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Is it better to store wood vertically or horizontally?
It depends a bit on the status of the wood when you store it, but generally it's better to store wood horizontally.
When storing wood, you have to consider three of the major forces at work: moisture, heat, and gravity.
The moisture content of wood is ever-changing, generally starting from an ...
17
It's the former, piling wood in stacks with sticks between them to allow better air flow while also maintaining an even pressure throughout the pieces to limit cupping or warping that occurs during the drying process.
You can't really see the sticks in this photo, but this wood has been stickered:
By edward stojakovic from chicago, United States (Neat ...
9
I think the answer to this is actually both in terms of real-world applications; the ideal is to store all wood and wood products flat, but that's not always possible. And sometimes it's not needed — smaller off-cuts can safely be stored standing upright, as there's little or no risk of them bowing under their own weight.
Solid wood in plank form can ...
8
It would interesting to see a picture of the board to help diagnose what the problem is. However, like Graphus said it is very unlikely that the boards have been properly dried after only three months without using a kiln, especially if it was stacked indoors. Most wood properly stacked and stickered will take at least a year to air dry. Moisture meters ...
8
I was trying to find the answer to something else and realized there was a section in this book called, Modern Woodworking Techniques. It is a conglomeration of articles from the magazine Fine Woodworking. On page 124, they talk about drying your wood. It says that the "old-timers" rule of thumb is a year of air drying per inch of thickness, but ultimately ...
8
It might be a regional issue, but I hadn't heard the term "regularized" in the context of buying lumber. Perhaps that threw off the people at the store, although even if you had asked for S4S (surfaced 4 sides) hardwood lumber, the employees at a home improvement store may or may not have been able to help you.
If wood is "regularized" and not dried, ...
7
What you're talking about is timber-frame construction, and you're on the right track.
I read somewhere it is best to use fairly fresh cut trees for this, to make the hewing easier.
Yup. Green wood is much easier to cut, especially with hand tools.
But how long do I need to dry them afterwards before using? If I just seal and use them directly will I risk ...
7
There's a lot written about the ideal conditions for the workshop but you have to be careful about the source since the figures quoted aren't as universal as sometimes implied or stated, some sources not taking into account very different conditions to theirs (much drier or much damper).
For example it's much damper in the British Isles generally than in ...
7
The broader question here is what steps should one take to preclude spalting when drying wood?
Spalting, as you probably know, is the result of fungal attack on the wood. Wikipedia lists several conditions that need to be met for spalting to occur:
Thus, if you want to preclude spalting, do the opposite of the things listed above.
Since you are ...
6
In most cases I've seen this term in reference to how to stack layers of cut timber/lumber to air dry. Typically, reusable sticks of uniformly cut 'strips' are used to space the wood apart for better air circulation. This is particularly important if/when wood is cut or resawn from green wood where the moisture content can be very high.
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When is [spalting] good for the wood and when isn't it good?
Spalting can provide a lovely patterning to wood that would otherwise be more plain. Please see the image below for an example of spalted maple.
(source)
Maple is usually otherwise fairly plain-looking (assuming it's not figured maple), and the spalting provides a bit of interest in an ...
5
There aren't a lot of pests that eat wood. This page provides a pretty good list, including:
Carpenter ants (see this page for id and control details) are large black ants that nest in structures causing damage.
Dry-rot fungi (see this page for id and control info) attack and weaken wood.
Powderpost beetle (see this page for id and control info) larvae bore ...
5
Is it safe to "bake" these in an oven?
Not really, no. You wouldn't be the first person to try this and you might get away with it as some have in the past, but if it doesn't work as hoped it could lead to the only option being a complete strip and re-finish.
There is a potential health risk involved in doing this in the oven you cook in, but to focus on ...
5
I hate to say it, but wood is not usually predictable down to the millimeter, and your design needs to take that into consideration. For example, when making solid wood panels - these can shrink, warp, twist or cup significantly in the first year after they are manufactured, and will continue to shrink for the next 100 or so years. A design that constrains ...
5
Don't know where you are, but in my area, the wood from big box stores is extremely variable. Finding a specialty supplier will probably yield better results.
To answer your questions:
Wood that hasn't been dried much will probably twist and turn more than wood that has dried. That said, wood commercially dried will frequently be twisted by the time it ...
