Replies

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 23, 2008 09:05pm | #1

   Dry it slowly.

   You've sealed the end grain and that's a good start.  Let it dry in an area out of direct sunlight with lots of air movement.  I don't think that thick wood is any harder to dry - it just takes longer, generally 1 year per inch of thickness.  (If anyone knows of a way to speed the drying process along short of a kiln, I'm all ears.)

   Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

2. 
   bigfootnampa | Aug 23, 2008 10:14pm | #2

   Actually wood becomes exponentially harder to dry as the thickness increases... assuming that you mean drying successfully (ending up with reasonably usable wood).  The splitting problems and the shrinkage stresses increase tremendously when the wood thickness is increased.  For most species drying 6" thick slabs would be well nigh impossible.  This is the reason that commercial mills almost never have wood over 3" thick available.  Mahogany, basswood, mesquite and some burlwoods are notably less prone to self destruct in the thicker pieces.  So you may have a chance with this wood that you have.   

   Most basswood is used for carving, especially in the thicker sizes and that gives you some advantage, as carvers can often cut away or patch flaws that would be ruinous for many other purposes.  You are likely facing a 5 to ten year wait though and that seems long for most of us.  Because of these factors most carvers would mill their stock thinner and then glue it up again for very thick stock like what you have.

   PS: The one year per inch of thickness works pretty well for average species of about 1 1/2" to 3" in thickness but it really doesn't give a good forecast for very thick slabs (they tend to take MUCH longer).  One inch and thinner slabs can usually be dried more quickly than this rule-of-thumb system would predict.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 8/23/2008 3:21 pm ET by bigfootnampa

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 24, 2008 07:37am | #3

   I don't speak from experience - I've never had to dry a slab thicker than 3" (and would hate to have to move one!).  In my experience, the only hard thing about drying a thicker slab is patience!  I assume that most mills don't mill thick stock is because there is little or no demand; also due to the extended drying time.  Of course, the quicker the wood dries, the quicker they make money.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

3. 
   dkellernc | Aug 24, 2008 05:57pm | #4

   Considering the extremely low average humidity in the Western US, I would consider coating the whole board with a thin coat of shellac.  Water will still transport through the shellac, but it will slow it down considerably, and will reduce the risk of "honeycombing", where the wood develops deep internal checks from the differential between the moisture content of the inside and outside.

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 25, 2008 08:16am | #5

   There's a good idea for a valuable piece of wood!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

2. 
   PheasantHunter | Aug 26, 2008 03:51am | #6

   Thanks for the advice, I will give it a coat of shellac.   I am sure living the "kiln" that the west can be, this piece of wood will be dry in less than the 1" per year, I just want to make sure it is usable woood when it dries.   I have been weighing it on a weekly basis, and in the last two weeks it has lost 16#.

    

   thanks again

4. 
   joinerswork | Aug 26, 2008 02:43pm | #7

   hunter,

   No one has mentioned this, but does your plank have a "boxed heart"?  That is, if you look at the end grain, and the growth rings, is the center of the tree inside the perimeter of the plank?  It is not unusual for a hunk of wood this size to contain the pith, and if it does, it will check from the side nearest the heart in to the pith.  There is no way to avoid this checking, however slowly it is dried.  If the pith is right in the middle of the plank, checking will likely develop on two or more sides.

   Ray