Hi
I've never made anything from a freshly cut log so I'd like to try.
I've had a conifer trimmed down this morning and have these logs. Would be cool to make something - from slices maybe.
Would I leave them outside (covered) to dry over summer then slice or slice first then leave to dry?
Or maybe something else...
Any thoughts appreciated, thanks.
Jim
"Conifers" - a large group that includes many kinds of timber with quite variable qualities. Wikipedia says:
Examples include
cedars,
Douglas-firs,
cypresses,
firs,
junipers,
kauri,
larches,
pines,
hemlocks,
redwoods,
spruces, and
yews.
Do you know what yours are? It would help in suggesting what you could make with them. Some will be rather soft, fibrous or otherwise not too good for making things needing detail. Others can be quite strong (they made WWII Mosquito aircraft with spruce frames, for instance). Some will rot or crack or otherwise degrade rapidly whilst others can be durable.
Looking at your pics, it seems likely that the timber you'd get out of those logs will be rather full of large knots. That can be very limiting, especially if the knots are likely to go "dead" (loose in the surrounding wood).
If you want to dry the wood rather than work it green, you need to cut the logs before they develop radial cracks. Even cutting or riving them in half down the middle (pith line) can do a lot to prevent the radial cracking. How would you make the "slices" (small planks?) you mention? Riving (splitting along the grain) will make the most resilient planks but they're likely to be far from flat. A bandsaw is probably the best tool to make flatter "slices" but you'd need to make a carriage to hold logs for bandsawing.
Do you fancy some straightforward carving? You could probably make spatulas, spoons and small bowls from whatever that is, using chunks rived out of the logs that are as clear of knots as you can find. The tools to carve spoons, spats and bowls can be quite minimal - a straight knife, a curved knife and maybe an axe or a gouge. Carving green wood is much easier than carving dried wood.
