Green ash tree wood / now what do I do?

[Josh Molaver]

Neighbor offered me the lumber from a huge ash tree she took down today. I'm a new turner, first real green wood.

From what I've read I need to seal it asap to prevent cracking/drying.

The pieces vary from about 10" to 20+" in diameter, with lengths 4-12'.

I have a chainsaw.

From what I've read I should:

A) cut into manageable lengths (long as possible) and seal the ends with anchorseal or latex paint, keeping round
B) Cut into manageable lengths but cut out the pith and seal ends
C) Cut into manageable lengths split in half exposing pith, and seal ends. (difference being leave pith vs remove it). This is easier than B, but better?

What should I do? I have a LOT of lumber here.

Thanks!

[Richard Coers]

First if it was a dead ash tree, the emerald ash borer is still likely working in it and could go even deeper. Knock as much bark off it as possible. Also if you get powder post beetle around you, they think that ash is candy. They move in really quickly! Coat the wood, not the bark, with Timbor to prevent the PPB from moving in. Latex paint is a really poor substitute for anchor seal. You'll need as much as 6-8 coats to do the same thing as 2 of anchor seal. With the 4' sections, start making blanks. The 12' ones can wait a little longer. Then start roughing out the shapes you like, as quickly as possible. If you plan on keeping raw chunks around for a couple years, you'll have firewood.

[Josh Molaver]

Thanks Richard,

The tree was (mostly) alive - it had apparently been hit by lightening. About 10-15' of trunk was hit/dead but the rest appears still fine; she took it down as a precaution. No sign of beetles that I can tell.

[Richard Coers]

Thanks Richard,

The tree was (mostly) alive - it had apparently been hit by lightening. About 10-15' of trunk was hit/dead but the rest appears still fine; she took it down as a precaution. No sign of beetles that I can tell.
It's an extremely rare ash that doesn't have emerald ash borer. I think you will be surprised, when the wood dries, just how much damage was done by the lightning. A lightning strike instantly boils moisture in the tree. This causes a failure in the lignin that holds the cells together and the steam generated from the intense heat forms lots of tiny cracks. You will see failures in the growth rings, much like ring shake. I harvested some spectacularly colored hard maple from a lightning strike tree, and basically all I got was firewood. Even little pen blanks showed cracking when it dried. Be very careful and attentive to this cracking when you try some turning. Some wood will be close to a bomb at speed on a lathe.

[David Walser]

Everything Richard said about the damage caused by lightning is true. However, the lumber from such trees make incredibly good baseball bats. This is according to a historical documentary film I saw years ago. A young boy made a bat from a tree struck by lightning on his family's farm. He later, as an adult, used the bat for nearly a whole season in the major league -- collecting several home runs and other extra-base hits during the year. The bat only failed him in his last at-bat in the last game of the season. One of the best batters -- and best bats -- ever!

[Richard Coers]

Everything Richard said about the damage caused by lightning is true. However, the lumber from such trees make incredibly good baseball bats. This is according to a historical documentary film I saw years ago. A young boy made a bat from a tree struck by lightning on his family's farm. He later, as an adult, used the bat for nearly a whole season in the major league -- collecting several home runs and other extra-base hits during the year. The bat only failed him in his last at-bat in the last game of the season. One of the best batters -- and best bats -- ever!
You're a natural David!

[Richard Coers]

By the way, my favorite image of a lightning strike tree. About 3 miles from my house
.466140

[Thomas Wilson80]

Everything Richard said about the damage caused by lightning is true. However, the lumber from such trees make incredibly good baseball bats. This is according to a historical documentary film I saw years ago. A young boy made a bat from a tree struck by lightning on his family's farm. He later, as an adult, used the bat for nearly a whole season in the major league -- collecting several home runs and other extra-base hits during the year. The bat only failed him in his last at-bat in the last game of the season. One of the best batters -- and best bats -- ever!

who was the batter?

[Earl McLain]

who was the batter?

Robert Redford in The Natural. Character’s name was Roy Hobbs I think.
earl

[Melvin Feng]

do you have a chainsaw mill, or access to one?

I did this about 6 months ago, and what I found to work quite efficiently, was to use the mill to mill a thick slab that I wanted to be the depth of the bowls, I think I did 6-7 inches. Then I just crosscut the slab into rough squares, and then cut them into cylinders on the bandsaw at home.

I was already milling some slabs to keep, and thought I'd try milling for the bowl blanks. It worked quite well for me, and was much more efficient than what I had tried before with freehand cutting the logs into bowl blanks.

What lathe do you have? Do you have a bandsaw? I've come to really appreciate being able to cut cylinders on the bandsaw - it saves me a tremendous amount of time on the lathe, and I end up with wider bowls on my smaller lathe (a laguna 12/16) than if I had started with a square profile.

I enjoy twice turning, so that is what I'd recommend you try with at least some of this lumber - you turn it once while green, with thick walls. Then you let it dry (many will seal the bowl after the first turning), and then after it has dried and warped, you do the final turning and finishing.

Also, have fun! I enjoy both using the chainsaw and turning!

[Bernie Kopfer]

A year ago I obtained 12 feet in 2ft lengths of large trunk from my neighbors ash tree. I promptly coated the ends @nd then couldn't do anything with the wood due to a shoulder replacement. This summer I was able to start cutting and discovered so many large cracks that I just yesterday finally cut the last pieces for firewood. Obtained a few workable pieces but after sitting around for a year I could sometimes turn a bowl (it’s still somewhat green) and watch the cracks develop overnight! So my experience with improperly storing Ash logs for a year is a lesson in how important it is to get it cut and turned.

[John K Jordan]

A year ago I obtained 12 feet in 2ft lengths of large trunk from my neighbors ash tree. I promptly coated the ends @nd then couldn't do anything with the wood due to a shoulder replacement. This summer I was able to start cutting and discovered so many large cracks that I just yesterday finally cut the last pieces for firewood. Obtained a few workable pieces but after sitting around for a year I could sometimes turn a bowl (it’s still somewhat green) and watch the cracks develop overnight! So my experience with improperly storing Ash logs for a year is a lesson in how important it is to get it cut and turned.

So much turning wood gathered with good intentions goes to firewood (even when unexpected medical issues don't interfere.)

For several reasons the best time to cut green wood for turning is in the dead of winter.

The best words of wisdom I've heard from experts is never take more green wood than you can reasonably expect to at least rough turn within a few weeks. I would amend that to include wood that you can process into turning blanks within a few weeks. Unfortunately, I do more of than than turning. I am SO running out of room.

JKJ