I happened upon a beautiful section of a tree and wanted to dry it out so I can mill it into usable sections. Someone a few years ago suggested using the powder coating oven, is that still the preferred way of doing it at DMS?
Is there a local lumber shop I should take it to instead?
Thanks!
Michael
The powder coating oven is currently down for repairs after an internal SSR decided it didn’t want to exist anymore: https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/metal-large-oven-thermal-runaway-20210430/80591/14
You might be better off taking it to a local spot though I’ve heard the rates aren’t the best. I couldn’t give you a specific place.
Contact @Lloyd_Plum to see if he’s got space and time in his kiln
The oven’s starting temperature might be too high. You can always just air dry it
So if you were to do that, the lack of a vacuum(pressure) would cause it to dry in the natural sense outside getting drier first the inside taking the longest, and whenever you have that drastic of a drop in moisture content combined with the extreme difference between the middle and outside sections you will get some nasty cracking, which is why professional kills are actual vacuums
So they can get the moisture content down fast but uniformly at the same time, so trying to do it with the powder coat oven you’d either be looking at extremely split wood or having to use it for like a week which I don’t think would get approved, however the over is great for roasting(aka thermally modifying) wood or drying wood that just got left out in the rain or something so it doesn’t trip the saw stop but actual drying it just wouldn’t work out