Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 04, 2009 02:34am | #1

   Sounds like a great haul.  Is there a story of how it came to be there. 

   Before you start resawing that 12/4, rip out the rift sawn portions, at least, for legs.  Also remember the benefits of being sure of having boards from the same trees.  Makes finishing MUCH easier, especially if you also keep track of the directions of the grain so that chatoyance is also matching and planing is easier.   

2. 
   bones | Mar 04, 2009 05:10pm | #2

   "Give" what a great word!   I'd take it, bring it lovingly into my home, sticker it for a month, and then check the moister content.  I'd bet if it's 30 years old, it will dry nicely. I would not resaw the thick stuff right away, but use it as needed.  Depending if the 12/4 stuff is rift or quartered or flat, you could do a lot with it.  Just the other day, I needed a 2" wide pice of QS for a door and looked and I had a nice piece of 12/4 laying around that was FS and when you looked at the end, slabing off a 1" thick piece gave me a 1" piece of QS.  Remember you can always take it to smaller dimension, but you can't stretch it back out.  Unless you have a board stretcher in which case ignore my last part.  Enjoy the lottery winings! 

   Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
   If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
   And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
   
3. 
   oldusty | Mar 04, 2009 05:18pm | #3

     Hello Galice ,

               Before you spend too much time and effort I would take a close look to determine if the stack is full of bugs and dust .

     Galice are you  near Merlin or Argo ?

           if so we are neighbors

                   regards      dusty

4. 
   HowardAcheson | Mar 05, 2009 05:53pm | #4

   What do you mean by "covered up"? Has it be stacked and stickered so that air can freely flow?

   As already been said, check carefully for bugs and also look carefully for staining. If it is stickered, look for sticker stain.

   If you take it, I would suggest it be restacked and stickered in your shop to acclimate it for a couple of months.

   Howie.........
1. 
   Galice | Mar 05, 2009 07:57pm | #5

   Thanks to all for the inputs. The wood was cut from a single old tree during logging operations in Curry County and left to rot. A Timber boss saw it laying there and made sure no one wanted it. He had it hauled to a resaw buddy and had it sawn up. Couldn't bring himself to get rid of it and as the years passed and he reached his mid 80's, felt perhaps I may want it. (I had remodeled a bathroom for him and given him a new Dewalt scroll saw. Both insufficient to pay him back for all the history he provided about SW Oregon and the good and decent friend he is to everyone.)This old soft maple had been stickered, covered with tarp and later on plastic and has been re-stacked many times. It has a small amount of wormholes, but no dry-rot or further bug damage is obvious. Although badly weathered it appears to be salvageable. Still too hard to tell if there is sticker stain - hope not.Special thanks for the resaw issues ed - there is really a lot of fiddleback apparent on the large slabs and I need to find someone who can resaw it with the love it needs. I plan to "dry" it over time by rotating it under cover all summer and then bringing it inside for a while and ultimately having it resawn.Again, thanks to all. Anyone else have an input?

1. 
   RalphBarker | Mar 05, 2009 08:11pm | #6

   Galice, this wood is obviously of no value. Out of social responsibility and respect, however, you should take it off the elderly gentleman's hands, and then haul it to my place for "proper disposal". ;-)Seriously, congrats on a (potentially) great find.

2. 
   AdamCherubini | Mar 05, 2009 08:16pm | #7

   Wet wood and damp wood are not the same.  If it sat for 30 years, it's dry and ready to be used.  Move it into a humidity controlled environment with good ventilation a week prior to working with it.  If you don't have that luxury, you should still be okay. 

   Adam