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Thread: Log section storage questions

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Lake Burton, Northeast Georgia
    Posts
    150
    I have several used 55 gal. barrels with tops, that I bought at a local bee/honey place, for $18 apiece. I use them to store half-rounds of green wood, with the barrel tops loosely in place. The loose tops keeps the rain out (mostly), but lets it breathe some.

    Works pretty well for me, mostly storing maple and cherry pieces. You can get a lot of spalting, and bugs, so you have to watch it carefully. Sometimes I will take the tops off for a while on a nice day, to reduce the humidity. Sometimes I have to tip a barrel over to drain it, if it has accumulated some water. Or, you could try filling a barrel with water deliberately, which some folks swear by as a storage method. I haven't tried that myself.

    And if a piece of wood gets too far gone to turn, I will sometimes cut that up into spindle-sized pieces, and use vacuum-resin stabilization on it. Extreme spalting can produce some extremely colorful and interesting pieces of wood, for small projects like wine bottle stoppers, handles for kitchen items, etc.

  2. #17
    Ricc I usually cut my logs as you say you do and I have had success with using a few old sheets of plywood to reflect the sun but I do also tarp them behind the plywood.
    Pete


    * It's better to be a lion for a day than a sheep for life - Sister Elizabeth Kenny *
    I think this equates nicely to wood turning as well . . . . .

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Northern Illinois
    Posts
    943
    Quote Originally Posted by Randy Heinemann View Post
    Anchor Seal seems to be a good sealant. I would guess that, because the wood is exposed to sun regularly, that's your problem. My suggestion would be to store the log sections in a covered area rather than a place that gets hot sun for 4 hours a day. The sun is baking the moisture right out of the wood. The drying process is most likely speeded up because of the sun, thus causing the cracks. I'm no expert but possibly experiment with some pieces in a different non-sun exposed area.
    I have only recently obtained some short green logs and a few green blanks. While Anchor Seal (and Rockler's product Green Wood End Sealer) seem to hold checks to a minimum, but don't stop them completely. Still, I think use of these products is a reasonable way to keep green short logs and blanks, without too much loss. Since I got this wood essentially free, I can stand to lose a little by it checking. If I were you, I'd try either of these products and lay a thick layer on at least any open end grain. May not be a bad idea to do the whole piece if it is a green blank to make sure it doesn't bleed moisture too quickly or at all until you're ready to turn that piece. Just a further reminder, I don't have a lot of experience but, from what I've seen so far, these products improve the stability of these woods but don't eliminate all of the problems.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Harrisburg, NC
    Posts
    814
    Just a possibility..
    My shop is fairly small and when I did flat work I stored the boards high (7 ft). I made some brackets out of 2X4 and came down about a foot from the ceiling. Brackets were about 1 foot wide and I had 50+ linear feet around three walls. Should work for single stacking your log sections also. Gave quite a bit of storage space without using up any floor area.

    I cut my long the same way as you but have room on one wall the carport out of the sun for a full floor to ceiling rack.
    I also find cherry (along with holly) almost impossible to keep without bad cracking.
    "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Midland, MI
    Posts
    168
    Quote Originally Posted by Ricc Havens View Post
    (I can't move it anywhere else around the outside of the house per the Boss Lady's mandate).

    I have some room (not much) in our single car garage for about 6-8ft of storage along the inside of the "outside" wall opposite the wall shared with the house. What are your thoughts, ideas, tips, etc about storing sealed wood in the garage? Any suggestions on a log rack/ heavy duty wire shelves, etc??
    Ricc,
    I store blanks in my garage with pretty good success. I cut thru the pith or a bit on each side of the pith for larger logs. I cut the logs abou 4" longer than the diameter of the bowl I want make, as someone else had mentioned, to give a buffer against end checking. I coat with Anchorseal (original formulation) and store, standing on end, on the floor of the garage. Actually not directly on the floor. I put down a piece of cardboard from a discarded box and place the blanks on it. If you put directly on the floor, you will stain the concrete from mold/decay that happens under the log.

    I don't use any racks, just put on the floor. Often I'll stack a 2nd layer on top of the first to minimize the footprint I take up.

    As others have mentioned, use the wood as soon as possible for best results. But I have had good luck with cherry up to a couple of years old. And ash and elm blanks have lasted even longer, maybe because they came from trees that were dead before they were cut down.

    Any wood with bark is messy in the garage and does bring some insects with it. But I haven't had any problems with my Boss Lady, as long as I don't put wood where she parks her van.

    Dave

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Bunge View Post
    ...I cut thru the pith or a bit on each side of the pith for larger logs. ..., use the wood as soon as possible for best results. But I have had good luck with cherry up to a couple of years old.
    That's the key - lets the 1/2 shrink and warp without pulling itself apart at random places.

    JKJ

  7. #22
    Ricc one more option is to store in large plastic garbage containers. I have several under a deck and they do not sit in the sun but have worked very good. I would again recommend that if you choose this method I would shield them from direct sun rays by standing a sheet or a few sheets of plywood. For the first two months or so I removed the lids for a day or so about once every couple of weeks. Best of luck!
    Pete


    * It's better to be a lion for a day than a sheep for life - Sister Elizabeth Kenny *
    I think this equates nicely to wood turning as well . . . . .

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Elkhart, IN
    Posts
    430
    thanks for all the information everyone!!

    Ricc

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