Thread: What to do with my jarrah logs.

Originally Posted by robduca

Hi, I have recently dropped a couple of jarrah trees and want to slab them. My question is when do i slab them? Do i do it now or let them dry for a while? I will be using an alaskan saw mill.

Any help will be great.
Thanks
Rob

Seal then end grain IMMEDIATELY and mill anytime thereafter. Jarrah is relatively soft even when it is dry but I love milling it green because it's extra soft and the colour is fantastic.

Thanks for that. What do you use to seal it?

Originally Posted by robduca

Thanks for that. What do you use to seal it?

There are special petroleum wax based products called something like "endseal" "endcheck" or "anchor seal" that work really well but the important thing is to get something on the ends asap so I would suggest something like plastic house paint. Make sure it still has plenty of plastic left and paint it on good and thick. 3-4 coats. If it has gone hard - don't try to resurrect it with water - the paint will be too running and there won't be enough plastic in the paint to protect the wood from drying out too quickly.

The petroleum based stuff is better at slowing the drying down and reducing splitting but I find it takes a lot longer to dry and picks up grit and small rocks if it comes into contact with the ground. Then you might even need to cut a couple of inches off the ends of the logs before milling and then you have reseal the slabs again.