A Quick and Cheap Drying Box for Bowl Blanks
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- Опубликовано: 17 июл 2017
- In this video, I make a quick, easy, and very inexpensive drying box for bowl blanks. A fresh-turned green bowl blank is placed in the box, and relatively rapidly (around 5-7 days), dried to equilibrium moisture content, usually without any splitting, ready for finish turning.
The music during the close of the video, Happy Little Elves by Audionautix, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: audionautix.com/ 
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Hi Rick, thank you for this idea. I'm gonna try it. Thanks, Dan
Your explanation about drying box is perfect... I actually was going to email you to find out more. Thank you. Your videos are great and info is spot on. Scott W
Thank you, Scott.
Love it. Best instructional video ever.I think I will practice on box assembly before I jump in with both feet but I feel as though I can do this.
Thank you, Emory! You might want to use farm-raised cardboard, as the wild cardboard is sometimes difficult and dangerous to work with.
Thanks for sharing I had to laugh at your cardboard warning
Thanks for watching, S.
Love it ! Excellent demonstration Rick!
Cheers, Bram
Thank you, Bram!
Bram the Wadesmill woodturner it 2support.google.com/accounts/answer/3118621?hl=en
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Fun & informative, thanks Rick !👍😆😆
Thank you, Alan.
Great idea, Rick!
Thanks, David.
Great video. Since I am not trained to use cardboard I used an old styrofoam cooler and it worked perfectly plus it holds the heat well. I have successfully dried 2 bowls already with absolutely no cracks.
I don’t have a degree in stryofoamology, so that never occurred to me. Sounds like a great idea!
Cardboardology is one of my favorite topics.... You know? During the summer around my neck of the woods( roughly 100 miles from ATL), no heat source is needed. My shed converts itself to an over by noon. LOL Thank Rick.
Thanks for commenting, Charlie. Yes, cardboardology is a fascinating and complicated area of high technology, not to mention being exceeding dangerous!
Made an egg incubator several years ago with the same principle. Difference was I put the light in the box and had it wired with thermostat. Worked a treat.
Ah ha, it’s the thermostat that I’m missing! I wait and wait for my bowl blanks to hatch, and the only thing that happens is that they dry out! :-)
Thanks for the great information.
My pleasure, Dean. I use my drying box on every item I turn. Well, almost. My next project is going to be a vase, turned green and finished green - no drying and re-turning. The warping of the wood usually looks really cool. Of course, if it splits, it's a no go.
I love this video!
Thank you so much, John.
Enjoyed the video Rick, I am definitely going to be making one of these!
They're great! and easy to make! Although I can refer you to a certified cardboardologist if you need one - can't hurt to get professional guidance. Thanks for watching!
RickTurns 😄
Hey Rick just wanted to let you know that I have made 2 of the drying boxes and they work like a charm. Just finished one for a friend as a late Christmas gift.
That’s great to hear, George!
Very cool idea Rick! I've got to make me some kind of kiln and may go the cardboard route for now.
Good luck with it, Tim. You too can earn a degree in cardboardology and make BIG bucks!
I know it's dangerous and lots of risk involved but I'll give it a shot. ;- )
Rick, you're cracking me up!
Thank you!
Hi Rick...its taken me 3 years to get up the nerve to make this box...had to hire someone to work with the cardboard (a man has to know his limitations) will be doing the wiring on Monday (wearing high voltage arc flash suit) if you see a mushroom cloud and hear a bang you'll know I wired it backwards...seriously thank you for all your videos and all the time you put into your channel...stay safe buddy...press on 😎
LOL! Thanks for watching!
What a great idea! This makes me think I should just build my own computer casing out of wood, and include ducts for the cooling fans to push the hot air into a drying box. The PC is running all day anyway. So the waste heat might as well achieve something useful! It could have two "floors", with the mainboard etc all sitting in the bottom floor and the hot air being vented straight up into the drying compartment. You could probably even use simple plastic rain gutters from the home improvement store for ducting.
Sounds like a great idea!
@@RickTurnsWoodturning I would start building right away but sadly it is about the eighth project in the pipeline. Or eighteenth maybe.
I am a board certified cardboardaliogst.CP (corrugated paper) and I approve this process .
All right! I graduated from the American Cardboardology Universityof America with a degree in Applied Cardboardology.
Hi Rick! That's a very nice video my friend! I think that I will have to make myself one, a bit larger, with capacity for maybe 4 or 5 bowls, once I have my larger shop :) Cheers! Daniel
Thanks, Daniel. You'll need a bigger cardboard box for 4-5 bowls...why don't you buy a refrigerator and use that? ;-)
Excellent Video Rick. I have always thought you had to slow down the drying ie waxing end grain etc. Looking forward to your follow up to see how it works out. I'll practice my cardboardoligy while I wait. Search WWRJF
Thanks, Richard. Sometimes I will coat the end-grain surfaces with glue (or whatever sealer I happen to be using at that moment). I've good results with cherry before, so I didn't do any end-grain sealing, and I checked very carefully every day for any signs of cracking. If it had been oak, there's no question about it, I would have sealed the end-grain heavily - oak seems to spilt if I even think about drying it.
