drying slab cut wood?

[Birdman]

don't know if this is the right place to put this but here goes. I have several trees(2 maple, 2 cherry,1 hickory) on my property that I want to cut down. Each of these splits into several trunks(upwards of 12 to 13inch in dia) a couple feet after leaveing the ground(the stump would be one piece). If after felling the separate trunks, I cut a couple slabs horizontaly across the stumps I think they may have some nice grain(because of the multiple trunks). I would like to use them eventually for country(primative type table tops. Ok my question is "how do I go about drying these slabs" so they don't check/split/crack all to heck) I would like to try n keep them as solid as possable if ya get my drift.Do I coat the faces with something to slow their drying process and what might I use n how do I apply it? I'm not worried about tradition here just keeping the wood whole. Modern solutions are fine with me at this point. I'm going to try n cut the slabs about three inchs thick or would that make a difference? Right now I've got no clue so any n all info will help. The trees are still standing so this is a near future project. The trees are threatening wires n an out building, thats why they need to come down, I'll replace them with dogwoods, redbuds, persimmons and maybe even a pine or two. thanks much YMHS Birdman

 

[gmww]

I just wanted to say Good idea in using your trees for something. I've always like the idea myself. You might also consider keeping some of the smaller branches for things like knife handles, axe handles, and the list goes on. How about a photo of the trees to give an idea for those in the know to come up with some possible ideas on where to cut to get the best figure in the wood? :thumbsup:

 

[bwhoffman]

used to have astock maker acquaintence.
First rule was do not let the tree or parts thereof go "TIMBER!" and slam to the ground. They need to be layed down gently! to avoid shock cracks.
ends are sealed with wax after being slabbed out.
They are stacked on level surface with about a 1 inch air gap between them and left to dry for a couple 2 or 3 years, maybe longer.
...and there is no guaranty that they will dry out as usable!
I think no shock, sealing the ends and giving it time, is the best info I can pass on!

 

[Walks Alone]

You're going to have your hands full trying to dry thin slabs of trunk sections without stress cracks and checking. There's a lot of end grain surface in thin slices and not much meat to hold it together as the cells collapse during drying. In these thin slabs with such a large percentage of the slab exposed end grain, they will initially loose a large portion of the woods moisture content quite fast and that too will promote cracking. Most wood is best cured slowly at first, then gradually and evenly over time, whether air drying or kiln drying. So without some work and expense on your part, they are probably going to crack and warp and end up useless.

Best bet would be to cut your trees into slabs while still cold in your area and slowly bring the slabs up to the room temperature naturally where you plan to store them (with no added heat or air circulation). Once they get to room temperature, put them in a large pan where you can completely submerse them in something like Pentacryl or Polyethylene Glycol (PEG). These products replace the "water" in the woods cells and help to stabilize them as they dry. Soak each of them for a few minutes per inch of thickness and then stack them with stickers that will allow good natural air flow to as much of the surface as possible. Take a lot of time stacking to make sure they are as well supported as possible with the fewest number of stickers. Also helps to stack them on a strong support with added weight on the top of the stack. Don't forget the stickers under the bottom of the stack and under the added weight. You want all of the slabs to have good circulation around them. Extra effort getting them stacked right will make a big difference in the outcome. Don't use artificial heat or air circulation and sit in for the wait until they stabilize and dry to the moisture content you can live with in your area.

Biggest down side to this is the cost of the Pentacryl or PEG, but it will probably give you your best shot at ending up with some cured slabs that are mostly free of cracks, checks and warping.

FWIW, I've air dried my own woods for decades for use in crafts, most of it very highly figured and a lot of it exotic species I get directly from the sawyers in the country the wood grows in. Depends on species, blank size and the moisture content of the wood when I get it, but some take as long as a dozen years to dry naturally even here on the desert. When I learned about Pentacryl, it sure made my woods ready for use a lot quicker.

HTH,

WA

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I would seal the ends of the wood and maybe an inch or so down from the ends with a good heavy coat of Elmer's glue prior to air drying it. I wouldn't waste any time doing so either. Like brett said; there is no guarantee. Good luck.

Ogre

 

[jethro224]

I don't have an answer, but another question.

Would it work better to cut longer sections, seal the ends and let the whole chunk dry before cutting into slabs?

