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Ponding, ie. soaking bowl stock

Zach LaPerriere

Zach LaPerriere

Joined
Apr 1, 2015
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Location
Sitka, Alaska, United States
Website
www.zachlaperriere.com
Does anyone out there pond (soak in water) their bowl stock?

20 years ago I took a few carving classes with a Tsimshian (Alaska native) master carver who always ponded his spoon stock for a year or two. It made the alder a rich brown color. Carving it was amazing, and the end spoons were perhaps harder.

I just turned some alder bowl stock I had ponded for a year. After removing it from the fresh water, I let it dry for about two weeks and then rough turned it after the moisture dropped back down to green levels. In the end, the alder no longer stained red as all green (freshly cut) alder does. I didn't end up with a rich brown color, instead just a a little tint of brown. I'm thinking because I soaked whole logs, not rough turned bowls. Oh well. One interesting highlight was that stress wood around knots stayed completely white. Here's a picture of a roughed profile that shows the different colors.

ponded.jpg

I haven't seen much on ponding outside of timber preparations. The main reasons for ponding timbers was release of internal stresses, better workability, and potential increased strength. So far I can't say much more beyond the alder cut beautifully. I'll know more in a few months when the blanks are dry.

Next experiment I have a bunch of semi-green alder I'm thinking of rough turning then ponding for another year or two. I have noticed a difference in the cutting of w. hemlock versus hemlock that been in the ocean a while. Still experimenting with stock from beaches.

If anyone has experience with ponding bowl stock, I'd love to hear it!

Zach
 
I now live on a small lake and wondered about storing logs in the lake. My problem is how in the world would I get them into and out of the lake. I don't own any kind of tractor. Even putting 4foot long sections in would be tough. Maybe I can try cutting some bowl blanks over size and storing them in there just to see.
 
Don't soak my stock. I'm interested in finish turning, which wants cured stuff. That said, you can get woods like soft maple, and possibly alder to develop color if they're harvested in full sugar and more or less sheltered in the stack. The soft maple develops a yeasty scent, then a wine-like scent along with some sort of color (caramelization?) change. The two pieces here are actually from the same stick of firewood. Most of what was turnable was done to preserve the white, but this happened at the yeasty point. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Waitsand-1.jpg

While this color came in after full fermentation. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Curly-Combo.jpg

I know the Italian instrument makers liked soaked spruce for sound, but I have never tried any of the western cedars under water, nor compared aquatic immersion color against UV enhancement like black cherry, which makes a nice spoon, too. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Snake-Spoon-Diagonal.jpg
 
I haven't done any pond soaking. I know some turners who store their bowl blanks in barrels of water to keep them from drying until they turn them.

Have seen a few bog oak turnings from logs found in the Irish peat bogs. This is process that turns the oak black the down side is takes a few thousand years and you need a peat bog.
 
I have heard of this, and for sure it is an old technique. As near as I can tell, it works like boiling or steaming, but instead of taking a few hours, it takes years. Relieves tension and allows entrained water to move or some thing like that. It does muddle the colors a bit.

robo hippy
 
John, I'm really leaning toward ponding rough turned bowls, rather than logs as I did last time. I live right on the ocean, and here's an idea you might borrow that I've been kicking around. Turn a mess of rough bowls, wrap them up in old fishnet, and sink them to the bottom with rocks. I'd leave a bouy and a line to pull them up and check periodically. Old fishnet might be a bit easier to come by on the ocean, but it's an idea. It's a long way, but I'd be happy send as much net as you want.

I read a scientific article that is probably worth noting. It suggested the main benefit of studying Scots pine and ponding was increased dimensional stability. That said, I think scientific studies don't always pick up things that generations of woodworkers do.

My backyard experiments aren't scientific, but I did pond just a handfull of rough bowls that came from an unidentified soft maple that was growing as a huge ornamental in town. I've never seen wood with such instability, and the ponded stuff has dried to about 15% without much warping so far.

Kind of funny: we already need a fair amount of patient with rough bowls drying, so why I am trying to extend the process by adding another year?
 
Wood preservation under water requires either cold water unfavorable to decay - bottom of L Superior, for instance - or anaerobic conditions where moving water packs them in silt or sand so nothing can get at 'em. One case mentioned - bog wood, is a combination of anaerobic and acidic antibacterial conditions.

