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What's the best way to dry out a blade |
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Lightzy
Super Member Joined: 09/18/2017 Location: T-A Status: Offline Points: 345 |
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Posted: 09/20/2017 at 6:54pm |
What's the best way to to pull moisture out of the wood without harming anything?
To pack it with desiccant sachets from medicine bottles? little sachets of rice? to blow dry it? put it in an oven overnight? blowtorch or nuclear fission? What do you guys recommend. Also, is there anything one could do when changing rubbers (when the rubbers are off) to wick away moisture from the blade effectively without damaging it? Is it even feasible to draw the moisture from the blade before it warps? Suppose I play in a very humid environment or my blade got wet when I water-cleaned the rubber. I don't want it to get water-logged and have to replace it if I can avoid it. Edited by Lightzy - 09/20/2017 at 11:40pm |
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iamj8
Super Member Joined: 09/11/2009 Location: NZ Status: Offline Points: 429 |
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My hands don't sweat much but my country has pretty wet winters so the moisture in the air sometimes makes my blade handles feel damp. Usually they dry on their own sitting in my bat case but lately I've been leaving a desiccant packet in my bat case which ensures they're always dry before play as I sometimes play on consecutive days.
Edited by iamj8 - 09/21/2017 at 3:46pm |
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wchilton
Beginner Joined: 01/06/2015 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Definitely don't use a Kutchen oven! Temperature control for ovens is not precise at all and will burn it up. First question is, why do you think your blade needs drying? Wood will naturally contain some moisture content (6 to 8 %) and if you get it "bone dry" it's just going to absorb water from the atmosphere until it's back to its equilibrium point. As wood ages, it gradually prefers less and less moisture. As far as drying, I would remove the rubber sheets and leave it in the back seat of a car for a few days (not on the dash) to get it dry initially. Don't try to dry it out too fast or too much. Wood tends to shrink as it dries and that can result in warping. If you try blow drying, keep it on low heat.
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Lightzy
Super Member Joined: 09/18/2017 Location: T-A Status: Offline Points: 345 |
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Exactly my question there wchilton.
How to remove excess moisture from a blade before it warps, without causing it to warp by the drying process :) I suppose the best way is to put it in a very dry atmosphere, but the problem is that I got some water on it by accident and it probably swallowed it up and now I'm trying to figure out how to reverse the process to even a small degree. Afraid leaving it in the car as you said would destroy it because where I live is one of the hottest places there are :) Anything in the car reaches burn-your-hand temperatures come noon |
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wchilton
Beginner Joined: 01/06/2015 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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If it's gotten so wet you're afraid of warping as it dries, I'd put it between a couple of sheets of plywood and put a little weight on it (a couple of books) to keep it flat, then just give it some time. You could put a fan on it while it's drying under that bit of pressure. I would flip the boards every day or so as well to put the damp side outward as the plywood absorbs moisture. I wasn't sure what you were wanting to achieve. Thought you might just be trying to get the blade to shed a few grams from water-based glue.
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stiltt
Assistant Admin Joined: 07/15/2007 Location: Location Status: Offline Points: 1009 |
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Welcome wchilton please accept the unofficial best content trophy of the day.
I liked when you wrote about the moisture finding its way back in eventually. Ross Leidy wrote about this here a while ago and it was a nice ode to the living wood.
I have experimented leaving blades close to the furnace in winter and they shed a lot, played crispier without getting harder afterwards and I liked them better but it's not a factor when we want to play better or is it? |
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HuLimei
Super Member Joined: 07/10/2017 Location: BTY Factory Status: Offline Points: 276 |
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Dry out a blade?
You should BUY A NEW ONE every time one gets wet. |
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Baal
Forum Moderator Joined: 01/21/2010 Location: unknown Status: Offline Points: 14336 |
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Buy a product called Drierite or DampRid on Amazon or Walmart online. These are anhydrous calcium chloride dessicants (drying agents) similar to what we use in labs to store things in dry conditions. Also buy a large air tight mason jar big enough to hold the blade. Put about three inches deep of dessicant in the jar, put your blade in, close tne jar, and wait a week.
