Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Mar 19, 2004 04:37am | #1

   Tad,

   Wax the ends only, if you seal the whole log the wood will never dry out.  You seal the ends because the end grain loses water to the air much quicker than the rest of the log.  Unsealed ends cause checking because the log will dry out and shrink across the ends faster than the rest of the log.

   What you do after you seal the ends depends on what you intend to do with the wood.  If you intend to saw the logs into boards you should do that now while the wood is still green.  Logs no matter how carefully dried will almost always develop lengthwise splits. 

   If you are planning to turn the logs you need to get advice from someone experienced with the details of turning green wood, a skill I don't have.  I think for turning the logs are usually split into chunks and rough turned while still green although there are probably other approaches.

   Until you decide what to do, store the logs so that they won't dry out.  You can wrap them in a plastic bag and store them in a cool environment for a few weeks but storing them that way for too long will lead to rotting.

   John W.

1. 
   tad | Mar 19, 2004 05:58am | #3

   thanks to both john and dennis....i will use your tips to avoid the perils of splitting..some are big enough to get some bowls out of ,,..the grain looks pretty wild, but there is lots of sapwood...so we'll see what birch can do.  I think it pays to follow the city workers who do tree cutting around town...

   thanks again

2. 
   DennisS | Mar 19, 2004 05:30am | #2

   Tad -

   I would at least cut the logs into blanks for turning later - get rid of the pith, the center portion sawing or splitting the logs to give you the best grain figure, .... that's something I'm not really profecient at as yet but you have to give some thoughts to how you want to turn the wood, from the 'inside' out or 'outside' in. Each will give you a different grain pattern from the wood. To picture it, draw like a halved log (looking at the end) and draw a bunch of concentric arcs emulating the growth rings. Now superimpose a bowl shape on these growth rings in both directions as though 1) you mounted the blank on the lathe with the bark side towards the headstock and vice versa.

   Best thing to do in my opinion would be to rough turn as many pieces as you can from the stock you have, turn to say 1" min. wall thickness, then put the blanks in a paper bag with a bunch of sawdust to let them season slowly. One turner I know uses green wood endgrain sealer diluted 1/2&1/2 with water (it's an emulsified wax concoction) and coats the entire rougf turned piece. This type of sealer I guess lets the wood breath sufficiently that when diluted it will still season and dry out albeit slowly.

   But by all means, try to cut up the logs to get rid of the very middle (pith) of the log 'coz the logs will definitely end up splitting even with the ends sealed. At least that's been my experience.

   I don't know if birch is a good candidate for this but I have an illustrated book on one guy's turning work where he turns very, very green and wet wood all the way to finish then dries it very carefully. He ends up with some rather stunning wide rimmed pieces with warped edges that come close to looking like flower petals!

   ...........

   From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.

   Dennis