Drying a block of Splated Maple

[dkerfoot]

I bought a 4" x 4" x 12" block of spalted maple off of eBay.

My intended use is to cut 1" thick slices and use them for lift lid box tops - similar to the cover on Doug Stowe's Building Basic Boxes book.

Well, the block arrived and it is quite green - literally, as the moisture content is so high it began to surface mildew in shipping. The seller shrink-wrapped it from top to bottom, which certainly didn't help. A few quick passes on a belt sander took care of the immediate problem, though I obviously need to get this thing to start drying.

I am wondering about the best way to dry it. Should I slice it up immediately so that the slices dry faster or should I let it dry further before putting a saw to it?

Should I consider a low temp oven? How about sticking it out in the sun? If either of those make sense, should I do it pre- or post-slicing?

[RayintheUK]

Jeez, Doug - was it advertised as "ready to use," was there any way you were expecting it to be wet when it arrived? That sure doesn't look fit for purpose to me.

However, if it's not practical to return it, I might try to slice it slightly thick, soak the slices in denatured alcohol overnight, then allow to drain. Wrap the slices in thick paper, weigh daily and keep wrapped until there is no more weight loss. Re-thickness as required.

This method works well with rough-turned wooden bowls and I'm guessing it may work here as your slices will only be 1" thick.

Ray.

[final_t]

It is *possible* to dry it yourself in a kitchen oven set to about 100-115 degrees F, provided it's no more than 4/4 in rough thickness, but you'll have to leave it overnight. Seal the ends to prevent checking - I'd use a water-based paint since it's in the house.
Use Ray's weigh-n-go method unless you have a handy moisture meter.
And I also agree that this seems like a crap deal for you. I'd be pissed as ****, but with the new stupid rules on eBay, you can neg neg neg all you want as a buyer now.

[dkerfoot]

Jeez, Doug - was it advertised as "ready to use," was there any way you were expecting it to be wet when it arrived? That sure doesn't look fit for purpose to me.

It was actually advertised as a block for turning. I am not shocked that it was not dried, I figured it would probably be green, but I didn't expect it to actually be damp!

In the picture, a wetting agent of some sort was used to bring out the figure.

I bought it more as an experiment than anything else. It really does have some nice figure, so if it works it will be very well worth it. If it doesn't work, I guess I will be a bit wiser.

[Uncle Cracker]

Normally, for photos, only a light misting with water is required to highlight the grain and color, and it dries off almost immediately. If the seller soaked the block to get a picture, then he's an idiot.

[cobob]

I read somewhere that burying it in saw dust will rapidly dry out green wood.

[dkerfoot]

If the seller soaked the block to get a picture, then he's an idiot.

I am confident that is not the case. It is green, not waterlogged.

[dkerfoot]

I wrote this to the seller this morning:

I received this yesterday and the wood is so wet that the block is full of mildew! I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming it happened during shipping and that it wasn't this way when packaged.

It seems to me that shrink-wrapping a piece of wet wood is very unwise.

While you don't specifically mention it in the listing, when buying hardwood, it is customary for it to at least be seasoned prior to sale.

Please describe how this wood was processed prior to sale, so that I can decide how best to proceed.

I received this reply:

I was concerned about the wood being to damp, we were trying to prevent the wood from splitting and checking in the unseasonal dry/windy weather we were having at the time we were processing that wood, even after we had waxed the wood some of it still split and checked, so the block you purchased is one in the series of our "oops-that-don't-work" inventory. I am, TODAY, going to send to you another piece as colorful, and figured, one that is dryer, with my apology and I assure you that we weren't experimenting with your wood, we just did not realize that it would stay so damp, I hope that replacing your item is agreeable with you, we would like for you to keep the first piece, and perhaps it will dry enough that you can use it at a later date.

This is one of those situations where I am happy that I am going to end up with more than I expected, but still wondering what the seller was thinking in the first place...

I almost wonder if they didn't try to "re-wet" the wood in a foolish effort to keep it from cracking. I cut it into four 1" slabs and I noticed that the softer parts of the burl are noticeably damp, while the denser wood seems nearly dry, even though I'd expect the soft parts to dry out the fastest. Perhaps they boiled it and then only waited a day or two before shrink-wrapping and shipping?

I dunno, but I do expect it will eventually yield some very nice box tops, with perhaps more waste than I had hoped.

[pelligrini]

Sounds like he's trying to stand behind his product, but he didn't really answer your questions. Looks like it was just water content. I wonder if they tried shrink wrapping it right after cutting and photographing it?

[Greg.B]

I'm no expert but I do know that when you cut wet wood and leave to dry, especially thinner pieces there is the possibility for them to cup/bow. So you should think about how you can avoid that.