Using Wood Directly from a Tree
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- This topic has 15 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 8 months ago by Todd Urie.
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I had a red oak tree in my yard that had to be cut down. So I figured it would be great to take some of that wood and use it for at least a small project. So I took a section out of 20″ diameter log from the tree and worked it down to a 12″ diameter by 1 – 1/4″ piece to be used as the seat of a 3 legged stool. Took a LOT more work than I figured but after looking at the result I decided it was worth it.
This was all done this past weekend. Today, 4 days or so after I basically finished getting it prepped, I noticed that the piece had split in several places. Talk about disappointed.
So, my question, did I just not let this go long enough before I started working it? The tree has only been down for about 2 months. I attached a pic to show what happened.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.” In order to minimize the risk of checking, it is best practice to coat lumber ends within minutes—not hours or days—after coming off the saw.”
You have taken a section of the tree as the seat. Everything in that photo is end grain. It’s like many short straws side by side. As a result, it isn’t very strong so, as it dries it is likely to check. Even if it dries without checking, if you bore holes and insert legs, I’m not sure if the seat will have the strength you need to support a person’s weight. I don’t know enough to say, but it concerns me.
The way bowls are made is to take the blank at 90 degrees to what you have done. Suppose you want a 12″ diameter piece 1.5″ thick. You’d cut (buck) a length of the tree somewhat longer than 12″. You’d then split out a slab a couple inches thick. Clearly, you need a big enough diameter bole. So, you’ve just taken a thick, short plain-sawn board from the tree. Now the fibers are long: a full foot long. If you were going to let the wood dry before working it, you’d probably give yourself a couple inches extra on both ends because of checking at the ends during drying. If you’re going to work green, I’m not sure how to advise you because I’ve not done much of that, but be aware that there will be a lot of change as the wood dries. If the stool has three legs, you’ll always be okay, even if the shape of the seat changes, but if there are four, I’d bet you’ll need to keep re-leveling the legs.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Ed.
I don’t think there is a reliable way to dry sections without cracking. You may be able to achieve this with the right species and drying technique, but I wouldn’t count on it. Two months is not enough time for wood to dry if it’s held as a log. I have year old quarter logs lying around, which are still significantly moist inside. Secondly, wood shrinks in that direction the most; imagine the growth rings getting shorter, the more the longer (closer to the outside) they are. I have turned bowls from fresh half logs and they shrink so much that the long grain sides drop by about 1cm each for a 17cm bowl. And thirdly, as already mentioned, you will have a very weak structure if you insert legs practically parallel to the grain. Wood splits most easily that way with nothing to stop it, as opposed to compressing the end-grain of to two sides if the leg is perpendicular to the seat’s grain.
What you could do is split or saw it in half, let it dry, plain it true and glue it. I still wouldn’t use it for a chair, but as a chopping board or plate, it could be nice. End-grain is hard to work, as you already noticed.Don’t give up, though, green oak is very nice to split and work with a drawknife. I recommend Peter Follansbee’s blog (https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com) for a wealth of solid information (search for oak, split, splitting, froe, riven, riving and the like).
Cheers,
DavidWood can take a long time to dry…and to dry correctly. If you’ve ever tried your hand at woodturning, you quickly become educated on how wood dries and how easily it cracks whilst drying–ESPECIALLY if it contains the pith (i.e. the center of branches/trunks)–this is essentially the birthplace of most cracks. As you noted in your photo–the piece started with cracks precisely in the pith area and you hoped that would be it and you would fill them in. Unfortunately, they only spread from there. I have lost/blown apart more bowls than I have successfully turned due to cracks…it is a learning process and I’ve only been doing it for a year or so.
To properly air dry something like that, one would generally paint the end-grain ends with latex paint or paraffin wax and let the wood sit in storage with adequate airflow for potentially several YEARS.
@toddu If you like the appearance of the end grain section for the stool (I do!), I wonder if you could make a three legged stool using a piece of flat sawn material from a mill for the seat for strength, and then laminate your section onto it. You would have flat sawn material for strength and the end grain for appearance. You might then consider those checks to be decorative features. They can be filled with epoxy. If you look at some turned bowls, you’ll see examples where people fill cracks with many kinds of decorative material, so that is another option.
I’m not sure what will happen with the end grain to long grain lamination. There could be flexure that breaks things. There could be expansion that breaks things. But, it isn’t much in terms of materials, so I might try.
I’d think you’d want the plain sawn portion on the moist side, at least as moist and probably more so than the end grain section. That way, the end grain (with luck) will always be under compression and never expansion whenever the environment changes. It would be like pre-stressed concrete.
26 May 2018 at 6:23 pm #548204You could work in a clamp around the seat. And tighten it before it drys out. It may hold it. It might have to be a permanent fixture of the stool
3 June 2018 at 4:58 am #548346I have not done much with wood logs cut in that direction but I recall years ago reading about pieces being soaked in different products that replaced the water that dried out of the wood
the liquid that was absorbed was like a plastic that supposedly never dried out and stayed as a stable filler in the woods pores thereby “eliminating’ or reducing the shrinkage that causes the cracking@gman The product I know of for “water replacement” is called polyethylene glycol, PEG for short. I recall having heard about it and many singing the praises. That was at least 30 years ago. I haven’t heard anything about the product lately and don’t know where to get it. Good luck!
3 June 2018 at 7:58 pm #548354checked on line it is available from several sources seems a little pricy
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