Don't need patience to dry. Put 'em where the RH is fairly high for a couple weeks, than move them to a dryer place. I have a basement, and it has a floor, so things start there in summer. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Sweetness.jpg Rest of the year, they start - and wait - in the unheated garage. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Bowling.jpg Couple weeks in high RH to get a dry surface, and a month or two in shop humidity of ~50% and they're 10%.
 
hockenbery said:
I haven't done any pond soaking. I know some turners who store their bowl blanks in barrels of water to keep them from drying until they turn them.

Have seen a few bog oak turnings from logs found in the Irish peat bogs. This is process that turns the oak black the down side is takes a few thousand years and you need a peat bog.
Click to expand...

Around here, that's what folks do with Madrona (Madrone). Otherwise, the darn stuff just twists, turns and splits in no time at all. Some of the guys n' gals won't even touch a nice looking dry Madrona block, insisting that under that pretty, clean exterior, there are bound to be twisted grain and checks.:rolleyes:
 
Interesting, Jamie! Boy the shrinkage tables for arbutus are off the charts. Maybe ponding would help? We occasionally get arbutus that floats up here, almost 1000 mile trip minimum. A local turner friend loved his beach-found arbutus. But I think saltwater soaking is very different than the ponding that the old woodworkers did.

Michael, I think that the point of ponding is NOT wood preservation underwater. What you mention would of course be accurate for preservation. Ponding is a different story. Something the study that I linked to mentioned is that bacterial activity is supposed to break down the wood slightly. It mentions a distinct bacterial smell, and I can tell you the stuff I ponded still has a crazy smell, fermented almost. Reminds me of my wife's kombucha, or a sourdough starter. There was all sorts of pink slimy stuff at the bottom of the ponding barrels. The point is to break down the wood slightly (not rot via fungus like we're used to outside of water.) The bacterial breakdown alters the cell walls and gives the wood more dimensional stability.

Dimensional stability sounds like a great plus for us turners...if we can have the storage space and patience.
 
Zach LaPerriere said:
Does anyone out there pond (soak in water) their bowl stock?
Click to expand...

I can tell you what a gentleman from South America told me about bowls and blanks they sell. Everything gets boiled. He said the woods they use, heavy exotics to us, are quite unstable and will crack unless boiled. I think the heat softens the lignum and relieves stress, perhaps a bit lie annealing metals. He said they fill a 55-gal drum an boil over a wood fire. This sounds better than soaking to me.

JKJ
 
John K Jordan said:
I can tell you what a gentleman from South America told me about bowls and blanks they sell. Everything gets boiled. He said the woods they use, heavy exotics to us, are quite unstable and will crack unless boiled. I think the heat softens the lignum and relieves stress, perhaps a bit lie annealing metals. He said they fill a 55-gal drum an boil over a wood fire. This sounds better than soaking to me. JKJ
Click to expand...

Quite a while ago Steve Russell did a lot of experiments with boiling.

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html

My take is that is is a worthwhile process for iffy woods with lots of knots etc and advisable for Madrone.

Al
 
I bought some birch that had been on the bottom of Lake Superior, in log form, for something over 100 years. I built a conference table for a client and it was the nicest working birch I had ever touched. It was as mellow as good walnut to work, and as bright as the day it was axe cut. Almost too many growth rings to count. Really cold water up there, and not a lot of oxygen at that depth they said. That business is long gone, but it was a great experience and adventure to travel there and hand pick the stock.
 
hockenbery said:
Quite a while ago Steve Russell did a lot of experiments with boiling.

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/boiling-green-wood.html

My take is that is is a worthwhile process for iffy woods with lots of knots etc and advisable for Madrone.

Al
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah. After reading Steve's articles several years ago, I chanced upon a tripod propane burner set-up, and then picked up two 55-gallon drums. Having now returned to turning, I was fortunate to have a very local turner offer to cut the drums in half for me, and the 3 extra were snapped up quickly by chapter members.
 
Jamie Straw said:
Oh, yeah. After reading Steve's articles several years ago, I chanced upon a tripod propane burner set-up, and then picked up two 55-gallon drums. Having now returned to turning, I was fortunate to have a very local turner offer to cut the drums in half for me, and the 3 extra were snapped up quickly by chapter members.
Click to expand...

What Steve didn't mention (I don't think) is he got a bowl lodged in a boiling pot when it expanded and almost caused some serious injury.

With a 55G drum, it would be a pretty big bowl, but it also takes a long time for a lot of water to boil. I came along a nasty aluminum 10G pot that i used for awhile.
 
