# drying cookies



## bayard (Feb 7, 2010)

i have a few large cookies i cut today, how should i dry them.35-38 inches i ash and i maple.dry them outside for a few weeks and then poly them. kenny


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## trimmmed (Feb 7, 2010)

Pray.


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## mtngun (Feb 7, 2010)

trimmmed said:


> Pray.


:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## bayard (Feb 7, 2010)

*nice*

funny


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## mtngun (Feb 7, 2010)

I haven't tried preserving cookies, so I'm not going to offer serious advice.

However, it has been discussed before on the forum. Some people claim partial success with various methods.

Only thing I can suggest is maybe next time, cut them at a 45 - 60 degree angle instead of straight across the grain.


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## MR4WD (Feb 7, 2010)

mtngun said:


> I haven't tried preserving cookies, so I'm not going to offer serious advice.
> 
> However, it has been discussed before on the forum. Some people claim partial success with various methods.
> 
> Only thing I can suggest is maybe next time, cut them at a 45 - 60 degree angle instead of straight across the grain.



I just did this with some 30" douglas fir that was standing dead (pretty dry)

How should I preserve those cookies?


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## BobL (Feb 7, 2010)

MR4WD said:


> I just did this with some 30" douglas fir that was standing dead (pretty dry)
> 
> How should I preserve those cookies?



In general you can't and certainly don't expect a quick easy solution.

Partially successful methods involve soaking in water for a year, then drying them out buried under wet sawdust or clay that is slowly allowed to dry over a year or so. Most will still crack, success rates ranges from 0 to 10% so cut a lot and as others have said, pray.


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## Sawyer Rob (Feb 7, 2010)

There was an article of how to have the best chance of drying them, in a recent issue of Sawmill and Woodlot magazine. You could order a back issue, if the info isn't on their website.

Rob


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## Banacanin (Feb 8, 2010)

BobL said:


> In general you can't and certainly don't expect a quick easy solution.
> 
> Partially successful methods involve soaking in water for a year, then drying them out buried under wet sawdust or clay that is slowly allowed to dry over a year or so. Most will still crack, success rates ranges from 0 to 10% so cut a lot and as others have said, pray.



In school when they taught us to turn bowls they told us that if we boiled the wood first and dried it slowly it was less likely to crack. I don't know why though. What if he boiled the wood in a protective oil, would this displace the water?


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## Banacanin (Feb 8, 2010)

D'oh he said the pieces are 38" across, sorry that would be some big pot


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## stipes (Feb 8, 2010)

*This artist that makes bowls in Berea told me...*

Wrap em in plastic bags after the turning,,and let em set....I havent got a lathe yet,,maybe in a few weeks one is coming in my stall....Want to try turning myself.....


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## bayard (Feb 8, 2010)

*poly now*

why not poly them now.keep the water in.if i remember right , some deck boards need to keep the water from moving in and out.thats why a good light oil will keep the water movement down to a min. tung oil or the like.i could put a moisture meter on the wood and see what it is now, and see later on.kenny


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## smithie55 (Feb 8, 2010)

From all the information that I have been able to collect, it is my understanding to reduce shrinkage with drying green wood you have to replace the moisture in the cells with a liquid that will dissipate the moisture in the cells, and at the same time replacing the moisture with the fluid that you are soaking the wood in. 
This fluid is meant to preserve the cell closer to its original size at the same time retarding the resizing of the cell walls as the moisture and stabalizer fluid leave the cells. Some wood workers have and still use Polyethylene Glycol. other wood stabalizers could probably be used.
The draw back is the amount of liquid that would be required to soak anything of any size, as for instance your cookies.

A good book to have is "Wood and How to Dry It"
Have you checked out WoodWeb 
http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/sawdry.pl

Good luck
keep us posted


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## Eddie39 (Feb 9, 2010)

Ive tried drying cookies on a few occasions and never had much luck with them no matter what i tried good luck !


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## Brownpot Deaton (Feb 9, 2010)

from what i've run into, the best option is PEG/poly-ethylene-glycol(soak it for long time then dry it). 

i heard that old plantations would cut down trees then sink them to the bottom of their ponds for like 5 years then worry about drying them???not sure on specifics


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## BobL (Feb 9, 2010)

Banacanin said:


> In school when they taught us to turn bowls they told us that if we boiled the wood first and dried it slowly it was less likely to crack. I don't know why though. What if he boiled the wood in a protective oil, would this displace the water?



Green wood in most trees has more water in the sap wood and outer cells than the inner cells. In addition the outer cells are more porous so when it dries the outer wood shrinks more and more quickly and that is why cookies crack so easily. 

Boiling helps even out the moisture content of the wood so that provided it is then dried slowly it should help reduce cracks. I have also heard that for thick pieces of hardwood, cyclical boiling a few hours on and then a few hours off over a period of 24 hours helps. Boiling doesn't work for all wood in some cases you can just end up with a pile of pizza slices.

The problem with boiling a 36" cookie is finding a container big enough.


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## billstuewe (Feb 10, 2010)

My best results have come from this:--pray--then saw the wood and immediatly coat it very heavily with anchorseal, wait a day and coat it again, wait a day and coat it again. Coat both sides completely and then sticker it inside out of drafts and sun and FORGET ABOUT IT, (but do continue to pray). Depending on the thickness, it will take years to dry, but your best hope is to dry it as slow as possible. The one in the picture I did not want to wait for the "years" so I used 3 coats of epoxy all around to seal in the moisture and then put it in use. This was done in 5/04. It has been in my living room since then and about 6 months ago the first crack began opening, A second is just starting. I will leave it alone until no more cracks show up for at least a year then I will take it back to the shop, strip it down and fill the cracks with epoxy and refinish and I should be OK then. The three other slabs that match are in my woodshed coated with the three coats of anchorseal and they have not started cracking yet--thats over almost 6 years and they are three inches thick.
Hope this helps and have fun----


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