Submerged softwood?

Am Freitag, 14. August 2020 15:57:53 UTC+2 schrieb pyotr filipivich:

I placed the block (cube with a 60 mm side length) in a sandwich box filled with ink for 16 days. The block was held under the surface using a small chunk of foam. I turned the block over every four days, so it had four days with each end-grain surface at the bottom, and four days with each of two opposing cross-grain surfaces at the bottom.

If I remember correctly (I don't have the paper in front of me), the moisture content was 13% before the experiment. Afterwards it was off the scale, as you might expect, and the wood had absorbed about 25 grams of ink. It took about a week until the weight returned to its original value (about 85 grams) and the remaining dye didn't seem to affect this figure.

I'm planning to repeat the experiment (probably with water rather than ink), but coat some surfaces of the blocks with two-component epoxy paint, to determine the proportions of the water absorbed through the end-grain and cross-grain surfaces. I might also try the same with some blocks of okan instead of pine, but I suspect this will absorb very little water.

Reply to
Christopher Tidy
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I might also be tempted to run the same experiment with some vacuum, as I suspect the trapped air hinders the absorption, but I don't want to vaporise the ink and fill my vacuum pump with water...

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

Christopher Tidy snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com on Fri, 14 Aug 2020

09:55:58 -0700 (PDT) typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

"But, but, but Science!"

De watering the vacuum line is "Merely Engineering(tm)!" (aka "just money")

I can see a method of a vacuum pump hooked to a tank, which gets pumped out, the line to the pump closed, then the line to the sample chamber open. But as you said, you'll still be pumping water out of solution, thus changing the concentration. Of course, you could seal the sample so that it gets the vacuum, and not the entire container.

"Why don't you try that and write it up?" B-)

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

Christopher Tidy snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com on Fri, 14 Aug 2020

09:47:03 -0700 (PDT) typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

It looks to me that there is very little cross grain absorption. Which is to be expected, trees move water 'vertically' with the grain. Hence the reason for painting the end of an exposed 'stick' to prevent checking, etc.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

Christopher Tidy snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com on Fri, 14 Aug 2020

09:55:58 -0700 (PDT) typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

"But, but, but Science!"

De watering the vacuum line is "Merely Engineering(tm)!" (aka "just money")

I can see a method of a vacuum pump hooked to a tank, which gets pumped out, the line to the pump closed, then the line to the sample chamber open. But as you said, you'll still be pumping water out of solution, thus changing the concentration. Of course, you could seal the sample so that it gets the vacuum, and not the entire container.

"Why don't you try that and write it up?" B-)

- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

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With that setup you can also fill the wood with plastic resin.

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I boil wood in paraffin wax to weatherproof it for outdoor use, like pulley sheaves and antenna insulators. The above-boiling wax makes the water sizzle out. The urethane wax in toilet bowl rings is less brittle at low temperatures.

I've been using a small Gast rotary vane pump on my vacuum oven if there was much water to remove, and running it open afterwards to dry it. Has anyone had a problem doing this?

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

In a lab setup where water in a vacuum was involed, we used a flask of silica gel between the chamber and the pump to dry the exhasted air ahead of the pump.

Reply to
Gerry

In a lab setup where water in a vacuum was involed, we used a flask of silica gel between the chamber and the pump to dry the exhasted air ahead of the pump.

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Then you need to desiccate or throw away the silica gel.

In a lab setup I wasn't paying for electricity or water+sewer to run a faucet aspirator. At home I try to accomplish these hobby tasks with a limited amount of recycled lab gear and alternate energy such as wood heat in winter and solar heat in summer.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Ah, you might make a good beekeeper:) Recently took up this rather eccentric hobby and wish I could afford to set up a wax dipping tank large enough for assembled hive boxes. Hopefully will eventually have a shallow pan that can do bottom boards since they rot out first. Today most are using paraffin and microcrystalline wax 50/50. Apparently at one time 2 parts paraffin to one part gum rosin was standard. This guy,

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uses natural beeswax instead of paraffin.

Wonder if you could combine heat and vacuum to get the wax even deeper into the wood? Not aware of anyone doing this.

As to resin stabilized wood, go to a blade show and there will be venders selling knife scales in every wood you can imagine. As well as weird stuff like pine cones and corn cobs.

Reply to
William Bagwell

dry the silica gel in an oven.

Reply to
Gerry

.....

Wonder if you could combine heat and vacuum to get the wax even deeper into the wood? Not aware of anyone doing this.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Yes should have thought of that. pyotr filipivich sums it up nicely up thread a bit. Do not need to start any more boondoggles. Not even sure our vacuum pump still works, has not been used in at least 27 years. If it does have a much better use for it in the planning stages.

Though of a way to dip just the corners of assembled hive bodies last night. A "V" shaped trough. End grain where they are finger jointed together is where most rot starts so it should work. And take less than $50 verses $500+ to fill it with wax.

Reply to
William Bagwell

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