Ron Rutter said:
Zach. Pink slime does not sound to healthy! Pink mold on foodstuff is bad news!
Click to expand...

Hi Ron, Since the wood was underwater, I assume the slime was bacterial. The acidic smell would suggest so to. Wish I had checked ph. While I could be wrong, I would suggest that ponding is akin to fermenting the wood, which would make the wood no more toxic than sauerkraut.

As always, I'm open to hearing other opinions.

Thanks for all of the post!
 
I don't have problems with roughted out bowls. It's the wood before it gets to the turning stage that I have trouble storing. Especially whole logs. Bugs getting them is the worst problem. But trying to get whole log into the lake would be a challenge. cut up into bowl size blanks it would be a lot easier and weighting them. Honey I'm going snorkling to pick out a bowl for your mother, be back in a few.
 
Well, if you want to store them for 100 to 30,000 years, then the bottom of Lake Superior, or a peat bog is good. Keeping blanks in the rain barrel is older than my dad. You can generate a slime culture by soaking them for too long, or some have added bleach to keep the slime at bay. Best one I ever heard was one turner who had a waterfall out back and built a cage under it. Apparently the 'massage' and water did an exceptional job in releasing tension in the wood. Boiling just takes too much work, which is why I turn green to final thickness. Well, I am kind of warped anyway...

robo hippy
 
Zach LaPerriere said:
Interesting, Jamie! Boy the shrinkage tables for arbutus are off the charts. Maybe ponding would help? We occasionally get arbutus that floats up here, almost 1000 mile trip minimum. A local turner friend loved his beach-found arbutus. But I think saltwater soaking is very different than the ponding that the old woodworkers did.

Michael, I think that the point of ponding is NOT wood preservation underwater. What you mention would of course be accurate for preservation. Ponding is a different story. Something the study that I linked to mentioned is that bacterial activity is supposed to break down the wood slightly. It mentions a distinct bacterial smell, and I can tell you the stuff I ponded still has a crazy smell, fermented almost. Reminds me of my wife's kombucha, or a sourdough starter. There was all sorts of pink slimy stuff at the bottom of the ponding barrels. The point is to break down the wood slightly (not rot via fungus like we're used to outside of water.) The bacterial breakdown alters the cell walls and gives the wood more dimensional stability.

Dimensional stability sounds like a great plus for us turners...if we can have the storage space and patience.
Click to expand...

Answer to John's post.

But, since you mention it, my PEG vat looks almost as bad as grandma's sauerkraut crock after I start a batch of mallets. There's a bunch of sugars and other organics that make for some healthy scum to clear up. This in spite of the fact that the first few batches I did resulted in a fermented liquid with a pleasant winery smell which is probably antibacterial by now. PEG is meant to bulk the piece, of course, one route to stability, but one with some heavy drawbacks when it comes to finishing.

Boiling gets the wood above the temperature at which lignin becomes plastic, so tensions caused while the wood was growing can relieve themselves a bit by sliding rather than splitting. Unnecessary unless you're doing nightmares like madrone. You can use this method for color, if you care to, by boiling dye woods in with the piece. You have to work it a while, because it takes some time for them to penetrate, but it is one solution (pun intended) to the color gain desired.

NB The local sawmill steams its beech to help overcome some of that wood's misbehavior.
 
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MichaelMouse said:
Boiling gets the wood above the temperature at which lignin becomes plastic, so tensions caused while the wood was growing can relieve themselves a bit by sliding rather than splitting. Unnecessary unless you're doing nightmares like madrone. You can use this method for color, if you care to, by boiling dye woods in with the piece. You have to work it a while, because it takes some time for them to penetrate, but it is one solution (pun intended) to the color gain desired.
Click to expand...

I routinely boil apple, plum, madrone, and often cherry. Sometimes I’ll also boil white oak if I’m really counting on a certain piece to survive drying in one piece.
 
Fruit trees have a LOT of stresses induced from uneven loading by us pruning to get easy picking. They would certainly be in with the nightmares.

You may also cut oversize and "boil" from within using your microwave. They relax pretty much the same, and you don't have to waterlog them. Bag them in plastic to keep the RH at 100% while you heat them the first couple cycles. I have also cut thin, microwaved, and then shaped the piece with gloved hand. Holds a pretty good percentage of my shaping, like steamed flat wood.
 
