storing logs

[stevebuk]

hi
i have a couple of logs at work waiting for me to cut them up and bring them home, and after reading Toms(wizer) thread i am now going to buy an electric chainsaw with which to do this.
Do i still need to paint/seal the ends of the log slices, and would these be better stored outside my cabin in the open air, or inside my brick built shed?

PS on returning from MIL funeral i have now found out the wifes brother is a tree fella, burrs and yew will be waiting, he he..

 

[Bodrighy]

Ideally paint them with anything that will stop moisture escaping through the end grain. Storing is best done somewhere cool, with a draft but not in the rain. Depending what wood they are if you want to spalt them keep themm moist and preferably a bit war. Chas and George have posted different ways of doing this. I just pile them up together and let nature take it's course. I think George adds a bit of baby bio or something.

Pete

 

[PowerTool]

I'd go for seal the ends,and store outside under cover - ideally with reasonable airflow,but out of direct sunlight.(I've built a couple of timber racks on north-facing walls to achieve this)

Andrew

 

[cornucopia]

it depends on your intentions steve- do you want to dry the wood or use it wet? how big are the logs? how green/fresh are they?

if the logs are in small lengths(10-12"long) and you want to dry them, i would seal the end grain then you need a place outside with no direct sunlight- keep them of the floor by a few inch and cover them up with a water permeable covering. leave them like this for a year then split them down the pith and move them out of the rain. because of the short lengths you will get some splitting depending upon species which will ruin some pieces. the longer the lengths of logs the more succes you will have.

if you want to keep them wet and prevent cracks, seal the ends if you wish (i don't bother unless i get given the wood mid summer) keep them out the sun- of the floor -covered up as above. cut them as and when you need them.

 

[wizer]

so it it best not to use Tarpaulin to cover them? Rather old dust sheets or table cloths?

 

[Paul.J]

I must admit i used one of those plastic type tarps to cover a load of logs i had,left in the open,and just left the sides sort of open.The logs,left at longish lengths were lying on bark chips.
Cut them all up a few weeks back and they were fine,even got some nice spalting on the Sycamore i had.The other timbers were Cherry,Laburnum,Apple,Yew,Holly,and Maple.
I have however now got a load of Beech as George describes,under old blankets,but again on bark chips which seems to be helping with the spalting.
If you split the logs make sure you get the pith out,else you will have splits radiating from there.

 

[Struan]

Sorry to butt in on another persons question, but mine rolls with the theme.

I've aquired some nice beech and oak which was cut on monday and has been in my garage since tuesday. What paint should i use to seal them, emulsion or gloss?

Thanks

Struan

 

[Doug B]

Struan,
I imagine you need to use an oil based paint as i wouldn`t think a water based paint would prevent moisture loss, though i may well be wrong.
Doug.

 

[Lightweeder]

I've been given some apple and holly, which was cut from the tree years back but has been stored in the open since. Sorry to be so thick, but I'm quite new to this. I understood it could be turned green but might warp a bit. Is that true ?

 

[cornucopia]

Sorry to butt in on another persons question, but mine rolls with the theme.

I've aquired some nice beech and oak which was cut on monday and has been in my garage since tuesday. What paint should i use to seal them, emulsion or gloss?

Thanks

Struan

any oil based or ideally shellac based paint- as a last resort vinyl silk

take it out your garage or it will split very quickly

 

[cornucopia]

I've been given some apple and holly, which was cut from the tree years back but has been stored in the open since. Sorry to be so thick, but I'm quite new to this. I understood it could be turned green but might warp a bit. Is that true ?

yes it will warp but this varies from wood to wood and the dryer it is the less it will warp

 

[Lightweeder]

Thanks cornucopia. Apart from waiting an inch a year (a long time at my age), how do I know if my wood is dry? Does weight play a part?

 

[cornucopia]

wood will never dry in the round- so if you want dry wood you have to split it or cut it into boards etc- if you want bowls the best thing to do is rough it out.
out side your wood will vary in moisture as the seasons alter- dry wood will go from 10% ish in the summer to 20% ish in the winter.
you can weigh the wood and when the weight doesn't alter you know you've reached an equilibrium.
you will tell from how it turns- if you think it's dry try a bit and see your central heated house will soon let you know!!!

 

[cornucopia]

so it it best not to use Tarpaulin to cover them? Rather old dust sheets or table cloths?

in my opinion- when the wood is fresh i think tarps dry the wood to quickly and increase splitting- after the first year when most of the free water will be gone then you can use tarps but allow some ventalation or you may get too much mould.

 

[Scrums]

I find in the kiln, where I weigh and date at least a sample of everything that goes in, dripping wet fresh wood will lose about 30/35% of its weight before it gets to 12mc. A new full loading of the kiln can produce about 1 1/2 litres of water a day for the first few days.

Incidentally, with experience you can pick up a lump of wood and somehow know by the 'feel' of its weight whether its dry or not.

Chris.

 

[cornucopia]

do you find kiln dried wood cut s diffrently to air dried? or can you stop the kilning before the commercial guys do and it doesnt affect your wood like it sometimes can.

 

[Wanlock Dod]

Interesting point George, I've sometimes wondered if kiln dried wood is a bit more brittle (for want of a better word) than air dried, although I suppose at the end of the day ithat coudl just be down to differences in moisture content, rather than drying process. I often find that there is a point at which wood is not quite dry, but close enough that movement will be fairly small, when it just turns beautifully.

Cheers,

Dod

 

[stevebuk]

thanks everyone for their input on this, i will seal the ends and dry outside my cabin, its only some old beech and birch felled about 6 months ago, but as i am only learning i would rather not use anything expensive.

 

[wizer]

Something else has just popped into my head. I am just about to build a shed for storing timber. Will I be able to store logs in it? Or will anything stored in there effectively be 'seasoned'?

I

 

[penman]

Hi all

I have a "lean too" on the back of by workshop that I use for storing wood including logs, some of which have been in there for about 4 years and are now beautifully dry. the only problem I have with the lean too is keeping the squirrels out :lol: :lol:

Malcolm