Hi! I am wondering if I can kiln dry large quantities of 6″ lengths of alder branchs in a pottery kiln without hurting the kiln. You see my father is a potter and has a pottery kiln and I use lots of this alder and don’t always have time to wait for it to dry BUT I dont want to hurt his kiln AT ALL. I guess I am worried mainly about the moisture.
Also how long and at what temp. would I leave the alder in the kiln?
Any advice would be helpful! Thanks a ton.-ERIC
Replies
(Note: In case anyone wanders through this post, the question was also asked -- and answered better -- here:
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages/?msg=10371.1)
Eric, there are some very good wood technologists here that will hopefully give you a better response, but I would have a couple of concerns:
First of all, what is the lowest temperature that a pottery kiln can be set at? I would imagine that a potter kiln gets much, much hotter than a wood-drying kiln.
Secondly, part of the kiln-drying process for wood includes the injection of steam in the kiln, to ensure appropriate and controlled drying of the interior and exterior of the wood. Over time, as the temperature is reduced the steam levels are reduced, too. How would you get steam into the kiln? Plus, it sounds as if you're worried about too much moisture being in the wood as it is -- adding steam might just compound your problem.
And finally, If I've read correctly, kiln drying of wood takes place over a matter of weeks, not a few hours. This ensures that the material dries evenly, without checking, case hardening, etc.
I guess my sense is that a pottery kiln and a wood kiln are two very different animals.
David
"The world that was not made is not won by what is done" -- Mundaka Upanishad
Edited 2/1/2003 6:00:02 PM ET by davamoore
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