Michael: That's pretty interesting about your PEG vats and bacteria. Reminds me of our local hotsprings—how can anything live in that stuff? I've never tried PEG but always been intrigued by how it works. Makes sense for mallets.

Thanks for all the posts on boiling. I'll skip it for 95% of the woods I turn, but I know some dense spruce burls would benefit from relieving the stresses.

Questions:
1. Doesn't boiling also dry the wood a bit under the relaxed conditions?
2. If boiled wood dries a bit faster, doesn't it make sense that woods that crack from drying too quickly would be less prone to cracking?

I ended up with a bunch of very dense Sitka spruce that was full of suckers (little shoots) and convoluted grain. Starting moisture was over 45 and so dense too that it weighed about 3X normal green spruce. My challenge in drying bowl blanks was to dry it fast enough to keep it from molding but slow enough to keep it from cracking. Seems like I should have boiled it.

Sure been some interesting conversations on the forum lately.
 
Effect of boiling on color

Owen Lowe said:
I routinely boil apple, plum, madrone, and often cherry. Sometimes I’ll also boil white oak if I’m really counting on a certain piece to survive drying in one piece.
Click to expand...
Owen, what are the effects on color of the fruit woods when you boil? The apple and plum I have are streaked with red and the apple also has some nice browns in it.
 
Zach, there are people who say boiling helps dry wood faster. Then there are skeptics who say when you add water, you get things wetter. I'm one of them.

Wood, as I keep saying, shrinks upon itself - becomes smaller as it cures. Checking from drying too fast means that the outside can't get smaller as fast as the inside. Mostly this is a problem of geometry, as I mentioned. All of the contraction starts at ~30% moisture content - the fiber saturation point. Keep the broadest/thickest part of your turning sloped/curved to deflect the shrink, and small, to allow water to leave easily through the endgrain, and you'll reap the benefit of boiling in better-behaved wood. Other commonly-employed techniques aim to limit the rate of loss by controlling the relative humidity - e.g. bagging, or holding existing moisture at the surface of the endgrain with occlusive coatings so it won't contract and make a path of weakness for splits - e.g. anchorseal, painting with PEG, and similar. There is a third technique, the URL for which I have lost, which uses solvents like acetone to flash dry the surface, causing extremely localized contraction similar to case-hardening. Done right, it supposedly closes the surface to a high degree, and allows slow passage of water out.

Jamie, warm water helps move the soluble components of color to the surface or into solution. It is routinely employed in steaming woods like walnut and cherry to color the sapwood. It may also muddy the color, as those who have worked with air-dry stock can attest. Your choice may be a bit muddy or a bit cracked. When I microwave, I find that the color does not muddy as badly.
 
PEG is a wood stabilizer. Unlike the other methods under discussion PEG replaces/changes the water in the wood changing the wood to something else. Reduces the wood shrinkage by about 80 %. A typical wood that might shrink 5% in the radial direction and 10% in the tangential direction when treated with PEG will shrink less than 1%.

A reference for PEG
http://owic.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/pubs/peg.pdf
 
I don't know if boiling helps the wood to dry faster or not. I have observed air drying of my bowls compared to air drying after they have been LDD (liquid dishwashing detergent soak), and though the soaked ones come out a bit heavier, it doesn't seem to change the drying time. I would guess that the boiling makes it easier for the 'bound' water (water at cellular level rather than water that flies every where when you turn) to escape than a piece that isn't boiled.

robo hippy
 
Zach, I think that folks who boil wood allow it to completely cool while still submerged. Otherwise, some defects like grain collapse and honeycombing might occur as a result of accelerated drying at high temperature. If this occurs you might first notice it as surface checking. I don't boil wood, but a former club member used that method on problem prone wood. Regarding your question of whether boiling results in faster drying, I think that the answer would be that it's somewhat of a moot point because the end result is the same as if it were dry even if not completely dry.

When I started turning it seemed like PEG was the the new exciting thing that was the cure for all problems in dealing with wood. From what I had read, it had first been evaluated in the early half of the twentieth century as a way to prevent warping and cracking for specialty items, mainly rifle stocks. I bought two 5 lb. "wheels" of PEG (they sort of resemble wheels of cheese), but I never used them after talking to some other turners who had used PEG and doing more reading about grain muddying and finishing problems. I still have them in a cardboard box... sort of a white elephant.
 
Jamie Straw said:
Owen, what are the effects on color of the fruit woods when you boil? The apple and plum I have are streaked with red and the apple also has some nice browns in it.
Click to expand...

