drying

[chris lee]

hey i have been out and about and a few people have offered me a bundle of trees ad most of them are cherry and i have had a great deal of trouble trying to dry it before what can i do to not waste the beutiful timber.

chris

 

[CHJ]

Try and dry the Cherry as slow as possible, I have been having a fair bit of luck by storing some split and whole logs in a greenhouse, I think the higher humidity balances out the extra heat and reduces the moisture gradient across the wood.

 

[chris lee]

if you put the timber into those drying conditions what do you cover them in to stop them from splitting at the ends.

chris (homer)

 

[CHJ]

if you put the timber into those drying conditions what do you cover them in to stop them from splitting at the ends.

chris (homer)

The majority of my green wood is sealed on the ends with molten candle wax. A few pieces are done with old gloss paint, whichever is convenient at the time to get it done ASAP.

I leave the Bark On if firmly attached as I found that removing it from some Ash in my early days of turning resulted in rapid splitting from the outside of the log.

You will never stop All end splitting, just hopefully the majority.

 

[tigerturnings]

Alternatively, rough turn while wet, with wall diameter of roughly 10% of the largest diameter of the piece. Coat with candle wax or wax emulsion, e.g. Chestnut EndSeal. If needs be keep it in a paper potato sack for the first few weeks. That should reduce evaporation/drying rate and reduce the splitting.

Cheers

TT