Wood storage: what am I doing wrong?

[John Shillabeer]

When I checked my stock of hard wood logs yesterday, every single one except the smallest (<5 inch diameter) un-split whole logs had developed major checks and become virtually useless.
Most of my logs come from a local "urban forester's" yard and include western maple, cherry, apple and madrone, together with some walnut, cherry and spalted western maple that I have collected locally. Some pieces have been there for as much as 2 years and others for as little as 3 months.

Within a day or two of acquiring the logs, I split them down the middle with a chain saw and anchor seal the ends. I only put one coat of anchor seal , but try to put it on as generously as I can. The anchor seal is the old original variety. Of course the logs I get from the forester could have been in his yard for a while and drying out a bit before I pick them up. I generally avoid any that have begun to check.
I store the logs on a wooden pallet (i.e. off the ground) under a big old laurel bush where they are always in the shade. I am located on the east coast of Vancouver Island where the climate is generally cool and moist, though just now we are experiencing our annual heat wave in the high 80s low 90s with very low humidity.

I have just run out of anchor seal, but am hesitating to buy more, given the results so far.
So what can I do to improve the log survival rate?

There's got to be a wealth of experience among the Creekers, so what is considered best practice?


Regards
John

[Dennis Ford]

Anchor-seal slows down drying but does not stop drying. Paraffin wax is much better as a sealer but is more trouble to apply. My preference is to rough-out bowls and hollow-forms and dry those; I try to NOT store any logs at all during summer.

[Dan Forman]

If they have been sitting for any length of time at all before you get them, trim the ends back to where no checking at all is visible before sealing them. Once checking gets started and is visible, it's pretty hard to stop it. When you split them, make sure you get rid of all of the pith from both halves, which means you will have to cut a center section of one to two inches from each log. You can make some spindle stock out of the waste portion, but don't include the pith in any of that either. Fruit woods are much more likely to check if not used quickly.

Dan

[Jamie Donaldson]

The best possible time to cut wood for future turning use is during winter when the sap is down, but we don't always have control of this part of the process of gathering green turning stock.This means less loss of moisture during storage, thus less potential for checking. Some woods, particularly the fruit woods like cherry and apple will begin to check before they even hit the ground!

[Lloyd Butler]

John,

You did not indicate how long these logs were. If they are short, then the checks can play havoc with the latest piece you can get out of the blank. I think the general rule would be to have the logs 3-4 inches longer that they are wide or more to allow you to have some material to cut off to get rid of checks. The tree guys around here cut the tress up so that they can easily move the pieces to the chippers, so they end up more like coins than logs if you do not catch the guys early before they cut up the logs.

If you can keep the logs as 3-4 feet long, then you will likely loss less overall in the end.

[robert baccus]

I keep my log pieces with one end on the ground and cover with a plastic tarp. In the summer they get a heavy sprinkling weekly. I like green wood --you may not. For long term storage wood will last forever submerged in water. Think plastic drums or small ponds. Price some of the reclaimed sunken pine and hardwood lumber being sold. Fungi is what degrades wood and it cannot survive under water.

[Reed Gray]

Well, I used to split them, seal the ends, put them on a good heavy vynal tarp, and cover with another heavy vynal tarp, and put chunks of logs all around the edges to pretty much seal it off. I have been having better luck keeping the logs whole and covering them. I just slice off what I need, and figure I pretty much loose 3 to 6 inches to end checks no matter what I do. Shade is good. Keeping any wind off them is better, because wind can dry them out much faster, even if the humidity isn't too low. One solution for end sealing is to paint it with heavy laytex paint, then slap some plastic bags on that. The bags seal the paint, and the moisture in the paint keeps the paint wet. You do need the end to be check free, because cracks always get bigger. If you are going to try to keep them wet, total soaking or sinking them in a pond is good. Occasional watering will do for a while, but can promote rotting. Then, there is madrone.... That stuff starts to split when you fire up the chainsaw! Heck, it starts to split before you even get the chainsaw out of the truck....

robo hippy

[Dale Bonertz]

I know all areas are different. I have many logs for roughoutbowls.com. I cannot seal and do all the things so many talk about. I keep them in as long as log possible. Any thing 3' and under I try to process right away or they simple go bad within a year or two. 4' and longer I leave in a field in direct sunlight with the bark on. They last up to around 5 years this way. Just cut around 6 inches off the end and your down to good wood. Keep in mind all my logs are minimum of 12" diameter and up to around 36" diameter. I understand most cannot keep logs like this for lack of space. I would suggest what whoever said stand them on end so the ground or concrete helps seal the end. Go to the borg and get yourself a box of contractor garbage bags. They are big and thick. Slide one over the other end without sealer and it will last a long time. You may have some mushrooms on the end of the log but you'll cut them off anyway when you go to process the log. Do not split them down the middle take advantage of natures natural sealer which is the bark. Wind, sun, rain and etc. shouldn't effect them this way to bad. We don't have termites here so if you do then putting them up off the ground has lots of merit.

[Prashun Patel]

Remember that the Anchorseal is a wax emulsion. This means it does not want to inherently bond with the wood. Heat and moisture can compromise the bond between the wood and the wax - especially on fresh wood. I've had the best success by re-applying the emulsion a couple days in a row and then again a couple weeks later. The best is if you can move smaller logs inside into an unheated area of the basement.

If you have to keep them outside, then long is best, IMHO. In fact, If you cannot get them roughed out or into small enough "D"s that can be waxed completely and stored inside, then I believe it's actually best to keep the logs round and in tact and just seal the heck out of the ends repeatedly. You may get some checking, but I just find the logs to stay most stable this way for extended durations.

[Reed Gray]

Dale, your results are a lot different than mine, probably because of the difference in climate. A log here, if left for 2 years will most likely be rotten. It does get wet here in the winter. Hot and dry, well, not Arizona, but with the winds, things check pretty fast. At 5 years, it would be compost, well, unless it was black locust, and then it would be splinters. I have noticed that the sooner you turn the fresh cut wood, the brighter the colors are.

robo hippy

[Dale Bonertz]

Your right Reed. John Jordon told me and Dan that he can't believe how we can store wood here. If he did that in Tennessee then in six months it would be mush and rotten. That is why I said all areas are different. John, Dan and I think the combination of altitude, ultraviolet's and not many insects must somewhat case harden the ends to seal in the moisture. A couple of years ago I cut up a elm log that had been in the field for seven years with the last two of those years with no bark on it. It was a 30" log so I cut about 8 inches off the end and had some radial checking about 2 inches deep but I ended up with a lot of good blanks and the wood was still quite wet inside. As far as coloring I have not noticed any change in our climate. All areas are different not only in wood storage but drying methods for success as well. In retrospect I suppose we should all keep our mouths shut and just suggest the individual seak out established turners in there area to see what works best for them in both storage and drying.

[John Shillabeer]

Well, thanks to everyone for their input. There's a lot to digest here, but it seems to me that there is no universally agreed "best practice".
One thing that seems to be a consensus view is that there is little or no point in cutting the logs into short lengths before storing them.
Also, your comments have prompted me to ask myself why I am trying to promote gradual drying in storage at all. As suggested, I might be just as far ahead to store the logs moist and then make a personal commitment work with moist wood, either through thin wall green turning or two stage turning.
Thanks everyone for your insights.
John