Hey Jamie,
I find that apple, plum, and cherry take on a very attractive reddish brown tone — kind of like the way a true antique piece of cherry furniture ages. I find the results beautiful with no downside. In my opinion, you won’t keep the red streaks in either of the woods and they would fade no matter what method you use.

As to drying any faster, I’ve not noticed anything different with boiled pieces than with the way I usually cure rough-outs. (Which is that I coat them inside and out with Anchorseal and place in a basement pantry in a c.1920 house, i.e. not modern sealed or eviro controlled.) I’ve also not noticed any difference in the results if I allow the wood to cool in the pot or pull it and let it drip and steam-dry.
 
There's a video by Holland Bowl Mill that I've gone back to a few times.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7EnERnbrJiU

While most of these production stages are beyond the capabilities of us hobbyists, there's a section at about 3:45 that mentions they steam the bowls to prevent cracking and warping. Seems to be the same arguement as nuking, and boiling: Heat the fibres to get flexibility and relieve tension.

A friend bought one of these, it's 50cm across and just slightly warped, after 20 years, so this seems to work. Of course these are simple bowls, no major stress areas like branches, crotches etc.

I turn large pieces from green, where the issue is worse. Boiling these would require a really large pot/cooker, and that seems like a lot of hassle.

However, a steam box is easy to build and operate for even large sizes.

There's a scientific study around, sorry, lost the link, that goes through the use of steam on commercial wood products for building. It showed that cracking, warping could be reduced successfully at a decent cost.

I've haven't tried this yet, but maybe....

Olaf
 
robo hippy said:
I don't know if boiling helps the wood to dry faster or not. I have observed air drying of my bowls compared to air drying after they have been LDD (liquid dishwashing detergent soak), and though the soaked ones come out a bit heavier, it doesn't seem to change the drying time. I would guess that the boiling makes it easier for the 'bound' water (water at cellular level rather than water that flies every where when you turn) to escape than a piece that isn't boiled.

robo hippy
Click to expand...

Well, not a good guess. Bound water, as the FPL "Bible" says, involves bonding at the molecular level. Polar water molecules to cellulosic sugars. Sap/water from green turned/soaked pieces is just present in the vessels and to some degree the lumens of the cells as if in a container. The centrifugal action of turning overcomes its adhesion inside the vessels and flings it directly onto the iron top of the tablesaw you forgot to cover. :mad:

For those not familiar, the LDD "method" involves bulking of the surface by addition of a triol - glycerol - which evaporates much slower than the water in which it's mixed. The loss of bound water, which initiates shrinkage, helps keep the surface expanded, as glycerol is highly hygroscopic. It's what kept Madge's hands soft. Where cracks don't start, they don't grow.
 
robo hippy said:
I don't know if boiling helps the wood to dry faster or not. I have observed air drying of my bowls compared to air drying after they have been LDD (liquid dishwashing detergent soak), and though the soaked ones come out a bit heavier, it doesn't seem to change the drying time. I would guess that the boiling makes it easier for the 'bound' water (water at cellular level rather than water that flies every where when you turn) to escape than a piece that isn't boiled.

robo hippy
Click to expand...

Have you found that bowls are less likely to develop cracks using the LDD method? Especially for woods that are more prone to. Also what type of soap do you use and how long do you soak them for?
 
I once turn all of my bowls, so green turned to final thickness. I probably did 500 or so with DNA soaking when I first heard about that, and then tried the LDD when I heard about it. I did a 'test' where I turned and dried 3 bowl sets, one air dried, one DNA soaked, the other LDD soaked. Other than the soaked ones being slightly heavier when coming out of the soaking, there was no measurable difference in drying time or warping. There could be differences in the twice turned bowls, but I haven't tried them. The DNA soaked bowls were more difficult to sand out, almost feeling 'harder'. The LDD ones are much easier to sand out, which is probably because of the soap. Air dried were in between. The LDD soak was developed by Ron Kent to help deal with the pitch in the Norfolk Island Pine bowls that he used to do. I still soak most of my bowls, but have been playing again with just air dried. Anyway, the soak is half water, half hand dishwashing detergent. The Kirkland brown stuff from Costco was the preferred brand. I was using lemon Joy. There are a couple of clear ones out now. The blue and green ones will tint your wood. The soap does pull some color out of the wood, as the solution is colored after a soak. It really brings out the red in Madrone which I don't get by air drying. I don't soak black walnut any more, well don't turn that any more either because it is starting to bother me. 24 hour or so soak, rinse off, air dry. You can't rinse out all of the bubbles, but just get the thick stuff off. Even if some of it is left on, if it gets on your sanding discs, they clean up easily with the rubber sticks. Eventually when the soap solution is too dark, I find an ant hill.... or weed patch.