5
Moisture is the largest contributor to wood spalting, especially maple. However, what you are doing will greatly reduce the risk.
The only wood I have used so far that has spalted when kept in a dry place is my yellow birch. The bark is too good at preventing moisture from leaving the wood.
Maple, especially the small stuff you have (under 6"), ...
5
In general spalting is not good for wood. It is one of the stages of the wood rotting. But spalting in the early stages can add character to a piece of wood. Such as
Turners use spalted wood all the time because of the pretty colors and patterns that arise. In lumber it is more difficult. because logs don't tend to rot evenly, so while you might get ...
5
If you've got a lot to spare, then overdo it. Curves, twists, warps etc will always kill your yield. Flatsawn is apt to be less stable (esp with respect to cupping) than quartersawn.
The milling marks you'll get from the sawmill will have an impact, too. Really rough, and you'll want a bit more thickness in the rough size.
Regarding the final use... short ...
4
I don't know why the board turned green or greenish, but I think I can definitively state that the wood isn't properly dried, or seasoned, and shouldn't have been made into a cutting board yet.
As a rule you work wood 'wet' — also called green wood, not because it is green in colour — or you use it after it is fully seasoned, which is either after a long ...
4
Looks like powder post beetles to me. If that is the case you have some nice firewood. Sorry.
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I haven't tried any of these methods myself but the following is offered up from a quick google search:
Reduce the humidity in the environment of the drying varnish by running a dehumidifier. Pointing a fan at the drying varnish may also help.
Wipe the surface of the varnish lightly with a rag moistened with turpentine or mineral spirits. Don't rub the ...
4
I hand-carved my first Kuksa a month ago from half an ash log.
There's your problem. Kuksa's are best made from a close-grained wood (traditionally birch burl). Ash, being open-grained, is very subject to seepage like you described.
I would like to add that I haven't got this issue with a well-dried beech bowl.
This makes sense since beech is close-...
4
I did some more research and thought I'd share some of my findings.
One thing is that relative humidity and moisture content both use percentages but they are describing the idea of "water saturation" in a much different way. It seems obvious but having humidity of 80% would not mean your wood would try to reach 80% moisture. Equilibrium would be ...
4
Generally, it's far, far better to rough-mill while green, dry in a stack with stickers to allow airflow and if necessary considerable weight to put on the stack, then do final shaping with the moisture content near the desired environment.
First, it's much faster to dry the relatively thin rough boards.
Second, drying induces strains in the wood. By rough-...
3
would work faster than air
depends on drying stage and the wood (you want to prevent cracking)
not a stupid idea
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G5507 is a good resource for you.
You'll likely need a separate thermostat/controller for your wood drying kiln (the kiln itself might have one, but i doubt it controls to low enough temperatures for wood!). It ...
3
Splitting usually occurs as the wood is drying out. Because the end grain exposed to air loses moisture much faster than the inner wood, it splits to release the stress between the two.
Cookies (such as you have in your picture) have it rougher than slabs (pieces of wood cut along the long axis of the trunk) as none of the stress of a growing tree has been ...
3
Seal the ends as wood loses moisture from the ends faster than the face. You are trying to lower moisture throughout the wood evenly. Latex paint is a cheap effective sealer.
Pick a location with good airflow; you want the wood to dry and not rot. Outside is fine but you will need to protect it from the weather.
Sticker and stack. upon a base that will keep ...
3
My question is do you think that they need any type of finish on them?
I think it's vital, yes. The top and bottom surfaces of slices like this are all end grain, and unsealed end grain is absorbent like a sponge. Even the slices that dried without cracking to begin with have the potential to crack and/or warp again each time they get damp or wet.
And if ...
3
The biggest problem I see with your plan is that discs cut from a branch as mentioned are going to be chronically bending and warping even after they are properly dried out.
One option you could consider is casting them in clear (or colored for that matter) resin.
This would be a pretty simple process for what you are planning you simply need a dish ...
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My question is: After I do this but before I plane the boards, should I leave them sit out in the open air (maybe a week or two) to reabsorb moisture from the air?
I think it's certainly advisable, and other than the wait there's no downside to doing this so you lose nothing but a bit of time if you take this extra step. And kudos for realising already it ...
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