Advice needed on cutting/stickering downed tree

[Rick Potter]

We just cut down a tree that my father planted. I hope to make small boxes from it for my grand children and their children. The idea is that my Great grandkids (2 so far) can have something made by great grandpa, out of a tree planted by great great grandpa.

I had the tree trunk (Liquid Amber) cut into 18" lengths, and stacked under a porch roof on concrete. and have several questions.

1: How long should they dry before I do anything to them?

2: I plan to slice them to about 1 1/2" to sticker? Actual final thickness would probably be varied, 1/4 to 3/4" for the boxes? Does that sound right to allow for warp? I am hoping I might get two 1/2" out of one slice. Am I on the right track?

I plan to make a sled to cut the logs down. The saw is a 24" Agazzani. Any cutting advice appreciated, especially on how to harvest the best pieces.

Any other advice I have forgotten appreciated also.

[Ron Citerone]

I would cut them thick enough so they can be resawn and used for 4 sided boxes with continuous grain. 5/4 should work if you are making 3/8 thick box sides
and resawing with a band saw. If you are resawing with a table saw I think 6/4 would be a better thickness. I would think @ 18" your warping should be minimal.

I have air dried cherry and walnut heavy 4/4 and it was ready in a year dried outside in Eastern PA. Maybe quicker in CA. Moisture meters are used a lot now, I just used trial and error.

I am presently making 9 boxes for Grandkids that are 4 1/2 x 9 and 3/8 thickness looks good. 1/2" might be a little heavy unless you are making larger boxes.

Others will chime in I'm sure. Good luck, sound like a cool idea.

[William Hodge]

Sounds like a great project.
Saw it into lumber now before it dries out and checks. This is what sawmills near me do.
My round wood fire wood checks real bad as it dries.

[Izzy Camire]

I have a sawmill and process my own trees. I would try and get it sawn out as soon as possible. Then sticker it right away and in the shade if possible. Let it dry for a year, at that point I find bringing it inside to dry a few more months is a good thing. Enjoy your project.

[John TenEyck]

What William and Izzy said. Saw it now, as soon as possible, to reduce end checking. It's already (too) short so you can't afford cracks.

John

[Kevin Jenness]

Seal the ends right away with Anchorseal or diluted yellow glue to inhibit checking.

[Bill Dufour]

Seal the ends now. It will dry much faster then most folks here realize due to climate. You humidity is probably 1/3 -1/4 of what they are used to in summer and temperatures will be 20 -30 degrees higher.
Bill D

[Richard Coers]

If you cut it thick and plan to resaw, drying time will double. If you let it dry in log form, you could loose 4" on each end to cracking. I don't know what kind of bugs you have around you, but in Central IL you have to coat boards almost immediately with Timbor or Bora-care to prevent powder post beetle infestation. You have to get the bark off the log sections to also prevent insect damage. No idea how gummy that wood is, but you will want a little moisture on the bandsaw blade if you cut it wet. Wet sawdust sticks to a hot blade like glue. It also likes to stick of the rubber tires. The pith or very center of the log sections will have the most stress and crack quickly. It is probably cracking already. You need enough air movement around wet wood to prevent mold. Just for the record, I owned a sawmill for 3 years and kiln dry all my turning stock now. I lost almost a couple thousand board feet of lumber to powder post beetle infestation by dry stacking all the lumber in a shed on my Mom's farm. Lost all the maple and ash. I had to burn 2"x20" curly soft maple boards.

[Jim Becker]

Seal with Anchorseal (you can get it by the gallon on Amazon) and as Izzy recommends, get it sawn as soon as possible so you can stack and sticker in where there is good air flow so it can begin drying. The air flow is critical...that's what wicks away the moisture.

[John TenEyck]

Sealing the ends is effective only on fresh wood, cut no more than 3 days prior. The only way for that to help now would be to cut back the "logs" the OP has by at least 6" on each end, more if the cracks go beyond that, after which he would be left with 6", at best. Like Richard, I saw and dry my own lumber, for over 20 years.

John

[Bernie Kopfer]

Sealing the ends is effective only on fresh wood, cut no more than 3 days prior. The only way for that to help now would be to cut back the "logs" the OP has by at least 6" on each end, more if the cracks go beyond that, after which he would be left with 6", at best. Like Richard, I saw and dry my own lumber, for over 20 years.

John, I am curious about your statement that sealing end grain is only effective on freshly cut wood. Not trying to be argumentative but what is the reasoning behind that statement, since it seems counterintuitive. Why would sealing end grain after 3days not slow down moisture loss? In turning we often cannot get to the wood as soon as three days ,but after rough turning it still gets sealed to minimize cracking. (Admittedly a green turned bowl would result in fresh cut wood)

[John TenEyck]

John, I am curious about your statement that sealing end grain is only effective on freshly cut wood. Not trying to be argumentative but what is the reasoning behind that statement, since it seems counterintuitive. Why would sealing end grain after 3days not slow down moisture loss? In turning we often cannot get to the wood as soon as three days ,but after rough turning it still gets sealed to minimize cracking. (Admittedly a green turned bowl would result in fresh cut wood)

If it isn't sealed within about 3 days cracks will form. You may not see the cracks until much later, but they are there, so sealing afterwards won't get rid of them. Yes, sealing later still slows down water loss through the ends of the logs, and may help prevent more cracks from forming, but the ones that already formed will remain and result in lower yield after drying.

