Drying straight grained spalted maple

[weo]

Hello all. I know the standard advice is that after harvesting straighter grained chunks with spalting into 12"+ long pieces, wax the ends and allow a year of drying for each inch of thickness, but I'm wondering if that is really necessary?
I've noticed that on other pieces that I've cut and stacked for firewood the smaller pieces 8"-12" long have little or no splitting checking, even when stacked normally for firewood. I do live in the western foothills of Mt Rainier where it is very wet and rainy throughout 8-9 months of the year. Did I just get lucky, or do shorter straight grained pieces check/split less than longer ones?
Thanks

 

[Burl Source]

The reason why end checking occurs is because the moisture escapes from the wood faster from the end grain.
Living in Western Washington it is usually damp so the drying process is slowed down quite a bit.
You have a lot more flexibility with drying wood than most places.
Wood with unsealed end grain might dry intact for you, but then again it might not.
My suggestion is that if you choose not to seal the endgrain, be sure to leave extra length just in case it does start to check. That way you could trim away the checks and still salvage the wood.
If you want to play it safe then seal the end grain, stack and sticker the pieces and let it dry slowly where it will be protected from the weather.

 

[Randydb]

I have cut and dried spalted maple for a couple slab table bases, native american flutes, and for staves for a drum. The first batch I did was without sealing the ends. The softer spalted maple that was further into the decay process cracked very little as it dried. But of course it was getting somewhat punky. The other pieces that were still fairly solid all had some degree of checking. The second batch I did I painted the ends on the pieces. I still had a small amount of checking on a few pieces, but much less than un painted. I paint the end on everything now.

How long it takes to dry is effected by many factors. The year/inch thick is just a rule of thumb. If you have it inside in a slightly warm garage it is likely going to dry quicker than if it is sitting under your porch on the west coast. I bought this moisture meter https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....VUG1-Ch1yeQCxEAYYASABEgKuBPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds and tested it against a very expensive one a neighbour has. It was close....within half a percent of the expensive one. Leaves pinholes in my wood, but it is worth it for what I need. Living on the west coast I have been told that dry is between 10-12%. When I get close to 12% I bring it inside for a couple months and then use it. So far, no major problems.
I don't know how to predict which will split. I had some very straight cherry and apple that I painted the ends on. They cracked and checked so badly I didn't have any useable wood at all and threw them out.

 

[Britt_Askew]

I've noticed that on other pieces that I've cut and stacked for firewood the smaller pieces 8"-12" long have little or no splitting checking

It dosent take much moisture to swell the wood and make a crack invisible , Its a good chance your wood does have cracks and if you put the wood into a heated enviroment you will start seeing the cracks when the moisture is gone.

 

[Jonathans]

Weo, Check online for alcohol drying of wood. Very simple and effective, especially fir smaller pieces.
When I was turning bowls I coud dry a green bowl blank in two to three weeks.