Drying Wood? Oak logs...

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

jakoop

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
51
Location
Carson City
So I now have about 10-12 pieces of red oak that was cut on my property today. How to I dry this or keep it from splitting. I would like to use it for bowls or pens or whatever but I have no idea how to take care of raw fresh cut wood. I live in Northern Nevada where it is dry and has relatively low humidity.

Any help or advice?
 

Attachments

  • Oak 1.JPG
    Oak 1.JPG
    615.3 KB · Views: 46
  • Oak 2.JPG
    Oak 2.JPG
    376.9 KB · Views: 49
  • Oak 3.JPG
    Oak 3.JPG
    417.1 KB · Views: 46
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

leehljp

Member Liaison
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
9,314
Location
Tunica, Mississippi,
The easiest and quickest is to use some latex paint on the ends. However the best is a form of Pentacryl. There are formula's around through a google search for making your own version of pentacryl and they work well also. Coat the ends well. I personally put aluminum foil on the ends after coating, then let them set for a year in my location in N. MS.

If you are going to make bowls out of them, cut the log into sections and rough turn them to reasonably close size and then put them in a paper bag in the attic. The logs are easier to turn while green, and getting them into rough shape will be easy. But they need to be put into paper bags. If you suspect they may crack, you can lightly coat the rough turned blanks with pentacryl like formula before placing them in a paper bag. That is what I have done. Caveat: I am not the expert and have to figure things out on my own. If others chime in, listen to them.
 
Last edited:

Lucky2

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
1,502
Location
New Brunswick/ Canada
Jason, Hank has set you on the right path, but, you should already cut or split those pieces in half. That is the first thing that I do with any round stock I get. Plus, when I get fresh cut or real wet/green wood, I stack it on its end father than lay it flat. Personally, I find that the wood dries a bit quicker. After all, the sap in trees runs up and down, not side to side. I only do this with larger pieces of wood, doing so with some smaller pieces, causes them to split from drying to quickly.

Len
 

Bats

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
364
Location
W. Nowhere, CT
I haven't dealt with oak, but when I cut up some maple on the property last year, I just sawed it into pen blanks while it was still wet. A few distorted or cracked (mostly those cut through the pith in the center - which should've probably been discarded anyhow, but I was sloppy curious to see what would happen), but most came out just fine. They also dry much quicker that way.

If you're planning on doing segmenting or anything that requires perfectly square blanks, though, you'll probably want to cut them oversized, then trim once they're fully dry.

If you're trying to dry larger chunks, another alternative to paint/pentacryl (which I had mixed luck with - take this recommendation with a shaker of salt) is painting the ends with a mix of mineral spirits and paraffin canning wax. I use a little temperature-controlled deep fryer to keep anything from getting too hot, but if you're careful you might also be able to use a double boiler on an electric hotplate. Unless you live alone, don't use the kitchen - you're going to make a huge mess of it.

One other addition on the bowls (again, take with much salt - I've done this on a sum total of one bowl, and it ain't dry yet) is that a lot of people will pack them in the bag in their own wet shavings, supposedly to help them dry more gradually.
 
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Messages
545
Location
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Realistically there are 2 options for sealing these in log form. First, use a basic latex paint to coat the end of the logs and the second option is to use AnchorSeal or AnchorSeal 2 to coat the ends. AnchorSeal is a wax and it what I use and it can be used on smaller, square/round blanks as well.

If you want bowl blanks your best option is to first cut out the pith to reduce cracking and checking. Lots of videos available on the internet on how to do that but doing do should allow you keep more of the log without damage. It will also dry faster in the long term. You still only need to seal the end grain, you don't need to seal the entire length of the log after cutting out the pith. This is not a guarantee that you will not have any checking at all but it will reduce it.

You could even cut the log down into final bowl blank sections and seal the ends. This will allow faster drying as well. Regardless of what you do, the sections you plan to save for pen blanks, bottle stopper blanks, call blanks, etc should not be cut down any smaller until it is completely dry. This will prevent excess warping that you would likely get if drying as small blanks rather than one large piece. It will reduce your waste.

Oak does like to split/check/crack because of its porous nature so keep that in mind as you figure out what to do with the logs. The heart wood looks really dark for oak and will certainly be beautiful turned. Best of luck with what you end up doing.
 

sbwertz

Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
3,649
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Here in Arizona, I have an old gas barbecue that is black. I put small pieces in it and sit it in the hot AZ sun. Not as good as kiln dried, but faster than plain air drying. Mostly I turn pens and peppermills at the center so the pieces are fairly small. Befriend your local tree-trimmer. Mine saves me "pretty wood" like acacia, desert ironwood, etc, when he has to cut some down for a client. I have some really pretty purple cedar, too.
 
Top Bottom