Toaster Oven for drying

[urobouros]

I have a working though unused toaster oven. I want to get a microwave to use but have burned all my $$$ on supplies and keep getting discoloration from not drying correctly. Has anyone tried this before?

[PaulD]

You can do it this way, but it takes too long and can be dangerous if not carefully supervised. Not a recommended approach to the problem.

[urobouros]

That's what I was thinking but wasn't sure if anyone actually tried it. I just picked up a $5 microwave from craigslist so I'm set. I have some super wet yellow birch to try. I rough turned the first of two blocks to a spitoon-esque vase and left it to air dry. There's already a crack forming at the very top of the neck. I'm gonna try the same thing with the second block but microwave dry after rough turning. I'm bummed about the first one as I was pretty pleased with the shape.

[PaulD]

There are also various product like Pentacryl or Wood Juice out there that are supposed to reduce wood splitting. They are fairly expensive, so I haven't tried them, but they may be worth a try if you get frustrated with your results.

[urobouros]

I might give it a try but cost is definitely a concern for me. Besides, I'm not good enough to justify much expense that way yet ;)

[Gunny]

This might sound overly simple, but I've had some success spraying the inside of the bowl with pledge wax and then wrapping it in a brown paper grocery sack... I've been using this on Cherry, Red Cedar and ash for a while...

[urobouros]

This might sound overly simple, but I've had some success spraying the inside of the bowl with pledge wax and then wrapping it in a brown paper grocery sack... I've been using this on Cherry, Red Cedar and ash for a while...

How long do you wait between wrapping it up and finishing it? Do you wrap the entire bowl or just the interior? I've generally only seen the interior wrapped but any method that's worked once is worth trying again!

[Gunny]

How long do you wait between wrapping it up and finishing it? Do you wrap the entire bowl or just the interior? I've generally only seen the interior wrapped but any method that's worked once is worth trying again!

Basically I just wait till I have time to get back to it... Could be anywhere from a week to 2 months or more... I usually have at least 20 projects going at a time in various stages of completion... When I get some spare time I just start checking my brown paper bags to see which project looks like it's ready for the final turning...
When I say I wrap it in a brown paper sack, I mean it stick it in a heavy brown grocery bag, fold the excess around it and fasten it with a few large rubber bands... nothing fancy.