Getting lumber from a tree

[Jim Griffin]

First time neanderthal here. I have a feshly cut maple tree (less than one month). It is about 12-14" in diameter. I have made some horizontal cuts in the tree about 1-2" in thickness. My goal would be to finish some of these into a checkerboard (with a wood burner); a lzy susan or maybe a cutting board. I would intend on keeping the circular shape and maybe or maybe not keeping the bark. My problem is that I made about 6 of these cuts las weekend, and now my 6 pieces of wood are now splitting, as they are drying. I had similar issues with oak in the past, and thought that I would have no issues with maple. I live in NC, and th temperature has been cool (30's at night / 50-60's during day). I have left the slices of wood outside, but under shelter, and I have them standing upright (on their bark).
Is there something else that I should be doing? I have heard that many cutting boards are made from strips of wood, but I don't think that I have the tools for that. My tools are
Chainsaw
Drawknifes
Thx for any input

[Jim Koepke]

My problem is that I made about 6 of these cuts las weekend, and now my 6 pieces of wood are now splitting, as they are drying.

What may be happening is the ends will dry faster than the middle sections. I am not sure what should be used, someone here will surely help, but the ends should either be coated or given moisture to keep them from drying faster than the sections away from the end.

My problem is a black walnut tree in my yard. It is over 50 years old and would go good with the maple for making chess boards and pieces.
Just wish I had a way to harvest the wood.

Anyone know of urban tree harvesters in Northern California?

Jim

[Robert McGowen]

Hi Jim,

I am just a lurker in the Neander side of things and about 90% of the time, I have no idea what anyone is talking about. (Who wants to buy a FROG and get a TOTE for it?) I turn wood, so I do happen to know what you are talking about with the tree though. From your description, it sounds like you just cut slices off of the tree that are round with the bark all the way around. These will crack almost every single time, and usually within days. The pith is the middle of the tree and you should be able to distinguish it very easily. Without removing it, you probably won't be able to get around the wood cracking. The best case for the wood would be to coat the entire piece with Anchorseal and then wait for a year or so. An easier route would be to take vertical slices, leaving out the pith altogether. The thinner, the better. Coat the ends of the wood and wait a while. Cut any splits off the end of the wood and round it off. You obviously are going for the rustic look, so just use your chain saw. It will also not be all end-grain, as your horizontal pieces are, and should be easier to use a drawknife on. Do a search on tree processing and look for the turner's answers about processing blanks. You should end up with some photos also. Good luck!

[Larry Gelder]

What may be happening is the ends will dry faster than the middle sections. I am not sure what should be used, someone here will surely help, but the ends should either be coated or given moisture to keep them from drying faster than the sections away from the end.

My problem is a black walnut tree in my yard. It is over 50 years old and would go good with the maple for making chess boards and pieces.
Just wish I had a way to harvest the wood.

Anyone know of urban tree harvesters in Northern California?

Jim

Contact WoodMizer (1-800-553-0182) or a LucasMill distributor (Laytonville, CA, 707-984-6133). They'll put you in touch with a customer who purchased portable sawmills (or vise-versa).

[Bob Glenn]

Your maple is splitting because the outside of the wood is drying faster than the inside. When this happens, the wood shrinks on the outside before it shrinks on the inside. This causes the wood to pull apart on the outside of the log.

You would have more luck cutting a slab length wise from your log with the chain saw.