Walnut Log UPDATE (with pics)

[adam prochaska]

About a week ago, i posted thread entitled Walnut Log...here's a link to it:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...34052#poststop

Thanks for all of your advice!!! I thought i would give everyone an update.

I picked up the log today, put in on a trailer i borrowed from my friend and bent the frame. Once the frame was bent, i thought that nothing else could go wrong, so i pulled the trailer to our local sawmill. I had the log cut up and ended up with 14 boards that are 1 1/4" x 12" x 12'6" and 1 board 2 1/2" x 12" x 12'6". I brought the boards home and stacked them on top of bricks in my basement. Between each board i put 3/4" spaces. Following the advice of the man who cut up the log, I made two piles of wood and put them right next to each other with the spacers spanning both boards. He said it would help prevent twisting. I have not yet sealed the ends. It was pretty wet and...well, i was pretty tired. I'll paint the ends tomorrow.

Do i need to do anything else? Now do i just wait? Should i keep a fan on the boards and move it every week or so? Do i need to worry about anything else?

Here are some pics of the wood!!!

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Adam, first of all congrats on, from what I can see, some nice looking boards, and sorry about the trailer. You said that you put the 'stash' in your basement. Is there any provision for getting rid of moisture from the wood? I stacked a much smaller amount of wood in a storeroom on the back of my shop and in a couple days had to pull it out as the room was like a sauna....there was no way to vent the moisture. Think how much moisture is there if a pile of wood goes from 30+% moisture to 10-12%. If you get an appreciable moisture buildup in the room you probably won't have any problem telling it. If there is no air movement running a fan may be best with it. It doesn't need to be much.

Do you have any weight on the top? If not the top two tiers of boards have a good chance of warping and twisting. What I usually do when I stick a pile is to kick the 'junk' to the side to put on the top and keep the good stuff well buried in the pile.

[Fred Voorhees]

I would get a number of concrete blocks and stack them right on top of the piles, preferably right over your stickers. The gentleman that I used to get my rough sawn lumber from did this and you couldn't get straighter lumber! I often didn't even have to face joint his stuff. It went right to the planer. It was that flat! Also, he used parrafin was instead of paint to seal the ends and there was no cracking or checking with his lumber.

[Peter Quinn]

Nice Log! That's around 250BF no? What was the milling charge? That must have been a cool operation to watch for a wood worker!

I worked with some air dried butternut this winter provided by a friend's uncle that used to have a tree service and milled lots of cool stuff for himself when he found it. He's given me catalpa, butternut, rift sawn cherry, birds eye maple and a bunch of spalted apple wood I'm saving for a rainy day.

I found the air dried butternut had a luminescence that the steamed kiln dried stuff can't touch, and was some of the most stable wood I've ever touched. I hope you enjoy that score!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I'd stack & sticker 'em at the ends and middle and put cement blocks on 'em right dead on top of the stickers at the ends and middle.

My monitor is a tad off but, that looks like English Walnut. Is it?

[Tom Sontag]

I think putting fresh cut lumber indoors is a mistake. A nearby dehumidifier will probably not keep the moisture from degrading the immediate environment. If this triggers mold, you have made your house unlivable and unsalable (worst case scenario). A fan will not help since water in the air is now your problem, not water in the wood. Sorry, since I know how heavy that 2x12 was, but you should move the stack outdoors in some shade for at least the summer. Only after releasing most of the free water is it safe to dry wood in your living environment.

All your other moves were exemplary. Walnut is very well behaved when drying; you will have a nice stash.

[adam prochaska]

I am sort of worried about the moisture in the basement, however, am thinking it will be ok because our house was built around 1908 and has more airflow than most. We've been keeping windows open and it has been ok so far. I have no basis to make this claim, but i would think that much of the moisture would leave in the first few months. Any thoughts? I really don't want to move it outside.

The tree was cut down from a lumber yard in my home town of Prague, Nebraska. I did not see the tree standing and have no clue what type of walnut it is. I just assume it is American Black Walnut. It does have a very nice color...there were parts that were purple not long after it was cut.

As for the process...it was extremely cool. I have wanted to cut up a log for a long time. I know that using this wood will mean a lot more then using store-bought wood. And, the best thing....i was only charged $63 for the cut fee. I was like a little kid in a candy store and it made Bryan enjoy the process even more. As for board feet....there is roughly 200. Much has very little, if any, knots.

Thanks for all the comments and advice!

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Adam, you are correct in thinking the majority of water loss will be in the intial drying. If you have provision for circulating air to the outdoors it would be good - something like a small exhaust fan. Keep an eye on the wood to see if any mold is developing; you sure don't want that.

There are a few exceptions, like color degrade in some species, but almost always the slower wood dries the better quality it is. It gives wood a chance to dry more uniformly, eliminating things like cracking, checking, case hardening, internal stresses (wood stays flatter),etc. Commercial operations don't have the luxury of slow drying; the faster the turnover the more profit.