9/4 walnut slabs

[Larry]

Got a dozen fresh sawn 9/4 walnut slabs going into the kiln this weekend.


Rush job for a new bar under construction. I like to air dry a bit first but not this time. One advantage is I can keep the bright white in the sapwood.

I always struggle getting these big slabs on sticks. Maybe I need some kind of magic lift.

[doc henderson]

Very beautiful Larry.  I usually stack/move them on forks and slide or flip them off the forks and onto the stack with stickers.

I have used denatured alcohol to displace some water and not cause cracks as it dries.  big difference in cookies not splitting.  buy denatured alcohol in 5-gallon jugs from Menards.  you may need the 55-gallon drums.      but you can form a plastic sheet under the slabs and wrap the edges up to minimize the volume of product needed.  soak for a few hours maybe more with the thickness.  @tule peak timber 

[tule peak timber]

Ditto on the beautiful comment. I've never tried the alcohol method before and you sure have my attention on this one. Next week I start project "impossible" in terms of drying and fabrication time line schedule with cork and live oak logs. Doc would you expand a little more on the technique involved? Should I soak multiple times over a 1-year period for thick slabs? 
 Larry what type of kiln are you using? Oh and love the sapwood !

[customsawyer]

Come on Doc. inquiring minds want to know. I know that hand sanitizer (denatured alcohol) is one of the best things to get pine sap off your hands or cloths. I have one customer that uses pentacryl for his cookies.

[Larry]

Nyle L53

[doc henderson]

I may have done a thread.  I will look.  I am back to work like all you all.  I did side by side comparisons with the worst to crack and did about 50 cookies for a wedding and they did not crack and still have not cracked.  did for about 20 minutes per batch.  used a 30-gallon drum with cookies stacked up.  with all the end grain, did not take long, dried them out then slow dry in a box in the shop.  still no cracks.

the etoh supposedly displaces/absorbs water.  Rob, I remember you said something about "water is miscous in alcohol"

[tule peak timber]

After much reading on the google net this morning, I did find your old threads. I understand how the alcohol might work pretty well on end grain, cookies, turning blocks, etc. There is not a lot of information on the net about submerging thick, large slabs in alcohol. Dr. Gene wrote that besides being flammable, it's expensive. So, the challenge will be building a sealed container, in my case 5' wide x 8' long and determining how long to leave a 3" thick slab to soak. Then as water is drawn into the alcohol, at what point do I drain and refill with fresh alcohol. These are things going through my brain at o'dark thirty. Looks like 50 gallons of alcohol is going to run ~$1,000.

[tule peak timber]

Develop a curve of hydrometer readings and look for flattening , assuming no evaporation? Calling all chemists out there.....

[Larry]

Some years ago a friend and I were doing lots of "coring" on the wood lathe. The process is to take a large block of wood and cut anywhere from 3 to 8 bowl blanks from one block of wood. It's quite fast and we ended up with many green bowl blanks that needed to be dried before they could be finished.

We did the alcohol drying thing by putting as many bowl blanks in a trash can they would fit and adding alcohol. Never really thought about using the process for lumber.

A link that has a lot of information about the process. Geared for the woodturner but still useful.

Alcohol drying

[Ljohnsaw]

Great read, very cool. I learn something new every day here! I'll keep this process in my back pocket.

[Larry]

So, the challenge will be building a sealed container, in my case 5' wide x 8' long and determining how long to leave a 3" thick slab to soak.

I've done some experimental work with vacuum drying. I have a store bought vinyl vacuum bag commonly used for veneer work. For the vacuum I use a Gast pump. After I get my wood in the bag I put it in a hot water recirculating water bath. I've only dried small thick pieces. It worked well and I always wanted to try a big slab but never did spend the money to get set up.

Vinyl vacuum bags are easy to make to any size. I did worry about putting lots of water through my Gast pump as it might not be good. With my small pieces it was not a problem. A liquid ring pump would be better.

Would something like that work for ya Rob?

[tule peak timber]

I do have a bag and pump. Never would have thought of that! I like that better than a possible GIANT fire with the alcohol. Building a fortified box/chamber with plywood, gussets , and FRP is right up my alley. My pump is old and I don't care about it turning turtle. I wonder about an electric heat pad like the large seed starter style? Mucho thanks Larry.