Finish on wood not totally dry

[Richard Avram]

I have a sassafras bowl that I just finished turning and it isn't totally dry. I'm not sure what the moisture content is but I can tell that it still has moisture in it. The question is, if I put poly on it will it slow the drying process and maybe keep it from cracking or will it totally ruin it?

 

[Jerry Bailey]

I can't attest to what would happen with the bowl
but I can say from working with other projects, If you try and put a finish on wet wood,
in the future the finish itself could crack/blister/etc as the wood does dry.

Best bet is to let the bowl dry out before you apply, hopefully others can lend more helpful answers.

 

[Bill Boehme]

What Jerry said!

 

[hockenbery]

I have a sassafras bowl that I just finished turning and it isn't totally dry. I'm not sure what the moisture content is but I can tell that it still has moisture in it. The question is, if I put poly on it will it slow the drying process and maybe keep it from cracking or will it totally ruin it?

The size and thickness of the bowl would help in getting suggestions.

If it is 3/16" thick or less I would wash it with tap water. Get the end-grain wet.
Towel it off, put it in a box for a couple days with the flaps closed,
Open one flap for a day, then open both flaps for a day, set it out in the open for a day and it is dry.
This is what I do with hollow forms and natural edge bowl above 10" diameter.
This method works with fresh cut wood and will work with yours.

I put a couple blocks of dry wood in the bottom of the box to hold the bowl off the bottom of the box.

If it is over 1/2" thick It might need months to dry.
Al

 

[Richard Avram]

It's roughly about 3/16 thick, maybe a little more at the bottom. The wood was not fresh cut but not totally dry either. I'm hoping to get it finished up in time for a show the first weekend in June but if it doesn't work out it's not a big deal. I'm really not familiar with sassafras and just don't know what to expect from it.

 

[Fred Belknap]

I have used an oil finish like tung oil or Minwax Antique Oil on some bowls turned thin when it was somewhat wet. No problem, and it seemed to help in keeping it from cracking. Never turned sassafras so don't know how that will work.

 

[Bill Boehme]

It's roughly about 3/16 thick, maybe a little more at the bottom. The wood was not fresh cut but not totally dry either. I'm hoping to get it finished up in time for a show the first weekend in June but if it doesn't work out it's not a big deal. I'm really not familiar with sassafras and just don't know what to expect from it.

Since it is only 3/16" thick, it should dry rather quickly. A week or two at the longest would be my guess. As mentioned, an oil finish would be the safest, but I believe that just about any finish would be OK.

 

[hockenbery]

It's roughly about 3/16 thick, maybe a little more at the bottom. The wood was not fresh cut but not totally dry either. I'm hoping to get it finished up in time for a show the first weekend in June but if it doesn't work out it's not a big deal. I'm really not familiar with sassafras and just don't know what to expect from it.

Richard, At 3/16" it will be dry enough to finish in 4-5 days.

To be safe you can put it in a box for a few days to slow the drying of the thinner parts.
The box acts as a humidity chamber letting the water coming off the thick parts hydrate the thin parts.
This will even out the drying if the bottom is not too thick.

If the bottom is a 1/2" think it could crack. My experience with sassafras is limited we got a lot of wood from two huge trees abiut 2 years apart. These were 3-4'feet in diameter. Mostly sassafras grows as a shrub.

I never had any problem with it cracking. As long the wood can move as it dries it should be fine.
Sassafras is a softer hardwood. It makes a nice bowl.


Al

 

[Richard Avram]

Thanks everybody for the advice, I appreciate it.