Log storage

[Tom Porter]

My neighbor had to take down some very large limbs from a black walnut. They're about 4 1/2 feet long and a foot or so across. I'd like to save them to turn into bowls someday. Here's the kicker: I don't have a lathe and I don't know when I'll get one (my wood shop is in its infancy). I hope to buy a used one in the future. So in the meantime, how should I store these buggers? After reading through some posts here, I made fresh cuts and sealed the ends. Should I store them in the basement or outside (off the ground). Would it be better to cut them into blanks now?

[John Hart]

In my humble opinion Tom, dispite the best sealing, most wood really wants to crack through the pith. and once it starts, there's no stopping it. With a 1 foot diameter, you could cut those logs lenghtwise, just off of center, and take away that risk. I would keep some full diameter ones, just for fun...but mostly, I'd want to take the pith out of the equation.

[Bernie Weishapl]

As John said you will need to seal the ends with anchorseal or green woodsealer. Your best bet would be to cut the pith out and cut them to bowl size, seal and store in your basement. Depending how long it will be before you get a lathe I would say leaving them in log form with the pith in may prove futile as it will start cracking at the pith and just keep getting worse. At 4 1/2 ft you may be ok.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tom - not to go against the flow here - but I would leave the logs as is - in log form with the bark on - just make sure that the end-grain is sealed very well. The wood will crack somewhat - but by keeping it in log form until you are ready to turn it - you can just cut off a couple of inches to get to the good wood and then cut into blanks!

As you'll see - we each have our own system to get things done. What works for me - may not work for you - or as they say - your mileage may vary (YMMV).

Good luck with whatever method you decide to use. Looking forward to seeing your turnings!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I'm with Steve. Anchorseal the ends, leave it in log form. Assuming of course you have teh room. And definitely keep them off the ground. A tarp to keep the sun/rain off is also a good idea. When you need a blank, chop the first few inches off, get rid of those checks, cut your blank and reseal.

Nothing wrong with the other methods. That is just what I prefer. I'm slow, and some of my pre-cut and sealed blanks have since dried pretty good and have checks all the way through. As everyone else said, if you do pre-cut, it is very important to get rid of the pith.

[alex carey]

im also with steve, I recently took a bunch of bradford pear, only about 8" in diameter, out of my firewood pile, the first 2 inches was cracked and it had been sitting there for over a year in the sun, and it wasn't sealed.

I'd leave it in log for, be very liberal with the anchor seal and put it in a shady spot.

[John Hart]

I'm with Steve too. :)

[John Hart]

Oh wait....No....I mean...I'm AGAINST Steve!! :mad:

[Allen Neighbors]

I go along with Steve! I cut fresh cuts on my logs, and if I can't get to them to turn them, I Paint the ends with a heavy (sometimes two) coat of Anchor seal, and store them on end, out of the weather. I now stand them up on end, and rotate about every month or so (when my back allows). So far, after over three months, neither my Sycamore nor my Black Walnut logs have cracked.
I once had a walnut tree a friend drug to my place, that laid on the ground for almost 3 years before I got healthy enough to cut it up... before I was a turner... and then I had some beautifully spalted black walnut wood for bandsaw boxes.
Standing them on end? The idea comes from a friend that used to split his Walnut and Oak logs, and prop them up against each other for curing - out in the woods. He later built a house out of walnut and oak. (Atlanta, Texas).

[Tom Porter]

I'm sure I'll look for more advice when I get my hands on a lathe. In the meantime, I'll leave the wood as logs if only because that is the path of least resistance. Cheers.