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View Full Version : Timber storage - Part 2



Grumpy John
28th October 2010, 09:11 AM
About 2 months ago I scored some freshly cut down Red Alder and Silky Oak Link (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/nice-score-122899/). I decided to give my Woodcut Bowl Saver a workout and cored out most of it, leaving 3 lumps not cored.

The cored pieces I placed in plastic bags with shavings and stored in the garden shed (3 x 3 metres and not lined/insulated),
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the other 3 pieces I sealed with wax and kept in the big shed which has roof insulation and is partly lined.

Today I opened a couple of the bags to see how things were progressing:
The Silky Oak seemed to be coming along nicely :2tsup:
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The Red Alder, on the other hand, was developing some white "mould" and on a couple of the blanks there were some bright yellow patches. Is the white "mould" the start of spalting, and if so can it be controlled? I'm assuming the yellow patches are just "punky" wood. One thing I noticed was that there was no sign of cracks developing in any of the pieces despite the wide temperature variations in the small shed.
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One of the blanks in the other shed has developed a couple of cracks.
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Does anyone think that coring a big blank could reduce stress during the drying and therefore help eliminate/minimise cracking, or is wrapping in plastic with the shavings the reason for no cracks developing (so far).

NeilS
28th October 2010, 10:45 AM
Does anyone think that coring a big blank could reduce stress during the drying and therefore help eliminate/minimise cracking,



Yes, it will minimise the cracking but I still have to slow down the drying after coring by whatever method I'm using at the time. Woven poly horse feed bags are working quite well with larger pieces at the moment.

.

dai sensei
28th October 2010, 11:32 AM
I have found plastic bags are ever only a temporary thing up here, sawdust or not, the condensation on the inside just promotes mould. I'm thinking wrapping in something like shadecloth may be better, so it can breath.

As for coring, anything that reduces the thickness has to be good.

Cheers

Ed Reiss
28th October 2010, 12:08 PM
John, the mould will not turn into spalting...will just keep on being mould and promote rot :C

Jim Carroll
28th October 2010, 12:18 PM
John I find the best way is to wrap the blanks in shredded newspaper then wrap in paper. Leave in a cool dry place, under the house is really good for this.

Every other week get rid of all the paper and start again.

The paper works like kitty litter and soaks up the moisture.
This eliminates mould and helps the blanks dry evenly.

They also dry out quicker as you are not holding in the moisture