Drying Tree Branches

K

Ken_M

Joined
Jul 10, 1999
Messages
9
I recently trimmed a tree in my area and got a couple of branches to fool around with. Was gonna dry it naturally and know that it takes about a year or two to dry out properly, but was wondering what to use to seal the ends up. Some people were telling me to use regular paint and others were saying there is a special paint for that purposes. Was wondering what you folks use in the knife world and/or what you recommend. Also where I could get these in question. Can I get locally you think?

thanks
Ken
 
Melt some wax, cover both ends of the piece, strip the bark off and cover the entire piece with dry sawdust. It usually takes at least one year per inch of thickness to dry. If you can't wait that long, have it cut into strips or blocks the size you want to use and cover them in a box full of sawdust. Do the sawdust thing indoors in a cool dry area.
 
I forgot to mention that i once tried paint on the ends of some logs and stripped the bark off, sat them in the basement without covering in sawdust and they split wide open because moisture escaped very rapidly. Good luck!
 
Ken,I do the same thing.I trim trees for a living and im always bringing branches home.
I bring them down with my buck draw knife and then engrave and stain them.There also from dead trees or the branch was already dead.Ive tried drying them over and over again, and get the same outlook, they split.You can try striping just the bark off without cutting into the sap wood"THE WET SLIMMY LAYER UNDER THE BARK"and then with a sharp knife cut some slits from one end to the other.This should help it dry a little faster.
goodluck,
Jay
 
Try to cover the open ends of the logs with water resistant wood glue, eventually thinned with water. Leave the bark on and store the logs outside in a cool, but not too dry place. My sister, she is a restaurator specialized in wood and paper, told me that if the place is too dry, chances are good that the wood will be eaten up by woodworms and other insects.

Achim
 
Thanks folks,

This weekend I have been trying the wax on the ends methhod. Bought some wax, a cheap pot and some cheap brushes. Melted the wax and painted ends. Left the bark on though, as I had trouble finding sawdust and haven't made it to the lumber store yet. Is that bad? But took your folks advice and did all that and stored it in a cool dry area. We'll see what happens in one year or so.

Thanks
Ken
 
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