There are many similar products. Search for anhydrous calcium chloride dessicant. Some come with a dye tnat turns blue when the dessicant has absorbed as much water is it can, which means you have to replace the dessicant (more expensive with thecdye). These are much stronger than silica gel. Drierite is whatcwe use in my lab. This is safe, non toxic and won't damage the wood. It is what most chemists would recommend. Don't use heat. |
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wchilton
Beginner Joined: 01/06/2015 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Thank you, Fatt, for the kind words. I don't know if drier wood actually plays any better. It will have slightly different properties. Drying should make it a little lighter and slightly harder with increased stiffness. What you've observed is about what I'd expect, but it leads back to the question "what do you prefer?". There are a few blades on the market made of wood that has been "fired" or heat treated in some way. What this type of treatment does is to accelerate the aging process so that the wood tends to pull less moisture from the atmosphere and its equilibrium state will be at a lower water content than untreated wood. If heat treated wood were so superior to untreated wood that it actually improved one's game, then everyone (especially the pros) would be buying paddles made of that material and manufacturers would have a lot more blades made of it to feed the demand...I haven't seen that. In other competitive activities you'll notice that most of the top participants use the same equipment because there really is some advantage. That's not something I'm aware of in table tennis (at least for the blade) so to me it's an indication that no blade is obviously "the best". In your case, drying your blade resulted in a positive (for you) change to it's characteristics. Your method is simple, costs nothing, is non-destructive, and is probably reversible if someone were to try it and not like the result.
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Baal
Forum Moderator Joined: 01/21/2010 Location: unknown Status: Offline Points: 14336 |
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The wood will be in equilibrium with water in the air. If you dry it out, over time the wood will reabsorb water from the atmosphere depending on prevailing humidity. I can see howca drier blade might feel just a bit harder, but I doubt it would affect play much. This is the first time I have heard that the "burnt" or fired woods absorb less water. Learn something new everyday.
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shogrran
Member Joined: 02/02/2012 Location: Makati Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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i have excessive sweating. I think its a disorder or a condition i have
to live with. The handle and the winglets literally bathe in sweat
after training or game play. The wood would normally be in equilibrium
with the atmosphere as people already pointed out but it is different
for people like me. If youve accidentally stored your blade moist and
tried playing the next day its how it always will feel when its soaked in sweat. Mushy feeling. What i do is i remove the rubbers and put it for a very short period in just plain air and sunlight. Not too much heat and sunlight and not prolonged. Its the same method a friends dad does for his fancy guitars. Makes the wood drier and crisp instead of soaked plywood feel. If youre rich enough get two blades of the same type. One you have drying out... The other you play with for the day. Then swap daily or every other day. |
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TwiddleDee
Super Member Joined: 12/27/2011 Status: Offline Points: 141 |
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I am curious to know if anyone who experiences this problem, has ever sealed the handle and wings of their new blade with Emmett's Good Stuff prior to playing with it and, if so, did it help or have no effect on the wood absorbing sweat.
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Reaper
Super Member Joined: 01/11/2016 Location: Colombia Status: Offline Points: 108 |
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I have the same problem... I ask for sealed blade when i order online or I seal it myself with some spray varnish, also use grip tape to avoid soaking the handle (thick spongy bicycle handle bar tape is my favorite so far). I put those silica packets found in new stuff in the cacase after playing and seems to work ok. If its too mushy i dry it in the sun at noon for a couple of hours, i live in the caribbean so it gets hot/dry quick
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igorponger
Premier Member Joined: 07/29/2006 Location: Everywhere Status: Offline Points: 3252 |
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10% is the mark level.
After being imported from Africa, the logs would be kept inside a shed for three years. Natural drying is the best. Stiga Tranas woodworking factory waiting till intrawood moisture down to 10%. Device to tell you remaining moisture by entering a niddle into the wooden thing. chjna sells a variety of devices at cheap. Be happy all. |
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