Thread: How to use freshly cut timber

You'll need to cut them into oversized boards as soon as you can.

Leaving them in log form will allow it to crack radially or check inside as it loses moisture.

Depending on species you'll need to allow for shrinkage as it dries.

If you have a chainsaw, quarter the logs into four then qtr saw each qtr again using a bandsaw if you have one to minimise lost.

Depends a bit on your climate. Is the air very dry where you ar?. At any rate you can put some paint on their ends as moisture exits at the end grain, the speed at which it exits determines how much it will split and crack. (The moisture is generally trying to escape, especially over the first couple of years) So limiting that is the idea to follow. Some bore a hole down the centre, but it needs to be fairly big, say a fifth of the diameter - though any hole helps. Another method is to throw it in a dam for a few years. One I like is to put it in a hessisn or perforated plastic bag and stuff sawdust around it. Keep it out of the sun and very dry air. A moist place will help but such places are usually where fungus and other nasties live. Keep it off the soil.

Originally Posted by Sam

How do I go about seasoning/drying freshly cut wood so I can use it later ? My in-laws are having some trees cut down today and I’m going to snaffle some to use for boxes or something. The trees are Australian natives.
Presuming this is even possible for a rank amateur, do I store them as logs or cut the logs into smaller pieces ?

Many thanks,

Sam

While out cutting firewood a few days back I had a pile of logs and debri which I was fossicking through to get at a couple of sheoak logs and I noticed that they had not split at all.On further investigation I found that the logs had been covered in humus and were still damp . This made me wonder if it would not be possible to store logs this way rather than milling, stacking and air drying.Especially logs that are bent or of a small size. Any thoughts and has anyone done something similar


Steve

That's the principle by which many of movay's suggestions work. It can lead to unwanted spalting though...

DJ's method involves the most initial work, but will probably yield the best returns in the shortest time for a DIYer.

Thanks for the responses.
It appears that only dead trees were cut down as a permit from council is required to cut down anything with leaves !

Originally Posted by Sam

It appears that only dead trees were cut down as a permit from council is required to cut down anything with leaves !

Here council defines a tree as being taller than 10 metres and all sorts of restrictions apply. If its less than 10 metres then it is a bush, and there are no rules.

It is also quite legal to prune a tree, for aesthetic or safety reasons, and once it is less than 10 metres tall it becomes a bush...... No rules against removing a bush!

Cheers

Graeme

It appears that only dead trees were cut down as a permit from council is required to cut down anything with leaves

Some say that when one of the ones with leaves is cut down leave the leaves on until they have transpired. This helpes with moisture release. Leaves transpire water when the tree has been felled for quite a wile.