Sealing rough turned pieces is exactly the same scenario. If you wait three days, I suspect you'll see cracks and sealing at that point won't make them go away.

So seal the logs right away or throw them in a pond, or seal them after cutting back to fresh wood .

John

[Bill Dufour]

I bet you are glad not to have the little fruits to trip over. My niece calls them covid balls.
Bill D

[Bill Howatt]

If it isn't sealed within about 3 days cracks will form. You may not see the cracks until much later, but they are there, so sealing afterwards won't get rid of them. Yes, sealing later still slows down water loss through the ends of the logs, and may help prevent more cracks from forming, but the ones that already formed will remain and result in lower yield after drying.

Sealing rough turned pieces is exactly the same scenario. If you wait three days, I suspect you'll see cracks and sealing at that point won't make them go away.

So seal the logs right away or throw them in a pond, or seal them after cutting back to fresh wood .

John
Agree with John. Cracking is always an issue when turning starting with green wood. IMO, it is too bad the OP didn't leave the lengths longer - I always do with my green turning wood tree-trunk halves so I can trim away a few inches on each end before the first turning should I see or even not-see any checking. A problem is that the cracks can be very difficult to see and while you think the wood is crack-free it isn't.

[Rick Potter]

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I better get to work immediately. No way I can handle any longer pieces, I will need help just to get these on a sled, that isn't made yet. I will be sealing the ends right away, and hope for the best, nothing else I can do now.

I remember seeing a chart showing how to cut a log for the best pieces, but cannot find it. Anybody have one?

Also, do you thing spraying the BS blade with WD40 would keep the blade from getting crudded up? Seems like any silicone from the blade would be removed later when dressing out the boards?? Sounds like I should not use the DC when slicing the logs, right?

Thanks again.

[John C Cox]

Aaahhhhh. Sweet gum! Very rowey, interlocked grain wood. Not crack prone at all. In fact, it's often impossible to split the stuff for firewood.

Very bug prone.

First thing, get the bark off and break it down with a chain saw.
You can then resaw the chunks on your band saw.

I would watch for evidence of borers and scrap sections aggressively. You may end up cutting off the sap wood, depending on how it goes.

Get some anchor seal and one of the bug killers listed. Saw it up, douse the wood in bug killer and then coat the ends with anchor seal. From there, you can stack and sticker and let it dry in the shade some place outdoors, away from the house, with good air circulation. I would also lay some tin roof on top of the stacks to keep the rain out.

Sweet gum was traditionally used for produce crates and dunnage. The wood isn't crack prone, but it likes to warp. Grain wise, it's beige, sort of porous, and interlocking.

If it was me... I'd let it season outdoors through a couple summer/winter cycles to stress relieve the wood. Hopefully, that will get the movement worked out.

Best of luck with your project.

[James White]

oops paint from the big box store is a less costly option. Though Anchorseal is best.

[Bill Howatt]

...
I remember seeing a chart showing how to cut a log for the best pieces, but cannot find it. Anybody have one?

Also, do you thing spraying the BS blade with WD40 would keep the blade from getting crudded up? Seems like any silicone from the blade would be removed later when dressing out the boards?? Sounds like I should not use the DC when slicing the logs, right?

Thanks again.
You are probably thinking of cutting the logs into quarter-sawn pieces. Just Google it, there is a lot of info on how to do it if it meets your needs.
Regular WD-40 doesn't have silicone but their silicone lubricant does. You are probably right about later dressing removing it but probably best to avoid it in the first place.
What is the DC concern about?

[Rick Potter]

Bill...Seems to me wet wood might stick to the inside of pipes or impellers, like it does to the bandsaw and blade.

John...Since you have worked with this wood, what can I expect? Is is nice enough for Jewelry boxes and such, I have never seen it cut to lumber? Hope so, because this is the only one that I have. If it is plain, but not ugly I can deal with that with inlays etc.

Back to restacking and painting ends.

[Jim Becker]

Cutting wet wood on the bandsaw benefits from a band that's designed for wet wood...I recall some specifications around that were on the Suffolk website...the folks who make/sell Timberwolf, but I haven't visited the site in quite a while.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Info on Sweetgum from the wood database https://www.wood-database.com/sweetgum/

[Rod Sheridan]

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?182034-Making-Lumber-on-a-Bandsaw&p=1877202

Rick, as others have said, seal the log ends, mill it into boards and make something small out of them.

Regards, Rod