Wood blank drying

[COsby]

Hey all,
 Yesterday I was at woodcraft getting the satellite city accelerator and I grabbed a few pieces of bocate. I figure by the time I get good enough to use it, it should be dry... which brings up my topic / question.

What do you guys do to dry your wood? The stuff from woodcraft is all covered in wax. Do I need to take the wax off all sides, just the ends...???

My plan is to put it over the A/C vents in one of the rooms that doesn't see much action.

I don't have a meter yet, but it's on the list. Is there a cheap one that is good to use? What type should I stay away from?

Thanks again!
Chris

[David @ Mad Duck Game Calls]

You need to remove the wax from the sides but not the ends, the wood I have drying right now is sitting in the shop with the ends sealed. Some guys make drying boxes or use dehydrators, there is all kinds of ways to do it, you can even send it to get kiln dried I you want to do that...  As for meters, I haven't got a clue, I already had one when I started turning..... 

[Aaron at Wingerts Woodworks]

My suggestion is never buy common wood like bocote that is fully waxed.  Fully waxing the blank almost guarantees that it won't crack until you, the consumer, attempts to dry it.  That's a liability that I choose for my suppliers to bear by selling me dried wood.  Numerous suppliers sell dried turning blanks, but Woodcraft generally isn't one of them.

Like David said, you want to leave the wax on the end grain but remove it from the sides.  Scraping the wax off isn't good enough unless you can scrape some of the bare wood off.  I'd suggest using a sharp edge like a cabinet scraper to remove the bulk of the wax, then run it through a jointer or planer to get the rest of it off and get down to fresh wood.  Then allow a year per inch of thickness to ensure that the blank is adequately dried for making calls.