- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
First a short background so you guys can know what I am talking about.
Just over 3 years ago I had posted some large 30+lbs blocks of fresh cut Madrone Burl for sale in the exchange.
A couple forum members expressed concern about the difficulty in drying green Madrone.
Instead of addressing their concerns in the spirit they were expressed, I got defensive.
That was wrong.
My apologies to Randy Dewey and Larry Davis.
I behaved poorly and am sorry. When I found the old thread today my first thought was "What an Ass", meaning me.
My Thank You is to Chuck Bybee.
He had suggested wrapping the burl in plastic pallet wrap and letting it sit before attempting to dry the wood.
I thought I knew better since I work in a Burl Yard and all that stuff.
So.....I cut up some of the burl into oversized blocks and let it air dry for about a year.
There was some movement and cracking so while I got a number of good blocks, I had a lot of waste as well.
I also wrapped a couple of the big chunks in plastic and stored them away and forgot about them as Chuck had suggested.
Three years later I remembered the chunks when my boss had me clear out a room I had been using as storage.
I unwrapped one of the chunks and it was wet and slimy inside. Next I cut the chunk into slabs, then blocks and put them in my drying room/dehumidification kiln. Basically forced air, a wire rack and dehumidifier. A few weeks later the wood looked like it was drying quickly without any cracking and minimal movement. A couple months later and even the thick chunks are at about 10% moisture content.
Chuck's method worked out best of any way I have ever tried. Plus, the way he suggested his method was something like "this might be something to try, just as a different way to do it".
This is a block of the madrone burl back when it was fresh cut.
This is one of the blocks still wrapped in a few layers of pallet wrap plastic.
This is some of the now dry blocks cut from one of the wrapped chunks.
Thank You to all of you who have put up with me in the early days. Seems that the more I learn, the less defensive I become.
Just over 3 years ago I had posted some large 30+lbs blocks of fresh cut Madrone Burl for sale in the exchange.
A couple forum members expressed concern about the difficulty in drying green Madrone.
Instead of addressing their concerns in the spirit they were expressed, I got defensive.
That was wrong.
My apologies to Randy Dewey and Larry Davis.
I behaved poorly and am sorry. When I found the old thread today my first thought was "What an Ass", meaning me.
My Thank You is to Chuck Bybee.
He had suggested wrapping the burl in plastic pallet wrap and letting it sit before attempting to dry the wood.
I thought I knew better since I work in a Burl Yard and all that stuff.
So.....I cut up some of the burl into oversized blocks and let it air dry for about a year.
There was some movement and cracking so while I got a number of good blocks, I had a lot of waste as well.
I also wrapped a couple of the big chunks in plastic and stored them away and forgot about them as Chuck had suggested.
Three years later I remembered the chunks when my boss had me clear out a room I had been using as storage.
I unwrapped one of the chunks and it was wet and slimy inside. Next I cut the chunk into slabs, then blocks and put them in my drying room/dehumidification kiln. Basically forced air, a wire rack and dehumidifier. A few weeks later the wood looked like it was drying quickly without any cracking and minimal movement. A couple months later and even the thick chunks are at about 10% moisture content.
Chuck's method worked out best of any way I have ever tried. Plus, the way he suggested his method was something like "this might be something to try, just as a different way to do it".
This is a block of the madrone burl back when it was fresh cut.
This is one of the blocks still wrapped in a few layers of pallet wrap plastic.
This is some of the now dry blocks cut from one of the wrapped chunks.
Thank You to all of you who have put up with me in the early days. Seems that the more I learn, the less defensive I become.