 

[Birdman]

ok some added info if some were confused by what I'm trying. I'm not cutting the trunks into slabs. What I want to cut is a horizontal section off the top of the stump that is left after I cut the trees down. That glycol idea sounds like a maybe, I'm wondering how deep it will penitrate n what problems it might give me later on with putting a finish on the wood, questions questions questions ARRRRGH its driving me nuts n thats a real short trip LOL hadn't thought of slabing the trunks as well, hmmmm something to ponder. aw jeeze more questions to ponder, I'm getten a headach. If ya know of any other web sites I might get some info from please feel free to mention them, right now everything is in the idea stage thanks again YMHS Birdman

 

[Bountyhunter]

Go to town.

Find your County Extension Agent.

Ask him bring in your appropriate State Forester, probably one that specializes in marketing and wood products, then get as much info as possible from your local area expert. I am suspecting that they will recommend using PEG, which is polyethelyneglycol. I have used it in the past to prevent splitting, I dont remember what it did to coloration though. Ask the people who make their living in that area. Oh, it is a free service, you have already paid their expenses with your taxes. Didnt know that didja? Provided to you by the good folks at Penn State.

 

[paulvallandigham]

By all means consult your State Forestry department. The guys love to help out small land owners wit these kinds of projects.

I understand what you are trying to do. Some of the tables made from cross cut slabs can be very expensive. I saw some redwood coffee tables for sale years ago, for big bucks, here in Illinois, made from 4 inch thick slabs cut from the stumps of redwood trees already harvested for their lumber. The man told me he could often get as many as 5-8 slabs before his saw was cutting dirt, and the lower he cut, the larger the slab, and more ornate it appeared. He was coating the entire slab in epoxy resin, after polishing the upper surface. You would have to have a large living room or den to fit one of these tables into your home, and have 6 men and a boy to move it into and out of your house! He left the bark on the slab, BTW, and it truly added rustic charm to the whole table. I don't recall exactly how the legs were made, but they were from raw Redwood, too. If the PEG won't do it, and you want the bark left on the slab, for character, or you fear that the splits between the two trunks might widen during the drying process, you might consider coating the cracks between the trunks, and then the bark with epoxy resin to seal it and lock it to the rest of the wood. The other think I have seen with this type of furniture are cleats made of " Bow Ties " or wood made from some contrasting color of wood, used to hold two edges together that otherwise would split and collapse the entire table top.

 

[Tkendrick]

Talk to one of the tech advisors at Craft Supplies USA in Provo Utah 1-800-551-8876, or Penn State Industries in Philadelphia 1-800-656-4767. These guys work almost exclusively with lathe projects.

I do a lot of wood turning on a lathe, and getting raw wood to dry without cracking is critical in that game.

(You haven't lived til you have a 2 ft long chunk of 6X6 walnut come off the spindles at 3600 rpm) :shocked2:

I have had good luck with Elmer's, and regular parafin for smaller stuff, but expect you're gonna need to get some high tek stuff for this kind of project. I don't think leaving it on the stump is going to work, but I might be wrong, like I said, never worked with anything quite that big before.

 

[Walks Alone]

...What I want to cut is a horizontal section off the top of the stump that is left after I cut the trees down.

That would be called a slab. :rotf:

That glycol idea sounds like a maybe, I'm wondering how deep it will penitrate n what problems it might give me later on with putting a finish on the wood...

As I said, soak for a few minutes per inch thickness of the slab and it will pretty much penetrate all the wood.

Pentacryl is non toxic and when dry will not effect whatever finish you want to use.

Guess it would have been easier for both of us if I had just posted... there are hundreds of websites that have information about drying and stabilizing wood. And many that will tell you all about Pentacryl and PEG. All it takles is doing a search on your part to find more information than you probably care to know.

 

[mazo kid]

Over the last few years I have had to cut a few walnut trees in my yard. I hauled the first 3 over to a local sawmill. The last couple, I had a portable mill come in and they cut the trees into 1-1/4" and 2-1/2" X 8" boards. I have had them air drying for nearly 3 years now, after painting the end grains. It takes about a year per inch of thickness here in Wis. to dry. I have them stacked and stickered in an unheated outbuilding. They have dried straight with not too much end checking; I didn't get the ends painted right away. I've used a couple of the 1 inch boards and there is some fiddleback in some of them; I'm hoping for some nice grain in the thicker planks. Emery

 

[Runner]

When cutting wood to turn on the lathe, one of the things they do is spray it or soak it in a tub of water with a good detergent in it before drying it. The soap in some way helps stop cracking. How is not agreed apon.