Todd , my brain decided to start working about 3 weeks ago , after 15 years of doing the end sealing , slow drying in cool room storage for a year or two , ending with cracks usually about the diametral depth into the length .
I was cutting a piece of caragana about 2 in diameter with the part being cut off unsupported , and as you would expect , it broke before being cut through , leaving about 1/8 in of wood and bark on the main piece . In trying to clean up the cut , I accidentally peeled a strip of the bark off , about 2 in long . Didn`t think that looked great , so did the same around the diameter , but the strips kept going farther and farther down the length as I did this , changing direction as required to go around small knots and aborted branches . In the end , I stripped the entire 6 ft piece down to the phloem , waxed the ends , and put it in the cool room .
Thought I should do a more controlled experiment the next day , so took a 12 in potential spurtle (1.5 in dia) , weighed it , removed the bark , leaving the wood surface very wet to the touch . Note : Sap had only just begun to rise , so I guessed overall MC maybe 30% . I sealed the ends with wax and went to bed . Felt dry when checked about 15 hours later , so weighed it - down about 21 % from initial weight with bark on . Today , 3 weeks later , it is down 41% from initial weight , sitting in my living room the whole time .
Guess what this does is confirm what I learned in Biology 65 years ago - the principle function of bark is to contain the moisture needed by the plant to stay alive . But , I think it may also suggest a way to reduce end checking and speed up natural drying of green wood . Not all wood barks are as waterproof or as easy to peel as paper birch , of course . Hammer and chisel probably required for most large diameter species .
