Replies

1. 
   Floss | Sep 28, 2009 05:23pm | #1

   Don't cover the pile.

   You need air circulation to dry the wood.

   Just put some metal roofing on top to keep off the rain or build a frame and only put the tarp on top.

   Better yet, make a small shed for drying. Nothing fancy, just a few posts with a shed roof is all that is needed. Build a nice level floor to stack the wood.

   http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/5710

   F.

2. 
   JohnWW | Sep 28, 2009 11:49pm | #2

   Saw it into boards, seal the end grain, sticker it, and get it drying under cover with good air circulation as soon as possible after the tree is cut down. As long as the wood is moist there are a lot of bugs and fungi that will want to eat it, so the trick is to get it drying quickly.

   John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007
1. 
   [email protected] | Oct 03, 2009 06:44pm | #6

   I was hoping to turn it so I cut it into turning blanks-had it covered on top but open on the sides-just a tarp on the top only. I left the ends open to the air.

3. 
   DHAM | Sep 29, 2009 05:17pm | #3

   Make sure that the wood is at least 12" above the ground when you build your stack foundation.  Bugs just love ash, so good air flow is critical to get the initial drying to dissuade the bugs.

4. 
   gpssam | Sep 30, 2009 04:36pm | #4

   I have air dried several thousand bf of lumber of several different types over the past 20 years. Almost every time that I had ash in the pile powder post beetles got to the ash. It didnt seem to matter what time of year the wood was cut, if the ash sat for more than 6 months or so it ended up in the wood stove.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Oct 03, 2009 02:22pm | #5

   May seem like a dumb question but how do we explain ash being used for home furnishings and no beatle problems?  I have some ash drying that I want to use for parts to a new bench.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 03, 2009 06:49pm | #7

   Bob, when I read the first post about ash always bringing beetles (The Beatles are long gone, LOL), my first thought was to spread lots and lots of Borax underneath and around the pile, renewing as necesssary.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Oct 04, 2009 04:26am | #10

   forestgirl,

   I may do that, just to be on the safe side.  Thanks for reminding me about borax.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 04, 2009 06:18am | #11

   I've also envisioned yards and yards of Contact paper, sticky side up.  ;-)

   Either works best with bugs that don't fly, LOL.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   Edited 10/3/2009 11:19 pm by forestgirl

2. 
   JohnWW | Oct 04, 2009 12:21am | #8

   With a few exceptions most bugs get started on the wood while it is still green. Most ash used commercially is kiln dried soon after it is cut so the bugs don't get a chance to go after it. The region the wood is in also makes a difference, here in central Vermont we generally don't have a lot of problems with bugs in wood, don't know why.John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Oct 04, 2009 04:24am | #9

   With the cold weather we get I'd imagine it is just too cold for bugs that terrorize wood have much chance of wintering over would be my guess. 

   With this Global warming thang though, ticks are making their way further and further north; but I have only seen them on deer and moose.

   This fall I am moving my wood stash to a new home in a loft area upstairs in the horse barn.  Now I can begin expansion of the woodshop!

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   Shoemaker1 | Oct 04, 2009 07:00pm | #12

   Bob
   Them ticks moving North Yup.
   Last spring the wee Colleen got a bite on her upper frontal right side.
   It had the circular bullet rash. I got on the net and saw it was Lyme's diease. I took her to the Doc AsAP. He put her and antibiotics and did a blood test, she was positive for Lyme's antibodies.Mean while all the bug experts and public heatlh doc's were adement that Lyme's was not this far north.

3. 
   DHAM | Oct 05, 2009 03:35pm | #14

   My experience is that bug infestation is worse when you leave the bark on the green lumber or slabs when air drying.  I suspect that the sugars in the inner bark attract the bugs.  I am careful to edge off all the bark on the sawmill with all hardwoods.  Here in Middle Georgia, ash and hickory seem to be the worst bug magnets.  The only time I had a problem with red oak was when I did not edge off all the bark.  Since then, I have not had a problem.  Sanitation is also important in that there should not be an accumulation of miscellaneous wood waste in proximity to the sir drying stack. 

5. 
   wotnow | Oct 05, 2009 08:36am | #13

   Hi guys
   I battled borer problems in sap wood for many years until I discovered cockroach bombs (if they kill cockroaches they kill anything). Just cover your stack of stickered timber with a blue tarp making sure you have sealed around the bottom of the stack then set off a couple of the bombs under the tarp. Just leave it for a few weeks until the sapwood is sufficiently dry to no longer attract the borers then air dry as normal. Works for me.

   If you want something good for nothing, That's exactly what you'll get- something that's good for nothing.