air drying wood fast

R

rhettfcr

Joined
Oct 8, 2002
Messages
28
I read on the net where you can air dry wood in a microwave oven. The steps are critical but it really is supposed to speed up the process of drying. I tried it with a chunk of red oak. Weighed it at 90 gr before and after following instructions, I got it down to 70 gr. Has anyone tried this method?

rhettfcr
 
I have never tried it but it makes sense. I have heard that you can heat wood that way before stabilizing it. It opens the pores better. Probally better not microwave it after stabilizing. Hell I dunno.
 
Microwaves cook from the inside out, did you happen to make a cut and see what the inside looks like. I like mine medium rare......:D .... A microwave might not be a bad thing to add to the shop anyway as cheep as they are now. Alot of what we normally use works alot better in the warm state. I was at Home Depot a couple days ago, you could hardly walk down the asile cause they were full of cheep MW.....Ray
 
Hi Raymond,

You're not kidding about cheap microwave ovens. Our big one just went out and the wife and I were at Lowes the other day and we got one that was only $33! How can they make them for that price!? Anyway, we got it until we could afford another good one. I guess this $33 one will go in the shop at that time! :)

-Darren
 
The best way is to fire up the RV (with the microwave) and drive up to the top of Pikes Peak (14,100 feet above sea level). The dryer air and the reduced atmospheric presure should really help the microwave out.
 
Originally posted by TJ Smith
How about some details> I just bought some West. Austrailian wood that I thought was dry but isn't.
Email me at tosmith@prodigy.net
Thanks
TJ
Click to expand...

Western Australian woods only have about 12-15% moisture in them at harvesting. It is a very dry part of Australia, very little rain. They usually have 8% or less, by the time they get here.
If you are talking about Glauca, that wood is extremely oily, in case you are mistaking that for moisture. If you ever oven dry Glauca, do it in the regular oven, and wrap it in foil, as it will lose a ton of Eucalyptus smelling oil.:eek:
 
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