Wood Seasoning...

[SamuraiDave]

Been a while since I have started a new thread...
Anyways,
So my father is limbing a Oak tree that was planted when I was about 5. It is my wish to save some parts of this limb to make handles out of it. Perhaps finish out a kitchen set with it (or maybe just make a block or khuks). The portion of the limb that I think will have the coolest grain will be the crotch of the 10" diameter branches he is removing.

Now, How do I set this thing up to season it so that it dosent crack and ruin my potentially really cool handles? Do I peel all the bark off and seal the ends? Do I seal the ends and leave the bark where it is?

And please no puns about seasoning wooden crotches with wax.:foot:

 

[C.S. Graves]

A local woodcarver would season his wood in a sort of plastic tent with an opening he could make larger or smaller depending on the level of warping or cracking that might show up. Mind you, I hear proper seasoning takes years, depending on the size of the bits of wood.

 

[Sutcliffe]

Sorry!
I'd leave the bark on and seal the ends with parraffin. It will probably take a few years, but it should do the trick.
I heard of guys who use old refridgerators and leave a 100 wat lightbulb on as a heat source that speeds up the process a little.

 

[TomFetter]

With boards, the rule of thumb is one year per inch of thickness. Don't dry them too quickly (i.e. in a hot, sunny place), or the outside of the wood will lose moisture faster than the inside ... prompting cracks.

As others have said, painting the ends with wax helps - 'cause moisture can go out through the end grain much more quickly than through the rest of the board ... prompting cracks from the ends. A sawyer I know doesn't bother with wax, he'll just use thick leftover latex paint, or shellac. Either works for trying to seal those pores in the end grain.

And yes, take the bark off. It will season more quickly, and you'll be less likely to have rot pockets form, or insect damage.

FWIW, while limb wood is fine for handles etc., it tends to move around with changes in humidity more than wood from the trunk of a tree ... because the wood was unevenly stressed by the weight of the branch itself as it grew. The limb grew in compression on one side, and in extension on the other, so it can tend to twist ...

t.

 

[munk]

That makes sense about the stressed limbs, Tom. Thank you for that bit of data.



munk

 

[Fiddleback]

With boards, the rule of thumb is one year per inch of thickness. Don't dry them too quickly (i.e. in a hot, sunny place), or the outside of the wood will lose moisture faster than the inside ... prompting cracks.

As others have said, painting the ends with wax helps - 'cause moisture can go out through the end grain much more quickly than through the rest of the board ... prompting cracks from the ends. A sawyer I know doesn't bother with wax, he'll just use thick leftover latex paint, or shellac. Either works for trying to seal those pores in the end grain.

And yes, take the bark off. It will season more quickly, and you'll be less likely to have rot pockets form, or insect damage.

FWIW, while limb wood is fine for handles etc., it tends to move around with changes in humidity more than wood from the trunk of a tree ... because the wood was unevenly stressed by the weight of the branch itself as it grew. The limb grew in compression on one side, and in extension on the other, so it can tend to twist ...

t.

Wow!! Great 411 here Tom. I didn't know any of it.

I paint the ends. But, I've got a pile waiting, and have cut up none of it. I did cut up a section of slippery elm HD sent me. It was pretty fun. I've got some dogwood I saved when one of my trees died a few years back.

 

[TomFetter]

... and if you've got a few boards, then be sure to stack them so that the air can move all through the pile. Put down a 2X4 every 2 or 3 feet, and lay your first row of boards across them. Then, above the 2X4s, lay small cross pieces (I use pieces of lath, or stuff ripped from old 3/4" thick fence boards), for an air space between the first and second layer of boards. Continue stacking the same way, as high as you want to go.

So long as these "sticker" pieces all line up vertically one over the other, the boards are likely to dry without twists and winds - held down by the weight of the layers above them. On the very top, my sawyer friend tends to put 2X4 cross pieces again, in line with the stickers, and weight these down with bits of stump or rocks.

 

[spiraltwista]

). The portion of the limb that I think will have the coolest grain will be the crotch of the 10" diameter branches he is removing.

:

Oak cotch is very tricky, very likely to split, lots of reaction wood lsame as branches or leaning trees,needs to be ripped throgh the double pith heart as early as possible, then end sealed, pva glue is better than wax at slowing moistere loss.

What rate of growth was it , slow grown might work but if its like 4 or 5 rings per inch it will rip apart like a grenade.

If you then put the timber in large sacks of dry wood shavings, hay, or paper, & once a week or so throw out the filler material & replace it, over a few years, {say a year per inch. thickness.} you will get the best result.

The filler material wicks the moisture from the surface timber, & after all most cracks occur due to surface drying while the inner timber is still wet.

This is how small chunks of crotch & specialist hard to dry timbers like box & ebony were dried for specialist tool & cutlery handles in both England & southern europe for many centuries.

Spiral

 

[rlshirk]

Oak cotch is very tricky, very likely to split,
Spiral

White oak is the worst for checking , nearly impossible to dry without some sort of cracks . Must be kept awat from direct sunlight and stong breezes as they will cause cracks to open up . If you are doing small chunks you can put them in your freezer for a year or so and that will safetly dry them some . An alternative to packing in wood shavings for small pieces is to wrap them in a cloth towel and seal them in a plastic bag . Change the towel when it gets wet , about every day for awhile .
Hope this helps too ,
Rodney

 

[Patrickknives]

I do alot of oak and the main point is keep the pieces long. Cracks will form at the end but will not go far. I use the chainsaw to cut rough about 2' thick by setting a whole log on other logs and cut down the length. Do not cut all the way to the end so the boards stay together until you get them all cut, just easier to handle. I paint the ends which any cheap paint I have around. I do paint really well the seal the end grain. You should get more than enough for may knife handles.