What have I bought?

[Fantaysia]

Gday folks :)

Can anyone tell me what I have bought from the picture? I can get a better picture tonight. I bought these 2 slabs last night for $20. They are about 1600 long and 150 thick. Have I bought flat firewood or something useful?

My hopes are to look at using these for a bar top - not a professional job just a home project.

Cheers

[rod1949]

For the size is each piece heavy or light in weight? It could be Cape Lilac. if you don't want them I could be interested.

[Fantaysia]

For the size is each piece heavy or light in weight? It could be Cape Lilac. if you don't want them I could be interested.

They are very very heavy. I was hoping to make a bar top out of them. Are they a type of Jarrah? Can you tell from pictures if they are dry enough to work on? (read a thread about that here)

Cheers

[Calm]

How heavy are they? just read your post again sorry - indicates a lot of moisture.
have the ends been sealed?

From what i can see there doesnt appear to be any checking (cracking) at the ends.

With the bark attached i would think they are probably still green - having no knowledge of WA timber i am very interested to see what others think.

I think i would paint/seal the ends and store for a year - or you could paint the ends and weigh them every week/month and when the weight stops going down you can then assume they are dry.

Cheers

[BobL]

From what i can see there doesnt appear to be any checking (cracking) at the ends.

I think you need your eye's checked - they are splitting quite badly.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=104490&stc=1&d=1241682761

Who ever cut those looks like they did it freehand and fair butchered the surfaces. It will take a lot of work to get those flat unless you have access to some big machinery.

Firstly they are not Jarrah and it looks a bit like WA swamp oak to me - you need sweep off the sawdust and pour some water on them and then take up some close ups of the grain and post these for me to tell.

If they are Swamp oak that is not good news since they are split so far it is now too late to bother with sealing the ends because they will continue to split along the cracks. Even if you painted the cracks they will still split and your cracks will be full of paint or whatever you paint into the cracks that you will never be able to get rid of. I would not work these slabs until the splitting stops so that you know if they are even worth working with. I'm sorry to say I think you are wasting your time with those slabs, they should have been sealed on the day that tree was cut down.

[Calm]

youre right Bob

I couldn't get the picture to open up but now i saved it an then opened it - shouldn't have been lazy to start with.

Cheers

[rod1949]

Are they a type of Jarrah? Cheers

There is only one type of Jarrah and that is Jarrah. To me it seems to be a bit too pink in colour to be Jarrah.

Where did you buy them from (not that its any of my business) and what were you told the timber is/

[Fantaysia]

There is only one type of Jarrah and that is Jarrah. To me it seems to be a bit too pink in colour to be Jarrah.

Where did you buy them from (not that its any of my business) and what were you told the timber is/

I bought these from a guy privately in Kinross who just wanted to get rid of them to clear his garage. He advertised them as Jarrah slabs. He told me he bought them from a place in Serpentine.

It's looking like I bought 20 bucks worth of firewood ... :doh:
EDIT: I'll grab a better pic tonight. They didn't look red at all this morning.

[Burnsy]

The bark on the bottom one does look like it could be jarrah, post some more close up pictures. They do look pretty green though by how that bark is hanging on. For $20 you can't really complain even if you just cut some hall table legs and boards out of it.

If the checking does not worry you to much it might be worth bringing them up here and have me use the lucas to cut a level surface on it before flipping it and doing the other side. Otherwise I can do that and then run vertical cuts along it and turn it into boards.

For a rustic style slab bar I think you will get away with it but there looks to be a fair bit of drying time still required.

[Fantaysia]

The bark on the bottom one does look like it could be jarrah, post some more close up pictures. They do look pretty green though by how that bark is hanging on. For $20 you can't really complain even if you just cut some hall table legs and boards out of it.

If the checking does not worry you to much it might be worth bringing them up here and have me use the lucas to cut a level surface on it before flipping it and doing the other side. Otherwise I can do that and then run vertical cuts along it and turn it into boards.

For a rustic style slab bar I think you will get away with it but there looks to be a fair bit of drying time still required.

I've added some more pics .. let me know what you think? I would definately be open to suggestions towards making these 2 into bar slabs. I am not fussy as to how they look really, or how long they last for that matter. If I could get them cut straight on one side and cut level i'd be happy :)

Thanks to all the replies regarding these. It's good to have educated feedback as I know nothing about wood!

[BobL]

I've added some more pics .. let me know what you think? I would definately be open to suggestions towards making these 2 into bar slabs. I am not fussy as to how they look really, or how long they last for that matter. If I could get them cut straight on one side and cut level i'd be happy :)

Thanks to all the replies regarding these. It's good to have educated feedback as I know nothing about wood!

