Texas Shillelagh

B

bobs1415

Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
271
About six weeks ago, I was walking past a pile of limbs cut off a live oak tree. One called out to me, it had the makings of a shillelagh it in. I've kept the limb inside so it would start drying out. Finished removing the bark this past weekend. How long does it need to dry before I can start putting a finish on it? I'm considering the BLO, turpentine, pine tar mixture mentioned on this forum a few months back. Since I live in a swamp (Houston) should I try to accelerate the drying process?
 
Most woods that I want to use for handle materials I let sit for one year per inch of thickness.

I also have a electronic moisture gauge and I send them in for stabilization when they have gotten down to 8-10%.

I don't know how long your branch was sitting before it called to you? I would just let it sit for at least a year in the corner of your garage. You can wrap in brown paper. That will help the process. If you work it to soon, it can split,

Hope some of this helps?
 
The branch had only been cut a few days before I found it. The traditional method of finishing a shillelagh is supposed to be smearing it in butter and keeping it stashed up the chimney for a couple of years. I reckon I'll need to practice patience.
When it does get done, I will post photos.
 
You can wax, paint (or butter) the ends and wait it out for a year or you can try out a similar piece of wood (ie experiment first) in the oven at about 200 degrees for 1/2 day, or so, for 'kiln-dry'. If 'she' doesn't split or crack or curve you can be a little bit more confident about trying to do that with your prize piece. Very little risk if you experiment with expendable branches first.
Good luck!
 
I put the stick in my gun safe. There's small heating rod in there that bring the humidity down a bit. Will now let that sleeping dog lie until next fall. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Have you taken all of the back off, down to sap wood? An efficient way to dry out oak quickly is to leave its cambium on, at let it sit somewhere hot and dry for a while. The inner bark will help regulate the loss of moisture and keep it even and slow over the surface area of the wood.

The biggest oak club I've ever worked was once a 25 year old white oak tree. Dug it up by the root and left it to sit in the garage for 6 months with ALL bark on. Then I took it down to its cambium layer and left it to set for another 6 months. After that, removed all traces of bark, and let sit for another whole year. This was a big guy though, 6 inch wide head, 2.5 inch trunk (eventually slimmed down). The drying time goes up exponentially as the club gets thicker. If you really like the piece, take it slow. I hade a hickory club that I moved too quickly with and it cracked too much to continue.

Don't bother with the whole 'cover in butter and put up chimney' thing. I did however put my clubs in an oil bath (usually just vegetable oil) after finishing them with a nice oil stain. The oil fills in the spaces once filled with water, gives the club its resilience.


John
 
Never heard of the butter and chimney thing learn something new every day. My Grandfathers Shillelagh brought it with him from County Armagh .
 
That's a good looking stick you got there. To be honest, I just read about the butter and chimney thing on the internet...
 
I remember reading one of Jim Hamms books on building bows where he would leave his staves in his pickup in the sun to dry them out.
 
bobs1415 said:
I put the stick in my gun safe. There's small heating rod in there that bring the humidity down a bit. Will now let that sleeping dog lie until next fall. Thanks for the suggestions.
Click to expand...

I'd keep a close eye on the other contents of your gun safe. Depending on the moisture content of the wood it could be more than your gun safe dehumidifier can keep up with. It would be a bad deal to check on the stick in 6 months and find everything else covered with rust.
 
I 've considered building a "drying vault" for air drying axe handles and wonder if this might serve for drying out wood without being too fast and causing splitting. Might get too it in the next month or two.

Nothing more than a frame with plywood sides and door, hanging brackets and a light bulb for the dry heat- something around 25-40watts and monitor the inside temp. A dry 90F.

Maybe 48" long, 12" deep and 18" high.

Anyone tried somehting like this for these purposes?

Bill
 
I would up having second thoughts about the gun safe routine and took it out yesterday. Might send it to a friend in Colorado to be her foster child for a few months.
 
Another option that I've never personally used is Pentacryl. It's a liquid that will push out the water quickly, but will keep the fibers in the wood from cracking. The stuff is supposed to work really well- a lot of woodworkers use it when dealing with 'raw stock', ie freshly cut wood.

John
 
Just leave it inside.

The heater your house has acts as a dehumidifier, the Air Conditioner in the summer does the same thing.

The key point is to dry it slowly so that it doesn't crack or split. However, sometimes it does just that.
i find that it is best to work around these natural imperfections.
That IS what makes it so interesting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top