: Yes, GREAT info, thanks! But why do wood turners need to dry out
: soaked cedar????????

Turning starts with wet wood - it's just much easier to get a fast start without destroying your tool edges. Turning green/wet wood is a blast - the shavings come off in long streams, the water sprays out, you will actually find that your hands get cold!

After you rough out a piece you have to reduce the water content so that the piece stops "moving" and stabilizes. There are lots of ways to do this, but the alcohol method is pretty fast and doesn't tend to split or damage the wood.

Other methods include packing the piece in sawdust to sit for months, wrapping the outside of a hollow vessel in brown paper and letting it dry out through the inside, and even microwaving small pieces to boil out the water.