Wood Turners Anonymous Podcast
Episode 15 Drying Wood - Ayman Gharib @The_Shed_CW on instagram
Listener Comments
“Hey guys, you skipped the $1,000 budget as part of the convo. You did $500 and unlimited but not the middle range. would love to hear what you think, especially in terms of lathe purchase. - W.N. on the website. Episode 9”
“Hey guys, I just found your podcast and I hammered though it, big fan. You guys were talking about coring systems, here’s another option if it’s still available. I have a Richard Raffan video and he has a slicing tool for coring, he mounts the bowl blank with the inside towards the headstock, then he plunges the slicer from the headstock towards the tailstock to a certain point and then just hits it from the side and it comes off. Thanks Jeff” - Jeff Peters via website comment.
What’s on the Lathe -
Carl - Coffee grinder
Jason - Cutting up bowl blanks this weekend. Picked up redheart and curly maple for segmented bowl
Braxton - Twisted tapers (unicorn horns) Bangle bracelet
Where everyone can find us
-
Jason - www.rauschwoodworks.com
-
Carl - www.thewoodshop.tv
-
Braxton www.braxtonwirthlin.com
Great episode. I use Elmers school glue as a sealer on my rough turned bowls. It is very affordable at around $12-$13 a gallon.
Thanks so much for answering my question regarding the $1,000 lathe budget. I feel so famous! Like Carl must have felt when he invented the microwave!
Thank you for your advice on the Grizzley but the reeves drive scares me a little bit.
So, I’ve been thinking about the Nova 1624. It’s about the same price as the Grizzley with a lot of expansion capabilities (ie. bed extension, outboarding, etc.) It’s 1.5 horsepower and seems to get really good reviews. The downside is that it is not variable speed. It has 8 belt position from something like 215RPMs to 3600RPM. Would I be a fool to buy this lathe? I should note that I’m just a newbie hobbyist so I’m not doing any production work. Basically, I’m just looking to invest in something that will give me room to grow and I’m trying to get the most bang for my buck. Please let me know what you guys think. Love the show!
I have the nova 16-24 and love it. Only downfall I can really think of is the weight, which can be fixed with a ballast shelf. It even handles coring 4″ x 16″ green b owl. Wait until it is on sale for $850
Great podcast! I’m really enjoying it. For a chuck recommendation I would like to suggest the Nova G3 chuck. It would work well with the midi lathes y’all suggested and you can get it for around 100 bucks ($80 + $20 for insert). It comes with a nice set of dovetail jaws. You could use it for pieces up to 10″ diameter. I like this chuck so much I bought two.
When I went through Uni to become a woodwork teacher 20 years ago, we were taught how to microwave season our timber when turning bowls. Our lecturer, Michael Leadbeatter and his Dad Bruce, had written our textbook too which had a section on this process.
I recently sent a summary of it to Bill Livolsi, who I visited when in Vegas in July.
This is what I sent to Bill.
Microwave seasoning for turning green lumber
Sorry this took longer than I’d expected Bill.
I found my text from Uni which has a section on microwave seasoning, which was written by my teacher and his dad (Michael & Bruce Leadbeatter)
The basic premise for using microwave seasoning with woodturning is to rapidly remove the moisture from a turned bowl, yet in a controlled way. Apparently it will penetrate the timber to about 25mm (1 inch) deep, and will soften the timber at the same time, like steam bending. It heats deeper which forces the moisture outwards, preventing checking.
It also helps keep the bark on live-edge bowls.
There’s a fast and regular method.
Fast method, which is all I’ve used
1. Turn your bowl green, preferably using a superchuck, down to about 6-8mm (1/4”-5/16”) wall thickness.
2. Put into a microwave on med to high for 10 minutes. Have a small glass of water in there also to protect the microwave from possible damage
3. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes
4. Use a wet cloth to dampen knots or any checking you notice while the wood is hot
5. Return bowl to lathe for sanding
6. Back to microwave on med – high for 5 minutes. Let cool
7. If it looks to be warping at the rim, you can gently press it into shape while hot if you like
8. Repeat step 6 three or more times till seasoned
9. If you need to do more sanding or to polish, you may need to re-drill the hole for the superchuck
10. I’ve also done shorter bursts in the microwave as you get closer to seasoned (1-3 mins)
The way to check on the seasoning is by weight or by tapping/knocking on the bowl. It sounds different as it dries. If you have electric scales, you can watch the weight drop after each microwave. Once the weight stops dropping, it’s done.
Give it a go. My first try at Uni waaaay back in 1997 worked great. It cupped very slightly, but it didn’t crack or split. I have a microwave in my current workshop, but I need to get some new green wood. The last batch dried and checked before I got a chance to do any turning.
Because it softens the wood it makes turning really hard timbers easier.
I look forward to seeing your work.
Damo
Can’t seem to find anywhere to listen to the audio on this website. Found it on sound cloud through another site. Thought I would let you know. Keep up the good work!