Wood prep and storage

[Ted Evans]

119218

119220


Some chunks of wood were given to me that I intend primarily to use to practice with the lathe. There is some cherry and I believe the other is sassafras but not sure of that. Perhaps someone here will recognize it. The single chunk is oak. I have sprayed the ends with a heavy coat of lacquer vinyl. I have about three gallons of the stuff left over from when I was using cab acrylic lacquer. It is suppose to be a very good moisture bearer. My questions are, how is the best way to store long term, months, outside covered or inside as it is now? If stored inside, should it be wrapped and if so, what material? Any suggestions you may have will be appreciated.

Bear

[Brian McInturff]

I have a lot of mine wrapped in shrink wrap inside the shop. Bad Dog Burls(Rob) ships his burls that way. I've not had any problems with any. Sunlight can be your enemy though so keep them covered. I have a small storage building with a window that I store some of my excess wood in, I didn't cover the small window and the sun beamed in and split only the pieces in the direct light. I have since covered the window and no more splits or cracks.Good luck whichever route you go.

[alex carey]

Nice gloat, not sure what the wood is.

[Jarrod McGehee]

I bought paraffin wax and covered all my green wood with that but the only problem I think I'm noticing with that is that all the moisture stays in there. you could buy anchorseal to cover the ends and all to keep them from drying out too quickly. I keep mine in my garage with the little room that is in there.

[Mark Norman]

I would keep em indoors regardless. the sun is yer enemy.

Nice wood, let us know what becomes of it.

[Jeff Nicol]

Ted, Since they are cut into chunks like that decide what you want to turn out of them and either leave them whole and seal the end grain or cut them into pieces that you wish to turn later. If you plan on doing some spindle work like pepper mills or candle sticks cut them into 3x3 or 2x2 or what ever size you think you want then seal the end grain and any wild grain that might show up, like the oak piece looks to be a crotch and that will have some nice figured grain in it. The only time I bag or cover things is if it is something I want to try and spalt. For just general drying I have stuff stacked all over the place, if it is in a larger log I just leave it whole until I can get to it and it is left out in the weather. If I have cut and sealed it I keep in inside. I have to much wood and that is that!

Have fun and more wood is to be had!

Jeff

[Cory Norgart]

Hey Ted, how is it? I dont know if it means anything to you, but I keep the cut ends of my burls under anchorseal, they store for years as long they can breathe and like stated in the above replies, out of the sunlight, but these are burls, Ive never stored logs, only for fire wood:) Later.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ted - for long term storage I leave the wood in log form, seal the ends and store it outside, loosely covered and out of the sun. Once the wood has been cut into blanks for turning - meaning I plan on turning them very soon - I place the blank in a plastic grocery bag to retain moisture until it can be turned. Usually I only cut enough blanks to rough out for 2 days at a time - then go out and cut more.

[Ryan Baker]

Yes, that is sassafras.

You already sealed the ends, so leave them inside like they are. They should store as well that way as anything. If you cut any of it up, you'd better seal it all up well for long term storage.

[Ted Evans]

Thanks to all for the great info and for sharing your experiences. Thanks Ryan for verifying the sassafras. Perhaps I will store it in my basement/crawl space as it is dark and the humidity is somewhat higher there. I may cut a couple pieces into smaller ones for some small items when and if I ever get the snafus with my chuck adapter resolved.

Bear

[Dan Forman]

I bet your shop will smell good when you're turning that sassafras!

Dan