percentage of that moisture will disappear is days, if you let the wood to breath a little (a few days).

The best thing you can do now if cut them slightly oversize and stack them tight but with spaces (identical to my drying towers). For faster drying, you may have to use the Microwave method, which I find to be extremely successful if all the necessary steps are performed (burst and cooling down times)

Good luck...!

Cheers
George

 

[Sabaharr]

Wrap them in a paper towl tightly and vacuum the blanks. THis will draw out some moisture and it will mostly stay in the paper towel. After that if it has not dropped enough use the microwave to complete the drying, again wrapping in a paper towel to prevent the moisture from going back intothe wood. THis should significantly reduce the content.

 

[joefyffe]

Pentacryl!

Pentacryl |Green Wood Stablizer | Preservation Solutions, LLC

I can not attest to the effectiveness of this except it has high reviews. I bought my first gallon today to treat some timbering cutoffs a neighbor gave me. I have LOTS of wood so it could get expensive.
I use Curtis' Cactus Juice for stabelizing dry blanks. He recommends a toaster oven at 200 degrees for 24 hrs before using his, but it's for DRY wood.

 

[MesquiteMan]

For a blank I am sure it would dry w/in a couple of weeks. You can weigh it and when it stops dropping grams it is dry.

Air drying until it stops loosing weight does NOT mean it is dry. That just means it is at EMC (equilibrium moisture content) which is dependent on your humidity levels and is the point wood stops gaining or loosing moisture. In most areas of the country, EMC is around 10-12%. In Houston, it averages 14.7% in December! To get wood truly dry, you have to use artificial means.

 

[Marc]

Eric,

Place the blanks in a vacuum and close the valve. The remaining vacuum in the chamber will slowly draw out the moisture. Every once in a while hook up the vacuum and draw it down again if the chamber has a slight leak.

When a vacuum is present the first molecule to be removed is Hydrogen......which is a part of water... This is what makes vacuum drying of wood so effective. Add heat and it even speeds up the drying process more.

Dave

Don't you have to remove all of the wax first? It seems to me that drying too rapidly is part of what causes the cracks in the first place? I say that as a question not an observation.

 

[Jim Burr]

Eric,

Place the blanks in a vacuum and close the valve. The remaining vacuum in the chamber will slowly draw out the moisture. Every once in a while hook up the vacuum and draw it down again if the chamber has a slight leak.

When a vacuum is present the first molecule to be removed is Hydrogen......which is a part of water... This is what makes vacuum drying of wood so effective. Add heat and it even speeds up the drying process more.

Dave

Don't you have to remove all of the wax first? It seems to me that drying too rapidly is part of what causes the cracks in the first place? I say that as a question not an observation.

You run in to the same issue that put the wax on in the first place Marc...controlled drying. Once you feel the blank is at EMC, shave the wax off and see what happens. Assuming you are in a US climate, although dry air, the temp is great to dry wood.

 

[edstreet]

I have a block of burl I just purchased and was told it had sat for 3 years. When it arrived, it was covered in wax, so I know it was green. When I cut into it, I tested it and found it to have a moisture of 38%. I sealed the ends and now have them drying. I feel they will need stabilizing. Can they be stabilized with this much moisture in them or do they need to be down in the single digits?

Thanks!

The short answer to your question is no.

the long answer to your question is no.

Let me rephrase. NO.

Material will have to be dry and *FREE* from residue i.e. wax and other junk. In fact the more you have the lower % of a good outcome you will have. lower than 10% is preferred, the less MC the better

To give you some idea I was told to not put any chemicals on it at all, allow it to 'air' dry then finish it off via attic, kiln or something similar that does not add residue into the material.

 

[low_48]

I dry a lot of blanks on my furnace trunk line. I start burls at the far end of the line. Then move them closer to the furnace through the winter. In a couple months, it can be sitting right next to the furnace and dry if it's not that thick.

 

[Buzzzz4]

Thanks for resurrecting a thread from 2 years ago. FWIW, the wood is dry now