WOOD DRYING QUESTION

HELLGAP

HELLGAP

Dealer - Purveyor
My neighbour just cut down several tree s one is a manchurian elm . The wood grain looks really good . I got about 6 blocks a couple crotch . How long will it take to dry and should I wax the ends.
 
Wax the ends now and put it aside for two years minimum before slabbing it then leave it dry for another year.

George
 
HELLGAP said:
what kind of wax???
Click to expand...

Check out this thread:
http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/air-drying-wood.html

Also a cheaper solution is several coats of Latex paint, if you don't have any on hand go to the store and buy the clearance miss mixes!

And here is another thought if your wife is like mine she has a bunch of old candles sitting around that have just about burnt up. Take the wax of several of the candles and melt down in a double burner. A word of caution go to the thrift store and buy and old pot Do Not use Mama's boiler and it is best to do outside if possible. After you get a couple of coats of dried latex paint on both ends. Melt the wax in the double boiler and take a throw away brush and paint a liberal coat of the old wax on the ends. Once dried it should seal them up just fine!!!!!!! They used to do studs for building like that back in the 80's. They painted both ends of each stud with a Red wax, in this case it don't matter the color it will be whatever it is when the wax all melts together.

Also not sure about this particular wood but some trees need the barks stripped after a few weeks of drying because of the little bugs that live under them. Once the tree has been cut and begins to dry the bugs are not longer content to live under the bark the will attack the wood, burrowing deeper and deeper looking for moisture I think. Anyway the riun the wood. Pecan is one of those woods as well as Silver leaf maple.
 
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Yes to above.

This is how I AIR-DRY.

I would normally rough cut my wet timber about 1.5” to 2” square if I’m going to use it for handles, then melt candle wax in a empty can and dip the ends to about 1”.

Rough cutting helps to dry out the timber quicker but remember the blanks will shrink, so allow some excess.

I weigh the pieces and record their weight and the date weighed on the individual pieces. As the pieces dry they weigh less and when there is no more change in weight, they will be about as dry as you going to get them. I use digital scales so as to note small weight changes.

In a warm dry airy position, I then layer stack the dipped timber, ½" or so apart to allow air flow.

I periodically weigh random pieces, after about 6 months, to see if all is going well. As 12 months approach, weigh more often.

The drying process should take about 12 months for a 1" thick piece, under ideal situations. Old "rule of thumb" is 12 months for every 1" thickness.

Cheers....Thev.
 
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