Turning green bowls to finished state in one day

I have read something about drying the wood with a heat gun and competing the sanding before the woods internal moisture rises to the surface.
This may not work on some woods though; they may surface crack.
Im also not sure how much a heat gun would cost if you dont have one. Probobely expensive

-- BRODY. NSW AUSTRALIA -arguments with turnings are rarely productive-

Hmmmmmm…..... maybe I could swipe my wife’s hair dryer???? It’s worth a try anyway – I have 20 acres of trees – so no shortage of wood – got nothing to lose – except maybe staying in my wife’s good graces

-- .......and if ya screw up, you can heat yer house with it......

Another option is to rough turn your bowls as you have described and then soak them in denatured alcohol for 24 hours. After the soak, wrap it in a brown paper bag for 1 to 2 weeks and it should be dry. Then you can remount and do your final turn.

Check out my project page, the majority of my hollow forms where turned from green wood. Some of them do move a little, but I think it adds to the organic feel to the piece. On some of the really wet pieces I wet the exterior when the piece is finished and wrap it in a brown paper bag for a few days.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

i read an article about a method that turned a bowl in a single trip to the shop. starting from green stock he turned the complete bowl less then 1/4 of an inch thick.. because the bowl was so thin, the heat from the turnning did the rest…

i can not turn one that perfect, he used an internal light source to get it uniform.. i turn one blank every week or two.. so i’ve got 30 blanks roughed out drying.. i started one today from walnut burl that i roughed out maybe a year ago.. the instant gratfication happens after you have a six month supply of blanks..

-- It's not a sickness, i can stop buying tools anytime.

thanks everyone – will try out all suggestions

-- .......and if ya screw up, you can heat yer house with it......

Google John Jordan woodturner and look for his article on turning green wood.

-- Those that say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

trifern’s approach with replacing the water with alcohol is the only way I have ever had any success.

You could borrow from the hat turners technique. A turned hat starts out with wet wood that is turned to final thickness (plus a little sanding room) and using a light to determine the even-ness of the wall. The somewhat pliable and wet-like turning is then secured over a drying form and placed in an environment that will allow it to SLOWLY dry. Because of the wall thickness this doesn’t take very long.
To turn bowls I guess you could take the same approach and then just strap/rubber band the turning over a ball or some other pre-formed object to let the wood dry and thereby take the shape of the form. My guess would be that tighter grained woods would have more success with this approach while “grainer” woods have good luck with the water replaced with alcohol approach.

For sanding wet wood, us 3M silicon carbide (the black stuff).
It is totally waterproof.
For some fun, try this:
Turn a small bowl or hollow form from very wet wood. Make it as thin as you possibly can – less than 1/8 inch is best. Immediately, put it in a microwave overn for a minute and watch the action.

-- LeRoque ("Facts, my dear Sancho, are the enemy of Truth." Cervantes)

trifern’s alcohol treatment sounds interesting.

I’ve used PEG, short for poly-ethylene glycol. but that process takes a long time.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I have also used a microwave to dry wood…

-- Derrel Frankfort, KY

I have heard of using a microwave to dry wood. You have to be very careful as not to fry it to a crisp.

FYI: They also use very low wattage microwave to keep piglets warm. Pigs in a microwave, no blanket.

-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

Microwave the finished bowl for a few minutes – but be warned it will warp and twist. The base will become an oval shape – it can be very pleasing to the eye.

There is no short term solution to a good symmetrical bowl without any cracks – I rough out my bowls, wrap them in news paper and stack them in a cool dry place. I check them after about 2 months, depending upon the thickness and type of wood, some blanks stay there for a year or more.

Once you have a stack of green blanks turned, you just keep adding to them and rotating the stock. soon you will have more blanks than you know what to do with.

Note: even drying these blanks slowly will produce a few blanks that can straight to the fire, because of large splits and cracks.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Rough turn your bowl then place in the freezer at least 24 hours. Take it out of the freezer and let it sit until it thaws out Then finish turn. There may be some moisture left at that point so let it sit somemore and try again. I have not found this method anywhere on the internet—I learned it from a woodturning group I attend. (This method works by the water expanding and breaking up the wood cells thus releaseing the water.) I have had great success with this method.

-- Jim, Ca, jimlbenson@comcast.net

Jim, after you freeze and then thaw the wood, does it continue to dry and warp?

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

I’ll bet if you just put your turning in a frost free refrigerator, it would work.

It may take longer though.

Did you ever notice that if you put a piece of fruit, or an open dish of something, it will dry up.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

The wood will continue to dry. However after its dry enough to sand I go ahead and finish the work . As to warpage it depends on the species of wood. I have experlenced only minor warpage so far. I’ve only been using this process for several months—so far so good. (Some of the species I have turned are birch, black acacia, pear, plum, black walnut,)

-- Jim, Ca, jimlbenson@comcast.net

Jim (jlb) – Thanks for this tip, I have not heard of this either, but it is worth trying. If it works, then I will turn my blanks in the late autumn and leave them outside over the winter to have a long freeze (4 -5 months), this will keep the wife happy not having her freezer filled with bowls.

This would also explain why my freshly cut lumber dries so well out side during the winter.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Tony, I’ve been told not to exceed about three days. I have no answer to why this is. The advice came from an expert turner. However I think it would be worth testing to see if it really makes any difference.

-- Jim, Ca, jimlbenson@comcast.net

I think a frost free freezer would work the best.

There should be some way of putting your turning in a vacuum bag, or chamber.

& suck the moisture out, while it’s in the freezer. That’s how they freeze dry food.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

A frost free freezer will dry everything in it if it’s not sealed very very well.

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

We hardly ever use ice cubes, they dry up into flakes of mineral from the water.

We quit making ice cubes.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Hey, I’m an air conditioning mechanic and I use a vacuum pump to get the moisture out of the freon lines. I’m giong to try evacuating the moisture out of one of my turnings just as an experiment. My guess is it will take too long.

-- Willy Wally's Wood Stuff

Air dryers and dehumidifiers are a refrigiration processes, but you already know that, eh, WillyWally? :-))

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