Drying wood MW or Dehydrator

[Gary T Egbert]

I would like to know if using a food dehydrator works better than a microwave for drying smaller pieces when twice turning

 

[Richard Coers]

The dehydrator dries from the outside in and the microwave dries from the inside out. The microwave is way faster with less chance of cracking.

 

[Gary T Egbert]

What process do you use with microwaves? Cycle time on and off?

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Edit: This is the process I use for once-turned bowls. You may need to modify it slightly for twice turned bowls due to the thicker walls.

I use the timed defrost setting.

1. Weigh the bowl.
2. Microwave 2 minutes on defrost.
3. Turn the bowl over (not sure it matters) and defrost for 2 minutes again.
4. Let the bowl sit for 1-2 hours.
5. Weigh the bowl. You weigh after cooling, because the moisture gets pushed to the surface during MW. An hour or so of air drying gives you a better reading.
6. If the bowl lost more than 3% weight, repeat 1-5. The 3% number is arbitrary and anecdotal but it provides a discussion point. If your bowl was 100 grams before drying, and 97 after drying one cycle, repeat steps 1-5. If your bowl only loses 1 gram the next cycle, you are done.

There are some other factors:

• Wood species and wall thickness. A very thin bowl, or one made of a wood known to move a lot, might need slower drying. It might be better to only MW for 1:30 at a time. If in doubt, slower is better.
• Weighing is better than using a moisture meter. I still use the moisture meter, but only to confirm what I already knew by weighing. A cheap gram scale is $15. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092W43Q25)
• I use my kitchen microwave. My wife doesn't love it, but she doesn't really complain. You may need to get a cheap used one for drying bowls. For the first couple of cycles, I wrap the bowl in a paper towel to catch moisture.

As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Gary T Egbert]

Edit: This is the process I use for once-turned bowls. You may need to modify it slightly for twice turned bowls due to the thicker walls.

I use the timed defrost setting.

1. Weigh the bowl.
2. Microwave 2 minutes on defrost.
3. Turn the bowl over (not sure it matters) and defrost for 2 minutes again.
4. Let the bowl sit for 1-2 hours.
5. Weigh the bowl. You weigh after cooling, because the moisture gets pushed to the surface during MW. An hour or so of air drying gives you a better reading.
6. If the bowl lost more than 3% weight, repeat 1-5. The 3% number is arbitrary and anecdotal but it provides a discussion point. If your bowl was 100 grams before drying, and 97 after drying one cycle, repeat steps 1-5. If your bowl only loses 1 gram the next cycle, you are done.

There are some other factors:

• Wood species and wall thickness. A very thin bowl, or one made of a wood known to move a lot, might need slower drying. It might be better to only MW for 1:30 at a time. If in doubt, slower is better.
• Weighing is better than using a moisture meter. I still use the moisture meter, but only to confirm what I already knew by weighing. A cheap gram scale is $15. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092W43Q25)
• I use my kitchen microwave. My wife doesn't love it, but she doesn't really complain. You may need to get a cheap used one for drying bowls. For the first couple of cycles, I wrap the bowl in a paper towel to catch moisture.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Thanks Kent. I found a nearly new MW on FB for $20 and have it in my garage. I have tried it usually 60 seconds on then cool for some time probably not 1-2 hours. I once tried too long and it cracked on me so need to be patient. I have noticed Glenn Lucas in Ireland uses some kind of dehydrator system is what made me wonder. I will try the MW more and I use my wife’s digital scale.