Lumber

[Bernie Weishapl]

About 4 weeks ago I bought a Sears Craftsman 18" chain saw. Three weeks ago went to my dads farm. We have a farm pond that used to cover about 8 acres. Good fishing back then. Anyway there were a lot of Ash trees that had died standing in water. So I took my chain saw with a idea of cutting some wood to resaw. I cut several 4 or so foot long logs about 7 to 8 inches in diameter. I then squared the sides with the chain saw and came up with several blocks about 5 inches by 5 inches. I brought them home and put them on the bandsaw. Cut them about 1 1/4" thick and around 4 1/2" or so wide by 46" to 48" long after cleaning them up. Got 4 per log. They are still pretty rough. I am going to go back over and get me some more to make sure I have enough. I should have enough to build the grandson a wagon like the little red wagons except out of wood like the one I had when I was a kid. I just hope this will work and I can have it done for Christmas.

One question I did have is since this wood is dead and pretty much dry(13% according to lumber yard meter) is there anything I should watch out for? It will be sitting in the shop attic (130 deg's or more) for at least a month before I start. Thanks.

Bernie

[Ian Abraham]

If they are already air dry you should be OK stickering them in a stack in your attic. Use some scrap 1x1 boards to stack them on, point a fan at the stack, put some HEAVY stuff on top and wait a few weeks. As the wood is pretty dry already you wont harm it doing this and it will complete it's drying fairly quickly. If it was green wood you would need to be more carefull and air dry it slower, but dry stuff like that is pretty forgiving.

Cheers

Ian

[Maurice Ungaro]

Got any camphor wood?

[Bernie Weishapl]

No camphor wood. Just have ash, cotton woods and hackberry trees.


Bernie

[Tim Sproul]

......pretty much dry(13% according to lumber yard meter) is there anything I should watch out for? It will be sitting in the shop attic (130 deg's or more) for at least a month before I start. .


I wouldn't store it in your attic. After a month, it will be bone dry....much drier than typical home or shop conditions. Just as wood will be because you work it when it is significantly wetter than your shop....wood will also cause troubles because it is significantly drier than your shop. You might also be unpleasantly surprised to find lots of end checking....

13% is EMC for many situations and is already "dry" lumber.

I would just stack it in the shop for a month and then work on it. Stickers are optional but if you have the space and the inclination, it would be better to sticker the boards. You could also skip plane to boards now and that will help with 2 things....the stacking will be easier since the boards will be uniform thickness, and the boards will reach EMC of your shop just a tad quicker.

[lou sansone]

I normall air dry my material in a drying shed and not in a hot attic. I have heard many stories of runied lumber from trying it. Are you in a big hurry for the wood? A solar kiln is different in that the humidity is controlled with fans and vents. You are not going to have that in the attic. Rapid drying can cause a condition called case hardening. If you do put it up there, as other posts have indicated, put a fair amount of weight on the pile to try to prevent warping and twisting.

[John M. Cioffi]

Bernie,

Wonderful score of wood. What are you planning to make with it?
How did that Craftsman chainsaw work for you. I'm in the market for one, but cannot get too deep into it, as I will not use it very often.
Is it gas or elec? Would you recommend this one or something else.
Thanks for your imput.
John

[scott spencer]

No camphor wood. Just have ash, cotton woods and hackberry trees. Bernie Nice wood haul Bernie. I love the grain in ash. About three weeks ago I spotted my first hackberry in a furniture store....very pretty and unusual "ghost" grain. You might keep your eye on some of that stuff too.

[Ian Abraham]

With green lumber the guys are correct. Most species can be dried too fast when green and you will ruin the wood. ( checking, splitting, case hardening etc). The attic is not a controlled environment, so slower air drying is much better.

Once the wood is 'air dried' it's a lot more forgiving of warm dry conditions. Of course you dont want to overdry it either, and have it absorbing moisture once you have used it.:rolleyes:

A month is the shop is probably going to let the wood dry enough, or a week in the attic. ;)

Cheers

Ian

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bernie,

Wonderful score of wood. What are you planning to make with it?
How did that Craftsman chainsaw work for you. I'm in the market for one, but cannot get too deep into it, as I will not use it very often.
Is it gas or elec? Would you recommend this one or something else.
Thanks for your imput.
John


John I am hoping to make a wooden wagon (something like a red wagons) like I had when I was a boy for the grandson. The chain saw is a gas Craftsman. It seem to work real well so far. It has a 18" chain bar on it. I got it on sale for $149. I was looking at a Poulan reconditioned one on ebay but they were all going for around $80 plus about $20 to $30 for shipping. I decided to get this one which is new with a warranty.

Bernie

[Bernie Weishapl]

Scott, there are some hackberry trees there. I am hoping to get some of it to. I have also seen some of that lumber in furniture and it is beautiful. I also found some locust trees. That wood is not a bad looking wood either.

Thanks to the rest who have responded. I will make some room in the shop to put the wood. Tim, I also had a friend suggest the same thing you did. He said since it is dry enough now to joint and plane it now. Then let it rest a month or so and then work it again to what you need it for.

Thanks again to all. I appreciate the info as I am new to this way of getting wood. It is work but also is a lot of fun. My son thought it was so cool to get wood from great grandpa's farm and make it into something. He wants me to take actual picture of the tree and then pictures as I progress. So we will see how this goes.

Bernie

[James Carmichael]

Ditto what Tim said. 13% is "dry" for exterior applications and not much above for interior (I believe 7%).

Whatever you do, I'd get that endgrain sealed asap and get it stickered, then possibly add some weight on top of your stack, although ash doesn't move a whole lot.