Rick,
What temperature do you recommend for the kiln?
Great idea.
Thanks,
Ed W
I’ve never measured the temperature in the box, Ed. I’ve always just used a 60 watt or 100 watt incandescent bulb to supply mild heat, and checked the bowl every day. If I saw any signs of cracking, I would turn off the bulb for a day to let it stabilize. On rare occasions, I would put a sealer on the cross-grain ends of the blank to slow the drying some in that area.
perfect timing, I am making a drying box out of computer fans and an old ice box. Question would the fan go best at the top or bottom of the ice box?
If you have room, I'd suggest at the top of the box, if you can also locate the exhaust opening at the bottom. You want the exhaust at the opposite elevation of the intake.
Can I add bleach on. Treated lumber to speed up drying.what can I use to speed up the process..
Do you know about how long the wood stays in the box? I understand that different woods take different times, but is it days, weeks, or months with this box dryer? I'm trying to figure out a good method to dry green wood. Thank you for the great idea.
Hi, David. I leave it in the box until the day-to-day weight loss is at or below 0.3 oz. Then I leave it out for a day or two, and it generally regains about an ounce. I have a video about using the drying box: ruclips.net/video/L2q1FXESVcY/видео.html
Rick. I found your video to be very informative and something I’ll have to try. I have a question though. I just got some forked limbs from a wind storm. The limbs are green and wet. Could I build a solar kiln and maybe dry the unturned limbs as is. Do you have any idea how long it might take to dry one limb at a time
Hi, Dave. A solar kiln is a great idea, as long as you put in a fan. As to how long limbs would take to dry, it would depend on the thickness. I would guess at least six months, probably more. If the kiln is big enough, put in all the limbs it will - it won’t slow down the drying.
Thanks for the advise on the light bulb, I hope for success a week from now. NOW, for a non-related question; I have a bunch of Hickory blanks, the first one that I split in half has lots of worm holes and the debris that was left in the wood after the bug ate the wood. My question is, what is an EASY way to remove the debris? It's hard. Thanks in advance
There’s not an easy way, as far as I know. However, if you turn yet the bowl, most of those insect tracks will be cut away. Then you could use a piece of stiff wire, like 16 gauge, to remove the debris in the remaining holes to the point where the debris doesn’t show. Good luck with it!
Thanks guy, enjoy your advise
Dude! You are too funny!
Thanks for watching and commenting, Suzette.
Hi Rick, I’m wondering if you would give some free advice. I made a box like yours almost the same size. I used a 43 watt bulb set pretty close to the 5v fan. I put in two 5” diameter bowls that read 15% and 18%. After 24 hours they were both dry. I mean no reading on my moisture meter dry! I’m thinking I use the box for newly roughed out green wood or maybe pull down the wattage or close up the holes on top of the box. What do you think? Thanks! Dan
Are you sure your moisture meter is working correctly? No reading at all is rather strange. That drying box shouldn’t be able to go too far below ambient moisture level, especially in such a short time period. I would keep using the box though. Try weighing the blanks after you take them out of the box, then let them sit in your workshop for a couple of days, then weigh them again. If they really were at zero moisture content, then they will gain weight as they come back to ambient moisture level. Your box will work great for green wood - that is, of course, what I use mine for. The 42 watt bulb should be just fine. I wouldn’t close up any holes on the box. If the wood is really losing 15 to 18 percent overnight, I would expect to see some cracking. You can always leave the light bulb turned off for a day, if it seems like the wood is drying too fast.
Thanks Rick, yep I tested the meter on some blanks and it worked. The blanks I rough turned to 1” thick had been drying for about 6 months. So not really green. I’ll keep playing with it! Thanks for all your help and your great videos! Dan
Circuit City? Didn't they close up shop?
Thanks for the info.
Oops...yeah, they did, didn't they. Oh well, I'd suggest Amazon anyway.
maybe comp usa is still there
mike pruett I think they closed too
What! CompUSA too? Is nothing sacred?
Was it an LED lightbulb? The better choice would be wolfram lightbulb or halogen one, of course 35 watts too :-)
Hi, Radek, thanks for commenting. No, it is an incandescent. I didn't think an LED would put out enough heat, and I was pretty sure a halogen would put out too much heat. I had to look up wolfram bulbs to find out about it...those suckers are expensive! And hot! (You were kidding about those two, weren't you?) I did consider using a low-wattage CFL, which puts out some heat. But so far, the 53 watt incandescent is doing okay. My next video, which I'm working on now, shows the results of the drying process with this box.
