Forums

green wood

Posted by Jonathan on June 14, 2010 at 8:36am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

I just got a few decent limbs of some hardwood, cherry, maple and some others.  they're not so big and i could really only get about one neck out of each.

 

Any tips on how to seaon the wood.  I have a vague notion but that's about it.  currently I was thinking of cutting it down next week and then sticking it under some bricks for a few weeks.  should I wrap them in newspaper?

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Dave Breault June 14, 2010 at 1:36pm
    you got that right, too dry can be worse that too wet sometimes. you do want them to dry slowly and evenly. Some people will coat the cut ends with latex paint or even hot wax to slow down the drying.

    Randy S. Bretz said:
    You don`t wnt to put it where it doesn`t get some kind of air, it will dry out to fast and crack and twist. The ideal place is outside under a roof. You want to keep the elements off and yet dry slowly. even milled wood from places like Lowes and Home Depot has some kind of moisture still in it. If you were to take a moisture meter and stick the prongs in such wood it would still register. I was a millwright for over 30 years and more then a few times I would reject a skid of wood for having to much moisture in the wood or none at all.


    Wes Yates said:
    Dunno if this would work but what if you put the wood up in your attic? Mine is quite warm [read: hot as s2t]. Dunno if it would crack any green wood tho. It def would keep rain off so it would dry and also keep bugs out. I dried some bamboo that way.

    DOH! Just read you are in Japan. Dunno if you even have an attic... Or if they make attics there.

    -WY
  • Jonathan June 14, 2010 at 11:15am
    ha ha! tbh most people don't have attics but i think i'll use the warm shed.

    Wes Yates said:
    Dunno if this would work but what if you put the wood up in your attic? Mine is quite warm [read: hot as s2t]. Dunno if it would crack any green wood tho. It def would keep rain off so it would dry and also keep bugs out. I dried some bamboo that way.

    DOH! Just read you are in Japan. Dunno if you even have an attic... Or if they make attics there.

    -WY
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates June 14, 2010 at 10:41am
    Dunno if this would work but what if you put the wood up in your attic? Mine is quite warm [read: hot as s2t]. Dunno if it would crack any green wood tho. It def would keep rain off so it would dry and also keep bugs out. I dried some bamboo that way.

    DOH! Just read you are in Japan. Dunno if you even have an attic... Or if they make attics there.

    -WY
  • Jonathan June 14, 2010 at 10:28am
    the maple is hardwood, the cherry is but barely. the other wood is a hardwood but ijust don't know the name in English. thanks for all the help.
  • Jonathan June 14, 2010 at 9:50am
    thanks.
    so will the wood not crack through the middle? i've got it standing upright in a cool, slightly wet shed right now. I've got access to a shed that is dry and gets warmer in the day since it's not covered by shade trees. what scares me about the wetter shed is there is mold in there, it's not everywhere but it's there.
    back in the states i had access to a kiln i used when painting glass. but now, i'll have to try my luck but it seems many lumberyards just dry them outside.
    on a side note; how can i identify a tree by the cut of wood alone? say,for instance if it has the bark still but no leaves.
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates June 14, 2010 at 8:59am
    I would leave them out for longer. Perhaps months to a year. OR find yourself a sawmill that might be able to cut them or kiln them for you.

    -WY
This reply was deleted.