Been looking around for some dry logs or stumps to do some projects on but I cant seem to find anything… Everything is either “firewood” (on marketplace) or still too fresh to work on. Anyone know where I could find some dry logs or a kiln (north of or in the St Paul/Minneapolis area) that would treat them for me?
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Most logs stay wet a long time. They don't dry out until they are milled and either kiln dried or air dried one year per inch of thickness (rule of thumb).
You could dry a whole log, but your grandchildren would have to work it for you, long after you're gone.
If you leave a log whole, it will split as it dries. I'm not sure there is any way around it. That's why it's milled before drying.
Turners take a section of log and turn it halfway, extra thick, then let it dry before turning it to final size.
It would help if we knew why you needed a log, a dry log. What are you making?
Okay that makes sense. If i cut it into 3rds vertically how likely would it be to warp? Im assuming it has a lot to do with wood type and moisture content?
What is the diameter of the log?
When wood dries, the growth rings get shorter. The longer, outer rings will move more distance and if the log is left as a whole it will induce cracks, many smaller ones or a few large ones that get larger towards the bark. If you slice the log in half through the center, when drying the two faces will become convex .
Great teaching aid, Gulfstar.
What Gulfstar said. You should also remove the bark. Insects like to burrow under the bark, and some woods will stay wet and start to rot pretty quickly. Removing the bark lets your wood dry faster too.
Couldn't i just flatten the convexed log after the fact (once at a good moisture content?)?
How would i achieve this kind of project without having the wood warping over time? In this picture they used Petrified wood which isnt necessarily in the budget so i was wondering what would be the best way to get a similar outcome with different options. And where to buy wood that i could prepare for a project like this?
Cut the log to the shape you want, but oversize. Wait for it to dry. Then flatten the top. Do a few, because a couple of them might become unusable while drying.
thanks so much for the advice!!
Try a tree cutting business and ask them for green logs. They are bound to be lots of downed trees after the ice and snowstorms.
I really appreciate it! thanks!
No one is drying logs. Where to find a dry log? In the woods maybe, a downed tree or a leaner that's been down a long time. A sunken log out of a swamp. People "mine" that stuff and mill it ,maybe you can purchase a whole log. Reclaimed wood from something that was constructed using whole logs such as a pier or log cabin.
I have some mixed hardwood woods that I bought in the Appalachian mountains. I figured at the time, 50 years ago now, that if I was going to be a woodworker I'm going to need wood. Then I ended up in California. On that property I have a few chestnut " ghost trees" I call them. Big grey standing 30'+ stumps that died from the blight. I cut one once but what I got out of it didn't seem worth the value to me as much as I valued them just standing there, they're still there. I would doubt that there is any usable lumber in them by now but chestnut was pretty rot resistant so who knows?
I have a couple of arrangements ,one with a tree company that if they come up with anything special or exotic I'll take it and another guy who is taking anything from another tree company and turning it into firewood. The tree guys loves it because it saves them dump fees. And oh, by the way,try the dump! I pass that firewood scene every day. I picked up a bunch of acacia just the other day from him and recently a nice pile of cypress blocks for turning. It's green but fine for turning.. If you want dead dry logs they exist but you need to do a lot of road work to find them. Hit up farmers and be sure to bring a bottle with you!
I'm a newbie here. I even don't know much about it. But I would like to learn more. Thank you so much!
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