Wood storage/drying???

G

Guy Thomas

Joined
Feb 1, 2000
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Since I'm just starting out I'm still in the process of accumulating large amounts of scrap hardwoods, that are obviously aleady kiln dried, from cabinet shops (these guys throw out outrageous quantities of figured hard maple, cherry, walnut, etc.) Here in the Deep South humidity tends to soar with the eagles in the summer. When I go to use some of this wood for knife handles should I do any extra drying or is it sufficiently dry as is? Perhaps some of you makers who happen to also live in the fungus belt can offer some tips. (On a related topic does anyone have a good use for what appears to be Philippine mahogany, so far all I've done with this scrap is cut contrasting plugs for the countersunk screw heads on my pine workbench that I'm building, unnecessary I know but sure will look nice, the wood appears to be softer than true mahogany but has a nice color.)-Guy T.
 
Luaun or Philipine mahogany can be used for just about the same thing the stuff from Honduras is used for. It is definitely not as hard and is not the nice red colour of the nicer, furniture grade mahogany from Central America. It is not as dense so don't use it for anything as heavy. For a small shelf or something like that, it is not bad.

Lauan is the wood used for the backing of paneling quite often.

C Wilkins
 
I'm in the process of building a drying cabinet to store wood in, for that very reason. I'm planning on a 3'x3'x18'deep cabinet with 4 wire racks out of old ovens from the local appliance repair place. It's going to have a light bulb controlled by a thermostat for a heat source. I plan to use it for bulk storage, as well as a place to dry pieces after they come out of my stabilizer. I'm not sure what the best temp to set it for will be, so any ideals would be appreciated.

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Those who are willing to trade freedom for security deserve neither, and in the end, seldom retain them!
 
I suppose a drying cabinet is the way to go and I should probably go ahead and cut up all my gleanings into smaller blocks, say 5 or 6 inches long. The idea, is to get as much moisture out of the handle material so that if there is any movement of the scales it would be a slight swelling rather than shrinkage which would leave unsightly gaps, correct?-Guy T.
 
I went to the local appliance store and asked if they had any old refrig's they were going to get rid of. They gave me one that had the motor and compresso removed. Still had the electrical cord attached that ran the light inside. Took it home, cleaned it up. Stuck a 20watt bulb in and taped the switch so it will stay on all the time. Makes a great drying cabnet. Mike

mvknives@lightspeed.net
 
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