Preserving Dried Exotic Wood

[Jim Neeley]

After reading about the U.S. import restriction on my favorite wood (Cocobolo) I stumbled across a piece of 10/4 about 10" wide x 30" long in my local hardwood suppliers supply and picked it up for "some future project", since I know the supply will only go down and the price skyrocket. In time I'll likely resaw it into a series of pieces for book matching on some project.

The ends were already sealed with some kind of wax however since I expect it will take me quite some time to come up with the perfect project for this exotic, I want to treat it with whatever is necessary to minimize long-term checking. While it will be in my heated garage, I'm wondering if it would be wise to apply some form of waxy substance to the surface to minimize the rate of change of moisture in the wood.

I'll post a picture before I treat it but am looking for treatment suggestions.

I'd also welcome any project suggestions. :D

Jim

[Jim Koepke]

I have no information on the storage.

As far as uses I have a couple of small pieces I'm considering for use as saw handles.

A few larger pieces may end up for chisel handles.

It could also make a nice jewelry box. There is a danger in that. The person you make it for may want you to buy things to help fill it.

jtk

[Brian Ashton]

I brought back a piece from Mexico that was 5'x12"x5" many years ago. It was fresh cut out of the bush. It lived in my chest freezer for years and never checked. For woods that are of the highest value I don't think theres a more reliable way to preserve them from cracking. I had whole sections that never checked. Over the years they slowly dry out from freezer burn. When I wanted to use a piece I took the chunk out f the freezer cut off what i needed and put the rest back. Frozen wood is very workable.

[Jussi Auvinen]

I brought back a piece from Mexico that was 5'x12"x5" many years ago. It was fresh cut out of the bush. It lived in my chest freezer for years and never checked. For woods that are of the highest value I don't think theres a more reliable way to preserve them from cracking. I had whole sections that never checked. Over the years they slowly dry out from freezer burn. When I wanted to use a piece I took the chunk out f the freezer cut off what i needed and put the rest back. Frozen wood is very workable.

And my girlfriend calls me a wood horder for having ~15-20 planks+scraps acclimating in my tiny shop :D She would have me hospitalized if I started storing wood in the freezer :o

[Adam Cruea]

I brought back a piece from Mexico that was 5'x12"x5" many years ago. It was fresh cut out of the bush. It lived in my chest freezer for years and never checked. For woods that are of the highest value I don't think theres a more reliable way to preserve them from cracking. I had whole sections that never checked. Over the years they slowly dry out from freezer burn. When I wanted to use a piece I took the chunk out f the freezer cut off what i needed and put the rest back. Frozen wood is very workable.

That's awesome, hilarious, and disturbing all at the same time.

Makes sense, though. . .freezers tend to remove humidity from the environment, so I'm sure eventually the wood probably dried out completely. Not to mention, the freezer would at least force into hibernation, if not kill, any bugs in it.

[maximillian arango]

And my girlfriend calls me a wood horder for having ~15-20 planks+scraps acclimating in my tiny shop :D She would have me hospitalized if I started storing wood in the freezer :o


You've got to tell here its shelving and she wont think twice about it.

[Jim Neeley]

Just wait until she starts driving nails into it to hang her freezer thermometer! :eek:

[Brian Ashton]

That's awesome, hilarious, and disturbing all at the same time.

Makes sense, though. . .freezers tend to remove humidity from the environment, so I'm sure eventually the wood probably dried out completely. Not to mention, the freezer would at least force into hibernation, if not kill, any bugs in it.

When you have a piece of Coco Bolo worth around $800 and it's fresh cut you need to take steps to preserve it quick. The other option is to cut it up in to 1" x 6" pieces and dry it that way. But to me that's almost as bad as chucking it under a tarp and letting it check and crack slowly until it's no good for anything other than pen blanks. This way I can take my time and it can be used for a large range of projects.

The gloat about the Coco Bolo was, I bought it in Porta Valarta and brought it back to Canada as checked luggage. I paid 270 pesos for it.

My brother was a tree surgeon at the time and he got me a lot of extremely rare pieces of wood that you just couldn't afford to let check and be wasted. Or blindly cut up into 1" thick boards. They could sit there for years until I found the perfect project for them or take a little bit of it and save the rest.

[Brian Holcombe]

I haven't had any trouble leaving exotics as they are with wax on the ends, right from the lumberyard.

[Brian Ashton]

I haven't had any trouble leaving exotics as they are with wax on the ends, right from the lumberyard.

when its 2" and under that's a pretty safe bet but when you start going beyond that checking, cracking and case hardening (when kiln dried) become a common problem.

[Brian Holcombe]

Most are 8/4, which must be why I've had such success.

I haven't had much interest in 12/4 or larger exotics.