RickTurns Haha sorry. I'm from Poland and I've used our words for lightbulbs ;-) Wolfram ones are the cheapest here and halogen are also cheap and don't put so much heat. I will find the right ones to show you.
Ok so stupid mistake :-D Of course I meant incandescent lightbulbs but just two types of them. And by wolfram I meant tungsten as it is a metal of a wire which is glowing in those lightbulbs.
I like your video, can u put the light in the box?
Not a good idea, Tim. An incandescent bulb gives off to much heat to put right next to cardboard (us cardboardologists know these things 😘). When I made one out of wood a long time back, I put it inside, but mounted away from the walls, and encased in a large cage so nothing could get too close to it. Thanks for watching, Tim.
Hi Rick would like to try this but in California I can’t buy incandescent bulbs, what else would I use?
Hmmmm, never thought about that. Amazon carries incandescent bulbs - will they sell them to you in CA? Or how about a hatching/pet warmer bulb from Amazon, like this one: www.amazon.com/Reptile-Ceramic-Emitter-Infrared-Aquarium/dp/B017RCQ4JO/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=warming+bulb+for+pets&qid=1570315846&sr=8-10
Hi Mike! I have a 6 volt power adapter. Will this power a 20 volt fan? Thanks! Gary
Most computer fans are only about 6-7 volts, so that power brick would do fine. I’m not sure it would push a 20 volt fan very well.
I’m sorry Mike, I meant a 12 volt fan!
Which way is the fan blowing? Is it blowing air into the box?
I had it blowing into the box at the bottom, but I doubt that it matters at all.
Hey Rick, Phil from Pohl Barn sent me to your video. I just cut some small logs (12") for bowls and my first one I made cracked badly, even with Feed N Wax. (go figure huh?)
I didn't see a video where you made the bowl blank. Did you put anything on the bowl (finish) sanding sealer, Anchor sealer? It looked raw, but I'm so new, I have no idea.
Box is easy peasy for me. I also build computers and have fans and power supplies around, and boxes. I will have to build a bigger one, because I have like a dozen bowls to dry.
they have anchor seal on them now to avoid splitting till I turn them. Any suggestions?
I’m into building computers too - haven’t bought an off-the-shelf machine in many years. I prefer to buy the motherboard, power supply and all the other components and assemble it myself. I mostly use end-grain sealer on logs, when I first get them. Later, after I rough turn the bowl, I sometimes will put on end-grain sealer again on woods that I’ve had splitting problems in the past, such as oak. But in general, after rough turning, end grain sealing isn’t really necessary. My first drying box was pretty large, roughly three feet high by two-and-a-half feet wide and deep, with a 80 or 120mm fan cut into the bottom side, and a light fixture mounted inside, right in front of the fan. I used that for years, but when I moved recently, I gave it away because my new workshop (aka, a garage) doesn’t have much room. That’s when I built my cardboard box dryer. Some people build large wood kilns about of old refrigerators - you’ll find some videos on RUclips about that. I stopped using AnchorSeal years ago, because it is too expensive. I discovered that Titebond glue actually does a much better job and is a good bit cheaper (and easier to find). Here’s a link to my video about end-grain sealer: ruclips.net/video/0ZFtDu_viI0/видео.html. When using the drying box, check the wood every day at first - if you see any splitting starting, put on some end-grain sealer and turn off the light for a couple of days but leave the fan running. Hope that helps!
RickTurns thanks Rick. Perhaps we have a kindred spirit... I looked over your library and wow, you like to do a lot is stuff and experiment, just like me.
The logs 12”x12” are from a dead tree and very very wormy, a bit of Spaulding too and in places funky. But all this makes for a very interesting look and I love it!
Want to try casting with Total Boat Resin. But living on SS is not easy right now.
I need to seek some of my work!
Thanks again man, and happy turning.
PS also a garage man. Think I’ll call my place “The Garage Shop”
Best way to dry is make box for fan blower air into it and make truck/pipe into what your wanting to dry. As humidity within space will blow into without extra box.Use a box and some of that flex on top shelf into your bowl box.
Take it from retired HVAC/R 35 years
Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I don’t understand how that would reduce the humidity- would you mind explaining further? And where would the heat source be located? Thanks much!
Use light reflector inside 1) box with fan, closed up, use flex truck to your bowl box. With it open in room, get what humidity is in the space.
Thank you, Mike. I appreciate your help.
Just wondering, if this can be done from laptop cooling fan, cardboard box and a lamp. It would save a lot of effort.
You could use any kind of fan - a slow flow of air, however, is preferable. Any small wattage light - one viewer use his trouble light. Note, however, an led lamp doesn’t put out match heat.