I'm 95% sure that is Obesa (swamp oak) .
Look here (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=62836) especially at the bark. This is freshly milled, it becomes browner as it drys out.

[Manuka Jock]

Those slabs appear to have the pith running down the center (the checking ).
If so , they are quarter sawn , and should be reasonably stable.
(unless that particular timber , whatever it is , acts differently )

Take up the offer to put a chainsaw mill across both sides to even them up , and consider slicing them along the pith/split /center.
(it may season , better, faster )
You miller will have a better idea when looking at it .

Later when they are seasoned , you have the option of joining them back up again , with a hardly noticeable join , and then cutting it to the width that you want for the bar top.


But first , Seal the Ends.
Do it now

[Jarrahrules]

They are very very heavy. I was hoping to make a bar top out of them. Are they a type of Jarrah? Can you tell from pictures if they are dry enough to work on? (read a thread about that here)

Cheers


Its a shame you don't live near Melbourne as i have a wood wizz that would dress them perfect.
Regards
Jamie

[Burnsy]

Agreeing with Bob now. Was a decent size tree by the looks of it. If you want to cut some 35mm boards off each side so you get left with a flat 70mm slab send me a message.

You are looking at a pretty long drying time for that piece at 150mm thick so cutting it close to final size sooner rather than later would be a good idea.

[BobL]

I agree with Munka. That slab with the heart in it is gonna turn into what I call a bird or W unless that heart is taken out. It will be even worse if it is thinned down. If the heart is taken out you could get some quarter saw of those sides.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=104515&stc=1&d=1241701582

[Burnsy]

Bob, how stable has the obesa you cut stayed? The thin (30mm) wet boards I cut turned into crinkle cut chips. Do you think that 70mm would stay pretty flat with the heart wood cut out of it or would you go thicker?

They are 150mm at the moment, that is going to take forever to dry.

[BobL]

Bob, how stable has the obesa you cut stayed? The thin (30mm) wet boards I cut turned into crinkle cut chips. Do you think that 70mm would stay pretty flat with the heart wood cut out of it or would you go thicker?

They are 150mm at the moment, that is going to take forever to dry.

We cut 25 and 50 mm, and they both turned out to be a lottery - the ones with heart wood were the worst. I read some where that they should be quartered and then cut the heart wood out - left to dry for 6 months and then milled. A second best would be to mill and remove all heart wood in the process, but the flat sawn boards will have problems.

[Manuka Jock]

If thats the case maybe just slicing them down the pith , and stacking them for 5 years is the best thing to do .

Still doesn't get the bar finished tho eh :rolleyes:


Exactly how long ago were these slabs milled ?

[Fantaysia]

If thats the case maybe just slicing them down the pith , and stacking them for 5 years is the best thing to do .

Still doesn't get the bar finished tho eh :rolleyes:


Exactly how long ago were these slabs milled ?

Not sure how long ago mate sorry.

hmmm so my project of cutting the slab, building the bar all within 2-3 weeks is not gonna happen .......

I should have known it was too good to be true. So can this wood just be cut, some kind of sealer/vanish put on and used? (spot the novice looken for a quick fix) :U

[Manuka Jock]

Not sure how long ago mate sorry.

hmmm so my project of cutting the slab, building the bar all within 2-3 weeks is not gonna happen .......

I should have known it was too good to be true. So can this wood just be cut, some kind of sealer/vanish put on and used? (spot the novice looken for a quick fix) :U
Every bar needs a conversation piece , no law against it being the thing your leaning your elbow on is it :D

On the other hand , it could be excellent for wood-turning .

And many a bowl is rough turned from wet wood .

[BobL]

. . . . . .
hmmm so my project of cutting the slab, building the bar all within 2-3 weeks is not gonna happen .......

Well it could . . . . . . but you will end up with a twisted split mess in 2-3 years time that will not sit straight on anything and you will curse the amount of effort you spent on it.

If you have a chain saw I would take the heart wood out of the one with the heart in it immediately. Then they are going to take a year per inch of thickness to dry out .

[Sigidi]

Fantaysia, if you are close enough to Mike (Burnsy) I'd take up the offer to 'dress' them with his lucas blade, this will even them up. Then you can make your bar in your 2-3 weeks, but two things I'd do....
1) oil it so no problems with the sealer and the expected movement it will have and,
2) expect it to 'move' pull,twist,warp etc and use that movement as a talking peice...

Up to you really, if you need a bar in 2-3 weeks, go for it