Homemade Kiln

**doug1980** · 04-30-2011, 09:21 PM

Well I needed a way to dry my bowls since my neighbors kiln is always full. I was able to "obtain" this military insulated cooler and figured it would be perfect. I drilled some holes on the top, put in a heat lamp, fan and some racks. So far it works great. I am going to stand it on end, install some wheels on the bottom and build some shelves to use as much space as possible.

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Also roughed 4 more bowls today while taking care of little Travis while my wife worked. What a productive day.

**gryffynklm** · 04-30-2011, 10:32 PM

Nice, decent amount of space, The shelves and standing on end is a good idea.

**woodsman86** · 04-30-2011, 10:41 PM

Looking pretty good. What kind of dry time are getting?

**randyt** · 04-30-2011, 11:25 PM

that's a nice setup, do you have to dry the bowls slow?

**doug1980** · 05-01-2011, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by gryffynklm

Nice, decent amount of space, The shelves and standing on end is a good idea.

Thanks, yeah I figure I'll be able to fit more bowls that way and the heat will be on the bottom so it can rise.

Originally Posted by woodsman86

Looking pretty good. What kind of dry time are getting?

Depends on many factors. Average 3-4 days for the Birch bowls and about a week for Spruce and Cottonwood.

Originally Posted by randyt

that's a nice setup, do you have to dry the bowls slow?

Ideally yes otherwise it will check/crack. All depends on the species, size, thickness and humidity. It's kind of a guessing game in trying to find that happy balance. Not too much checking or warping.

**woodsman86** · 05-01-2011, 01:36 AM

A cheap thermometer and hydrometer would help you keep an eye on your happy balance. A simple humidor hydrometer would be cheap and probably work well enough for your setup.

Get an electric heating element and you have yourself a smoker when the bowl orders slow down.

**crashdive123** · 05-01-2011, 07:42 AM

Nice idea and execution Doug.

**Rick** · 05-01-2011, 09:43 AM

Yeah, I was going to suggest a hygrometer as well. There is a direct correlation between relative humidity and moisture content in wood. Once you dry wood to something below 30% moisture content then what's left will be held in the cell walls of the wood and not in the cell lumen (not to get overly complicated but the lumen is internal to the cell). That's important because once you purge the internal cell of water it will no longer absorb water from the air. The only way to add water to the cell lumen is to immerse the unprotected bowl in water. That's why once you dry and seal the wood it becomes stable. Nature is just cool that way. If you shoot for about 35% relative humidity (via the hygrometer) than you'll have about 7% moisture content in your wood. That 35% relative humidity is what most homes should be kept at so your bowl will be a happy camper.

Here's one you can look at. You can mount the display on the outside and place the probe in your heater chest and tell what the temperature and RH is without opening the lid and losing all your heat and adding humidity from the room back into the chest. I don't know anything about this particular one or these folks. I'm only posting this one to give you an idea of what's available.

http://www.weatherconnection.com/pro...8264&s=froogle