@@RickTurnsWoodturning Thanks for the reply. I think you may have got my point earlier but just wanted to clarify that I meant the laptop cooling pad that has two fans typically and is used to cool older laptops. This is a ready made and cheap contraption available off the shelf but the question would be: How do we seal and control the airflow so that only heated and dry air reaches the wood we intend to dry? Is it possible to make a video or a layout sketch with a laptop cooling pad and a conventional bulb and tackle all the issues that maybe encountered.
I ordered a 53 watt bulb from Home Depot, what I received was a Westinghouse 75 watt replacment bulb. Underneath the 75 W Replacement it states" using 53 W". Is this what I should use for the drying box?
You can use just about any incandescent bulb, but a lower wattage is better. A 100 watt bulb would be too hot, allowing the wood to dry too quickly. A 40 watt incandescent would be on the low side, but workable. A 60 watt bulb would do. In general, however, I think that an led bulb or a cfl bulb would not put off enough heat to be useful. Is the bulb you got an incandescent bulb. If so, it should work okay for you.
It is a 53-Watt Eco-Halogen A19 Soft White Medium Base Light Bulb
Halogen will definitely generate some heat, in my experience. You might want to keep an eye on the drying when first put a piece in the box. If it shows any signs of cracking, turn off the light and just keep the fan on for a day.
Careful Rick slippery slope with that cardboardology shtuff
You're right. Before publishing this video, I had to clear it with the International Association of Cardboardology.
How long did it take to get your cardboardoligy degree? Lol
Just the standard four years at the American Institute of Paper Technology. I majored in Cardboardology, but decided not to get an advanced degree. I want’ to get some real world experience, so I got a job at the Boeing Cardboard Aircraft Division. I’m proud to say that not a one of the cardboard military fighters that I worked on ever crashed, and performed extremely well in the US/Canada Cardboard War of 2005.
53 watt light bulb
I'm sure that will work as well. Thanks for watching, Doug.
Why not cut spare cardboard and use spray glue to stick the aluminum foil to. This would make it strong enough to hold it's form, and not waste foil.
That’s an excellent idea, Brad...I wish I had thought of it! I’m running my drying box right now, and I’m going fix it up as you suggested.
I accidentally bought a replacement high volume replacement fan for my PC, avoid those too. And there are 120v fans with that same form factor so know what you are buying.
I didn’t know you could get a fan like that at 120 volts. Thanks for the information, Mike.
@@RickTurnsWoodturning Axial fans. Dayton and others make them. Of course I have a lot of 12 volt fans from old PC's, I used to roll my own, too.
Why does everyone want to use the table saw for a work table ?
Like a mountain, because it’s there. Or, in this case, because i didn’t want to tie up my workbench for a week. Thanks for watching, Sam!
Rick, you mentioned 6 days in the drying box but your dates on the bowl went from 7/18 - 3/23. That’s closer to 8 months by my calendar 🤔
There was a time anomaly in my workshop around that video! Thanks for watching, Exsig.
I love your channel, the professionalism, humor and human factors are a refreshing change to the has to be perfect side of turning. I learn constantly, thank you!
Hmmm, I totally thought you were going to put the bulb in the box. Why didn't you?
I didn't want to get the bulb too close to the cardboard. Cardboard is dangerous enough without adding an unbridled heat source.
That makes sense
Rick, I never heard of a 53 watt light bulb...
That is unusual. It’s some kind of bulb from Phillips that is supposed to be more efficient than regular incandescents. Of course, in this case, I’d prefer a regular old inefficient incandescent. They’re hard to find these days. Thanks for watching, Zetus.
Hi Rick, Thanks for the video, I followed your lead and made a couple of changes that makes it easier to build if you already have an extension light. I put a video on my channel. Best wishes, Jim
Hi, Jim. I just watched your video. The metal ductwork is a great idea. Your drying box is somewhat more sophisticated than mine!
I also just added your channel to my woodturning video database. Hope to see more woodturning from you!
Oh yeah...I added a link to your video on my drying box video!
It really is hazardous though! Cardboard cuts are paper cuts on steroids! I have scars!
LOL! You’re right about that. I’ve taken to wearing metal gauntlets when doing my cardboard work. Thanks for watching, Elaine.
And now my life goal is to become a cardboardologist.
It is truly a worthy and highly respected profession. Thanks for watching!
You can get those fans free from a computer repair shop;)
Good idea! Thanks for watching.
Good instructional video but could you skip the not funny comments on being a cardboard expert and the like. They add nothing to the video and just waste viewers time. Thank you.
Well, Jeff, I don't think you're going to like my videos, as each one is chock full of nonsense like cardboardology. But thanks for watching this one!