Best way to store roughed bowls for air dry....?

[Odie]

In the past, I've always placed bowls on stickers to benefit from the most air circulation around drying bowls......but, I'm running out of space for them. At one point, or another, I've seen pictures of bowls that were placed one inside another. This would probably double the amount of bowls I have on hand, with no need for more space. Currently, I have about thirty drying bowls.....would like more.

Is there any pros and cons to this practice?

I am aware of the thinking that floor level is the best place for drying bowls, but I've never encountered problems with the shelf space I have allotted for mine.....which is at eye level. I believe the thinking for floor storage is because it would be the coolest place in the room......right?

Should I reconsider that?

I've always used the wax green wood sealer I've gotten from CSUSA.

I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts about air drying of bowls.

thanks

otis of cologne

 

[Barbara Gill]

I have had good results with sealing the rim and end grain and putting the bowl in a paper bag. I pile the bagged bowls on top of each other on my RubberMaid shelves. Every once in a while I restack them. In a year or so I un-bag and then stack them on shelves. The part of the shop in which I store the wet bagged bowls is not heated or cooled. I rarely loose a bowl from cracking. I live in Eastern VA (very humid).

 

[MichaelMouse]

After the first couple of weeks it doesn't matter much how you store them. They're usually below the mildew point by then, unless you're bagging or coating. Nesting them will restrict airflow, as noted, which will promote differential dryness in changing humidity even on previously dry stock.

I leave that built-in sticker, so nesting is not a problem. Space can be. Mine spend the first week or two near the basement floor where they come down slowly, then get moved to racks or shelves where I pack as close as possible.

 

[Steve Worcester]

In my outside but covered shed, I put them on bakers racks, upside down so the bugs have a harder time nesting in them.

 

[jdsilwones]

I pile them on the floor for a week and then put them in old plastic milk crates. When I need the crates for more green blanks, sometimes a month or four later, I cardboard box them. I buy the file boxes when they come on sale. They have lids, they are the same size, and I can move and sort as needed. If I had the room for racks I might do that but shop space is a premium for me.

 

[David Somers]

Odie,

A couple of thoughts.

First, I would think you could nest them and still have air flow provided you used something to keep the nested bowls from fully nesting.....a could of sticks or dowls or something stuck between the bottom bowl and the one nesting above it. You would not get quite as much space benefit from the nesting, but you would get the benefit of some airflow.

Second, for what it is worth, I noticed that your bowls on resting on shelves with nothing to keep them from falling in the event of an earthquake or other shock to the room. We had a pretty big quake here on the Big Island back in October. Lots of turners had their stuff stored on shelves around their shops and alot of their stock fell and broke during the quake. Some sort of mesh or a use some long legths of cord or bungie stretched across the face of the shelves paralel to the shelves themselves would keep the bowls in place during a quake, not cost much, and not be too much of an impediment as you move things on and off the shelves. Just a thought from someone who lives in a very earthquake prone environment. PS....this would also be helpful if someone accidentlly backed into the garage or did some blasting in your vicinity.

Dave

 

[seafoam]

I just pile them up any which way they will go, perhaps just making sure that if they want to nest it's not a tight fit. I even put a bunch of small blanks in a feed sack recently and left the top open. Check frequently if they are really green to make sure there is no mildew, but otherwise I have little problem and see no need to sticker them. After all, we seal them to slow drying, so why promote air circulation if it's not necessary.

This of course works for me in the micro-climate in my shop. Conditions elsewhere may require different handling. Even different wood types may require more or less care to avoid splitting and mildew. There is nothing like trial and error to find what works best for you.

 

[Odie]

Thanks for the input, fellow turners.....

I think I will try one inside the other for awhile.....and see how that works out. It will allow me much more room to dry bowls using the same amount of space.

Question:

I am assuming the water contained in the bottoms of the bowls will naturally migrate out to the sides, seeking the end grain for final dissipation into the atmosphere. Am I correct about that?

thanks

....odie

 

[MichaelMouse]

It'll take the easiest way out. Face grain relies on diffusing through the stomata between cells, while the end grain is about capillary action and natural vessels. Ten times faster from end grain than face, which is one reason why it pays to keep the bottoms tapered in rather than broad and flat. Less drying stress.

Check out the Wood Handbook for some pictures and words.

 

[George Guadiane]

I pile them on the floor for a week and then put them in old plastic milk crates. When I need the crates for more green blanks, sometimes a month or four later, I cardboard box them. I buy the file boxes when they come on sale. They have lids, they are the same size, and I can move and sort as needed. If I had the room for racks I might do that but shop space is a premium for me.

They are not quite as air tight, but you can get Banana, Apple, Pinapple, etc boxes at the grocery store for FREE! 😀 I start out putting them in there, with a cardboard bottom and top piece, but there are still little air holes for circulation. The cool thing is that they are double sided and stack really well... I use them to store my waxed band sawn blanks too.

 

[dkulze]

Hey Odie.

I noticed something also about your bowls. They all appear to be attached to base stock for mounting on faceplates. If you stack them inside each other, this will act as a natural sticker where most folks who use direct mount with a chuck end up with bowls that nest relatively air-tightly at some point.

Dietrich

P.S. (being biased, I could also suggest working with a chuck instead of a faceplate, which would relieve you of the need to use mounting stock and would decrease the vertical space needed for each bowl/ Plus, as michael shows, you can still use the tailstock for support and leave a column in the center. This will always allow accurate recentering when mounting to turn down)

 

[Odie]

Hey Odie.

I noticed something also about your bowls. They all appear to be attached to base stock for mounting on faceplates. If you stack them inside each other, this will act as a natural sticker where most folks who use direct mount with a chuck end up with bowls that nest relatively air-tightly at some point.

Dietrich

P.S. (being biased, I could also suggest working with a chuck instead of a faceplate, which would relieve you of the need to use mounting stock and would decrease the vertical space needed for each bowl/ Plus, as michael shows, you can still use the tailstock for support and leave a column in the center. This will always allow accurate recentering when mounting to turn down)

Dietrich.....

Yes, it's true......I use waste blocks attached to the bottoms of my bowls. As a matter of fact, I do have a couple of chucks....a Oneway Stronghold and a Nova, but I am settled into using the waste blocks and faceplates as a habit that fits my techniques and style of turning. I guess I'm just one of those die-hard face plate kind of guys!!!!

I just love those screw center faceplates! I can install and remove an in-progress bowl many times.....and never have to worry about chuck marks. It is, admittedly, a whole nuther ball game to learn how to do the back sides of bowls when it's facing the headstock, but I seem to have developed ways to do it well! Although I am right-handed, I've learned to do much of the back sides of bowls left-handed.....this helps.

There is no need to worry about accurate recentering with the screw center faceplate.....remounting is perfect, every time! When I need to, I have a special jig block that can go between the interior bowl bottom and the revolving center.....this way, I can apply pressure to a near finished bottom, without needing a column, and without the marks that a revolving center leaves.

Thanks for the input, friend.

otis of cologne