Another way to help determine the dryness is a small postal
scale that will weigh in grams. You can easily check a gourd every
4-6 hours, and as long as the weight is dropping, there is still
moisture present. The progress of weight loss will begin to slow
down, and eventually will remain unchanged, at which point you know
the moisture is gone.
The dryness is important, if you are leaving
your gourd uncut, and you wish to pyroengrave or paint it, and there
is still moisture, you will find a host of problems occurring to your
work, it can flake of, become spotty, etc. If you are going to cut
your gourd open to make a box, bowl, vase, or other open items, you
can cut the gourd open as soon as you hear the seeds, without having
a problem with it, and that brings us to the next step:
| When
drying a green gourd in the oven, keep your temperatures below
200 degree’s. Water boils at 212, creating steam, and
steam creates a powerful pressure in an enclosed environment.
with a sealed and uncut gourd, steam pressure can cause the
gourd to explode in your oven, creating a mess you don’t
even want to think about!!! |
|