I have a large piece of english oak (5 inch trunk, 2.5 inch branch at riight angles) I would like to make a moorhammer copy out of it, does anyone have any advice on drying - do i shape it roughly first, then dry, or leave it whole, should i dry naturally, microwave or cool oven.
The thicker the pieses the higher the risk of dry cracks.<br>I would cut it roughly and let it air dry.<br>Zwillie
i cut mine roughly and thyen dry them in 16 min sessions; 1 minute in the microwave and 15 in the freezer until you think they are dry
I never dried wood by other means than natural drying ... it is a risky process with thick blocks ... it comes to my mind a a process called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze-drying" class="postlink" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">lyophilisation</a> or freezy-drying ... the good thing is that it preserves the shape of the cells avoiding the stress ... the bad thing is that is a hi-tech process that requires a sealed freezer chamber and a vacuum pump ... maybe one of you with plenty $$$ and the appropriate tools can test it ...
<div>The safest way to dry it is to just let it air dry naturally, but that takes forever. I've had good luck with leaving it in a very low oven, like 180 Fahrenheit, for several hours with the bark still on.</div><div class="clear"></div><div class="signature_div"> <br>"non impediti ratione cogitationis" <img src="http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_wink.gif" alt="Wink" longdesc="15"> </div>
<img src="http://i12.servimg.com/u/f12/17/99/08/66/img_0313.jpg" border="0" alt=""><br><br>oak trunk/branch with 12" rule (already debarked), I'll escape for a couple of hours tomorrow, shorten the ends and cut the top half of the trunk off, might fit in the microware then - i think somehow the main oven may be in use tomorrow. <img src="http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_pirat.png" alt="pirat" longdesc="23">
<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tr><td><span class="genmed"><b>zwillie wrote:</b></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="quote">The thicker the pieses the higher the risk of dry cracks.<br>I would cut it roughly and let it air dry.<br>Zwillie</td></tr> </table> <span class="postbody"><br><br><br>I have 2 forks that are a little bit larger than usual. I barked them off and kept the bark only at the end. Then left it dry in a room, temperature around 23 degrees of celsius. Both of them have large cracks in the middle area. So next time I will either let it dry with bark or outside in a dry place.</span>
<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tr><td><span class="genmed"><b>von_z2 wrote:</b></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="quote">The safest way to dry it is to just let it air dry naturally, but that takes forever. I've had good luck with leaving it in a very low oven, like 180 Fahrenheit, for several hours with the bark still on.</td></tr> </table> <span class="postbody"><br><br><br>Yep, that might work. The crucial part is "with the bark still on"..</span>