robo hippy
 
Getting back to the original question, I have not ponded any logs or blanks but I met an old time Adirondack pack basket maker that always stored his Ash logs in a stream to keep them from breaking down. He kept them in line with the flowing water. He said the water kept the wood workable so that he could more easily separate the growth layers to make into strips which he also kept in water to keep them supple for weaving. He was a very interesting and skilled craftsman and artist. I have to believe there was something to it or he would not waste his time.
 
Ponding..or more appropriately Barreling

I recently acquired A LOT of maple, too much to deal with right away. So I cut up everything to blanks and managed to rough turn about half (50 or so). The rest I put in a 55 gallon drum with gallon of Liquid Dishwashing Detergent and maybe 20 gallons of water. Yesterday I rough turned the first 15" bowl from that lot. There was a small amount of "slime" or "mildew culture" on it and some staining. The water needs to be changed I am sure because it has been a couple of months. Over all the wood turned well and the staining turned away. The smell was reminiscent of old maple and detergent (hope that goes away). After originally reading this I thought it warranted wearing a full respirator while turning, just in case. No visible defects was observed and the wood "seemed" to turn just as it did when freshly cut. This method worked for me. I will continue to go through the rest of this lot and may use this process if I fall into another LARGE batch like this.
Hope this helps and not confuses.
-Ted
 
Ted Moore said:
I recently acquired A LOT of maple, too much to deal with right away. So I cut up everything to blanks and managed to rough turn about half (50 or so). The rest I put in a 55 gallon drum with gallon of Liquid Dishwashing Detergent and maybe 20 gallons of water. Yesterday I rough turned the first 15" bowl from that lot. There was a small amount of "slime" or "mildew culture" on it and some staining. The water needs to be changed I am sure because it has been a couple of months. Over all the wood turned well and the staining turned away. The smell was reminiscent of old maple and detergent (hope that goes away). After originally reading this I thought it warranted wearing a full respirator while turning, just in case. No visible defects was observed and the wood "seemed" to turn just as it did when freshly cut. This method worked for me. I will continue to go through the rest of this lot and may use this process if I fall into another LARGE batch like this.
Hope this helps and not confuses.
-Ted
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this, Ted. We get so much maple here in the Puget Sound, that this approach may be what I need to follow. When you change the water, you might want to try adding a few ounces of bleach -- not enough to affect the color but, perhaps, enough to prevent unwanted organisms from thriving.

I have several freshly cut half-round chunks that were cut 2 days after felling, which I Anchorsealed and kept in the shop -- they developed mildew/mold within a couple weeks, living on the Anchorseal.
 
Surface Spores and other Fungis

Jamie Straw said:
Thanks for posting this, Ted. We get so much maple here in the Puget Sound, that this approach may be what I need to follow. When you change the water, you might want to try adding a few ounces of bleach -- not enough to affect the color but, perhaps, enough to prevent unwanted organisms from thriving.

I have several freshly cut half-round chunks that were cut 2 days after felling, which I Anchorsealed and kept in the shop -- they developed mildew/mold within a couple weeks, living on the Anchorseal.
Click to expand...

I believe it is the excess sugars inherent in most maple that cause the quick surface mold/mildew. Probably the same reason spalting is so easy in maple. I too have had this occurrence from time to time. I wipe the anchorsealed surface down with a rag dampened with a mildicide (the kind meant for fogging cellars or basements) and it clears right up. I don't soak it because I dint want to transfer it unto the wood. That kind of mold/mildew is not terribly dangerous unless you have an allergen (opinion, not a doctor scientist or lawyer).
Maple us quite resilient, so sometimes I add heat in my refrigerator bowl kiln for a week then heat and a fan for two weeks. After that no mold/mildew ever shows up. Probably some good science in there somewhere.
 
I have played with the soap a lot, but haven't noticed that it does anything other than make sanding a lot easier. I do agree with the sugar content in maple making it way more likely to mold. Other than bleach, I don't know what else could be added to the water to keep the wood from molding.

robo hippy
 
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