storing fresh cut timber

[Jenny Brandis]

The Power company insisted that the trees near the power lines be trimmed and as the trees in question are so big, there has been seveal nice pieces that we would like to turn.

Up until now we have used blanks we have purchaced so have never started from scratch.

I use wood to make lace bobbins so the blanks need to be roughly 1cm x 1cm x 25cm long and DH makes pens so he will be using the wood as pen blanks.

Each length is up to approx 30cm across and 50-100cm long with the bark still on. The trees are natives (paperbark, raintree etc)

We live it the semi tropics and we are about to go into the build up (up to 95% humidity and 45 degrees celcius)
How should it be stored while it dries enough to be turned?
Should we cut the wood to blank sizes now or after the drying?
Because of the humidity - should I be considering storing it in the airconditioned house (gasp!)
I have an old large microwave that I read somewhere could be used - but don't know how.

Any advice will be fantastic!

[echnidna]

You need to cut it into boards (at least) as soon as possible.
Coat the ends with wax or old paint or thinned down pva glue.
This minimizes endsplits as the bulk of the moisture then has to leave the timber from the sides of the boards.
Stack them at least 150mm from the ground in layers.
Between each layer put a 25mm sticker (or board) crossways about every 500mm apart.
Make sure all of the stickers are directly on top of each other so the boards dont dry with a bend in them.
You could cut to blank size (including a tolerance for shrinking) or to boards of the correct thickness and finish cutting blanks when the boards are dry. I would only cut boards now so if you decide to make something else you have timber for it.

You could take it inside if you wish but wait a month month or so so that moisture can drip out of it. Cover the top but not the sides so air can circulate freely.

[Ianab]

Hi Jenny

Some ideas...

I'd cut the timber up into approx 1" thick boards and dry it like that. You can resaw it once it's dry. If you cut it too small when it's green it's more likely to warp as it dries. If you try and dry it in log form it's going to take much longer and it's more likely to split / check.
Initial drying is best done outside, in an open shed / carport etc. Stack the wood up on 1"x1" fillets / stickers well off the ground. You need the breeze to get at it. It will dry even if the humidity is 95%, but it will only dry down to about 16-18% moisture. After a few months outside you can restack it inside and let it complete it's drying. Put some heavy concrete blocks or similar on the stack to help keep things flat while drying.
Yes you can dry wood in a microwave if you are in more of a hurry. Just keep zapping it on low power... 2 mins in the microwave... 2 mins sitting / cooling repeat untill it's dry, hard to be more scientific, but dont use Hi power or dry it too long. Experiment and dont set the wood on fire, or use your good microwave. It will smell of wood for weeks.

Cheers

Ian

P.S. Echnidna types faster than me... And painting the ends of the boards is a good idea too.

[RETIRED]

Just as an add on to the excellent advice given.

When painting the ends come down the board 25mm. Check the ends every now and again as sometimes when drying (particularly if using paint or glue) the sealer can fall off and needs to be re-applied.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Microwaving is easy, but I don't recommend relying on it. Use the above methods (sealing & racking) for the bulk of your timber, but there are times when you want to see how a new batch of green wood will look when turned. That's when I usually microwave a sample... and when I want to simply play, of course.
Place the wood in a plastic bag and "spin" it shut.
Weigh it as accurately as possible.
Microwave on HIGH for 1min. Keep an eye out for the bag quickly puffing up... you do not want this, it's a sign excess steam is building up inside the timber and will probably crack it. If it happens, stop the MW and turn the setting down a notch. Also, if you see smoke or signs of charring... :eek:
Remove the wood from the bag and wipe excess moisture from both.
Wait 15 mins, letting the wood cool down.
Repeat steps 1-6 until there's no appreciable weight loss.
Mount on lathe...
Should it have split during drying, then next time you another piece of the same wood turn the MW down yet another notch. Microwaves vary, woods vary and people vary, so all the above is just a rule of thumb to get you started. ;) Like anything practice makes closer to perfect!

[Auspiciousdna]

This might help aswell.