Logs cracking.

[BlackbuttWA]

G'day all,

I have accumulated several species of timber this last couple of years. The last one being about 4 to 5 tonne of "Jam" wood.
Logs all cut into manageable lengths depending on diameter. Many of the logs are about 1m long & have now started to crack & some splitting also.
When logs are cut to size I treat all cut timber with end grain sealer.
Would like the opinions from you experienced guys about where to go from here.
Do I just leave them or would it be better to cut off the crack end & re-seal them ?

Also....at what diameter do you split logs lengthways , & or remove pith?


Cheers
Col

[BobL]

Log cracking usually takes place because the wood dries too rapidly and/or the degree of radial and tangential shrinkage (which is species dependent) is too different.
Engrain sealer will help with the former, but not that much with the later.

For both cases drastically slowing the rate of drying down and reduce the range of temperature variation helps.
To slow down rate of drying covering the whole log with engrain sealer - this works well for small logs with no bark nut not that well over bark which eventually falls off and for big logs it is en expensive way to go.
It sounds daft but one of the best ways to do this is to place the wood under water .but if that is not possible then wet mud (messy) or even a pit with wet sawdust can work.
The later needs to be watched for pest infestation.
The water slows down too rapid a variation in temperature of the log which contribute stop cracking

I have in mind stockpiles of logs at a mill that dad worked at in Busselton, which in summer had misting sprinklers running over them most days. They used bore water of which there was heaps and it eventually stained the logs but that was all cut away.

Back to the original question - yes cut off the cracked ends and resealing is usually worth doing. And moving the logs to a place where the range of temperature is reduced 0 e.g. under a house if possible.

[dai sensei]

What Bob said. You could split the logs down the middle too to help unless you want the whole log form

[BlackbuttWA]

Thanks BobL for your input.
I won't be putting it under retic as it is in several different places around the block...too hard.:U
Living in south of WA there isn't a heap of mud around, my block is sand over limestone.so that won't happen either.:U
I am in the process of turning my old tropical fish house into a drying shed. Roof & all sides are insulated with 50mm poly foam, with 19mm MDF & chipboard cladding.
A few of the main trunks are 300mm which I have split, but some are under 150mm & most are 100mm diameter, so splitting the logs is not an option.
I will cut them back & reseal them all....when I have time.

Cheers
Col

[dai sensei]

Don't forget Col, cracked wood is just another opportunity to try infills, like brass/copper/crushed stone/coloured resins etc

[Drillit]

Col,
I also find that by peeling the bark back about 50mm at the ends to the wood and then end grain sealing all, helps heaps.
Otherwise I endorse what others have said from my experience. Hope that helps a little. Drillit.

[Wood Collector]

If you notice the cracks early you might be able to use the ganged nail plates to stop the cracks from opening up any larger. I have not tried this but thought it might be worth a shot. Cheers WC

[BlackbuttWA]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I haven't heard of removing the bark for 50mm before, can only try & see how it goes.
Had a look at some 250mm Silky Oak today. Cracks only went about 70mm in so I was pleased with that. Will be selecting the best timber & storing it in my old unused fish house.
As already stated most logs are under 250mm so cutting them down the middle &/or removing pith would leave little timber to work with.

Making the most of the weather before the fire season starts & have been busy cutting up dead trees.
Saving anything decent for turning, then anything above 60mm for the fire & burning the rest.
Cheers
Col

[Thylacene]

The mill at home had a sprinkler system setup for just this reason, logs were stacked on top of each other and kept wet until they were milled. A mate on the NE coast of tassie used clay with glad wrap over it, but it was hard to wash off and harder on blades. Might be worth getting someone with a portable mill to rough it to size, and then rack it under a tarp if you want boards out of it. At least that way you can stack it all in one heap and use its own weight to keep it in shape. Try and use dry rack sticks if possible, as shrinkage transfers to the shape the timber takes.

[Robson Valley]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, native carvers have a traditional use of western red cedar (Thuja plicata) for totem poles.
While the carved surface has many small cracks, the worst of it is prevented by cutting away the back side, commonly 1/4 - 1/3 of the entire log.

I scrounged a piece of willow (Salix) from a tree removal. Maybe 20cm x 80cm, appeared to be knot-free.
Peeled off the bark then cut away 1/4 of the length (killed a Skilsaw in the process). Other than some surface mold freckles,
the thing dried with no more than some hair-line cracks in the ends.

Had no chainsaw but I suspect that a single lengthwise cut to the center might have had the same effect in relieving drying stress.