kill bugs with laquer??

[Terry Achey]

I need advice. I recently bought 5 pieces of some really nicely figured sugar maple at an auction held at a local sawmill. The pieces are about 2 1/2" thick 12" wide and 5 ft long. The wood meters over 30% moisture and is obvioulsy still green. I coated the ends with anchorseal and stored them on my lumber rack in the shop. After a few days I noticed small piles of sawdust (powder beetles?) with tiny bore holes. So, I always understood that the way to get rid of bugs was to kiln dry. I called the sawmill and the guy tells me that you should not kiln dry these boards becasue they are too thick and will split. He told me to coat the boards with laquer to kill the bugs.

So, I don't doubt that sealing the boards will kill the bugs, but how will the wood air dry if it is sealed? :confused:

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Terry

[Frank Drew]

Terry, I suspect the guy is wrong about the lacquer eliminating the beetles, but he's certainly wrong that you can't safely kiln-dry dimension maple. It just takes longer, and of course it helps to have an experienced kiln operator.

[Michael Conner]

Terry,

You can KD thick stock, but there will be a greatly increased chance of checking if dried too fast. However, most degrade happens when the wood is above 30% MC. If yours is measuring 30% now, I would let it air dry a bit longer to be sure that the inside is below 30% and then take it somewhere to be dried. It sounds like you may have powderpost beetles. Heat and a kiln would be the best way to kill them

[george wilson]

We used a very thick borax solution to paint wood with to keep bugs out. It was pretty expensive stuff.