Drying slabs?

[John Miliunas]

My best buddy was over today, helping (BIG time!) with some landscaping we've started and happened to mention a friend of his having some big trunk of Elm, some of which he says is @2' in diameter. Said he' like to slice a 2 or3" slab off of it to be used for a small table. The wood is green and he was wondering what the best process of drying something like that without it cracking or warping badly or both? Seeing as to how the bulk of it is face grain, I would assume sealing both sides with something to slow down the drying. What else would a guy have to do to eliminate/minimize the checking and/or warping? Appreciate any advice on this!:) :cool:

[John Hart]

Hi John,

When I had to create an Oak tree cookie for the museum, I put a bunch of stainless steel band clamps around it and wrapped it in a big paper bag. Every day, I opened it and tightened the clamps. It worked well, even though I was guessing. After about three or four weeks, I was at my deadline and had to finish it. I used a belt sander which caused a lot of heat...maybe drying it further. I left the clamps on for the finishing process. It all worked out. Maybe I got lucky?

[Ian Abraham]

Hate to be a pessimist, but it's probably going to come out like a pizza with one slice missing :(
If only timber would shrink the same in the radial and tangential directions, but it doesn't.
Maybe physically clamping it in steel would work, but there will still be a heap of tension in the slab once it's released. Other options are to cut the thing in 1/2, dry it then joint it smooth and glue it back together. Or cut a saw kerf from the bark to the pith, let this dry into a pie shaped gap, then fill it with a matching piece cut from another slab.

Cheers

Ian

[John Hart]

I had another idea while I was sleeping. Maybe it would help to hollow it out a bit on the underside and fill that with alcohol so the alcohol could absorb a lot of the moisture quicker.

[Jim Becker]

Punt!! It's nearly impossible to keep a slice like that from splitting radially as it dries. But maybe the alcohol method might work, although it would require a lot of the stuff and a very big container!

[John Miliunas]

Thanks guys. I was afraid that may be the final results of this attempt. :( Just for sake of argument/experimentation, what do you think would happen if a guy just totally cut out the pith??? You would think that might minimize some of the severe movement, wouldn't it?:cool:

[John Hart]

Well...perhaps taking out the pith would control the direction of movement, or at least the extent of movement... Ya know, I just had a thought!....No...really!Maybe the reason the stainless steel bands worked because I continued to tighten them everyday and the wood took the path away from the pressure - Inward. Pure speculation of course.:confused:

[John Miliunas]

Well...perhaps taking out the pith would control the direction of movement, or at least the extent of movement... Ya know, I just had a thought!....No...really!Maybe the reason the stainless steel bands worked because I continued to tighten them everyday and the wood took the path away from the pressure - Inward. Pure speculation of course.:confused:

OK, we've not tried anything yet, so the clamp idea is still a viable possibility. Question John: Have you had an opportunity to see the piece since you completed it? Still holding up w/o cracks and such? Oh, and what did you finish it with???:) :cool:

[John Hart]

OK, we've not tried anything yet, so the clamp idea is still a viable possibility. Question John: Have you had an opportunity to see the piece since you completed it? Still holding up w/o cracks and such? Oh, and what did you finish it with???:) :cool:

No...I haven't seen it for over 2 years...but for the 6 months following that, it didn't show any cracks. For a finish, I used walnut oil and really let it soak in...several heavy applications till it seemed like it was saturated...then poly on top of that. The museum wanted it for the childrens Discovery Center so they wanted a heavy matte glass finish so kids could touch it but not leave finger prints.
Several coats of poly then buffed. It turned out pretty good....I thought at the time that it would make a good table top.

[John Miliunas]

No...I haven't seen it for over 2 years...but for the 6 months following that, it didn't show any cracks. For a finish, I used walnut oil and really let it soak in...several heavy applications till it seemed like it was saturated...then poly on top of that. The museum wanted it for the childrens Discovery Center so they wanted a heavy matte glass finish so kids could touch it but not leave finger prints.
Several coats of poly then buffed. It turned out pretty good....I thought at the time that it would make a good table top.

Cool! One final question: Did you use anything at all to seal the grain while drying or just relied on the paper bag to promote slower drying?:) :cool:

[John Hart]

No...I really didn't know enough to even think of sealing the grain...and I only put it in the paper bag to keep the smell to a minimum...It wasn't like I knew what I was doing...it just worked out that it was the right way to control the atmosphere. Knowing what I know today...I would probably try it a little different. Sawmill Creek has been quite an education for me...I am indebted.

[John Miliunas]

No...I really didn't know enough to even think of sealing the grain...and I only put it in the paper bag to keep the smell to a minimum...It wasn't like I knew what I was doing...it just worked out that it was the right way to control the atmosphere. Knowing what I know today...I would probably try it a little different. Sawmill Creek has been quite an education for me...I am indebted.

Thanks again, John! :) I think maybe I'll just pass this whole thread along to my buddy. Can't argue with success, though I realize there are no "guarantees" with any such procedures. Hopefully, this one will work, as he wants this as part of a gift for someone. And yeah, you're right: This place has indeed been quite an education, but fun at the same time!:) :cool:

[larry merlau]

there was thread or reply on here about that dilimema and i think they suggested doing the replace a pie shaped piece. who ever it was, had done it more than once you could tell by the instructions, so try your search engine and see if you can find it it has been in the last 2 months. on this forum