Knots! #2

Great natural look Michael. Nice piece of carving.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

I like it. What is the wood?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

It’s spalted maple. Here's the story of where it came from.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

Thanks for the reply. I read the story, is most of your pile dry now? How do you check the moisture?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Unfortunately, it takes ~1 year/inch and the slabs are 5” thick (< 1 year old). Also, I just have them under a tarp – not the best setup.

I use an electronic moisture meter. I’ve been working it wet and then waxing the ‘H’ out of it right away so it dries slower. Seems to work most of the time. I’ve only had 2 bowls out of 6 crack.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

Any special kind of wax? Have you found an economical meter that is accurate? I have one that is a combination with a stud, metal and power finder, but it’s range is only 6% to about 25%. It doesn’t read if you are out of the range. Most of the time I wonder if it is working at all. It doesn’t find studs or anything else very well either :-((

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

I use my own blend of wax. It goes on nice and seems to be fairly durable.

I’m using this meter from Lee Valley. Seems to be fairly accurate. Of course, I don’t have anything to compare it to. It only goes to 25% as well. But then, it the wood is over 25% it doesn’t really matter. It’s got to come down whether it’s 25% or 50%.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

Does that meter give you an indication that you are under 6% or over 25? The one I refered to above is blank. If you have a very dense hardwood which you are not familiar with the history, you have no idea which end of the scale is showing a blank reading; ie, good & dry or too wet :-(( The wax sounds good. I may have to try some when i get started on my bowls.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.