Black Walnut and Cherry Wood Logs

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Youngturner101

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My dad works a job where he needs to cut down trees sometimes to build a structure or parking lot. Lets just say I am now in possession of two seven foot segments of black walnut that are 8 to 12 inches in diameter and two 20-30 inch pieces of american cherry. They were cut down in the winter so they were fairly dry, but what is the best way to go about drying/cutting this round stock? My end goal is to make segmented bowls for the man who owns the property where the trees came from. help please?
 
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I would take this route to your end goal. First figure out what will be the max length your projects will be. Cut the logs down to a size you can handle. Find someone with a 14" bandsaw or timber band saw and cut the logs to a little over the thickness you will be needing. Stack and sticker your cut logs in the order they are cut. Although the logs seem dry, the mosture content will still be high in a fresh cut, and still need some kind of drying time. Check the library for methods of drying. If you don't want to waste a lot of wood while turning, check out Bill's videos on using a Ring Master to make bowls out of a plank. http:www.picturetrail.com/willyswoodcrafting. I have one, it works great !! Jim S
 
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I have similarly sized walnut logs that I cut up a couple years ago. Most of it got halved and quartered, depending on the size, then I got a gallon of wood end sealer from Rocker and double-coated the ends to prevent checking. It's all in the upstairs storage area of the garage until its got a 4-5 years air drying before I do anything else with it. So far, everything looks good so the plan is working.

There's a few really big chunks that I might not touch for a decade! I don't even have a big enough lathe or bandsaw to handle those fellas yet...

Attached are what I got to give you size comparison. Obviously, if you cut into smaller slabs because you want to do segmenting work, your drying time will be reduced considerably as well.
 

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76winger said:
I have similarly sized walnut logs that I cut up a couple years ago. Most of it got halved and quartered, depending on the size, then I got a gallon of wood end sealer from Rocker and double-coated the ends to prevent checking. It's all in the upstairs storage area of the garage until its got a 4-5 years air drying before I do anything else with it. So far, everything looks good so the plan is working.

There's a few really big chunks that I might not touch for a decade! I don't even have a big enough lathe or bandsaw to handle those fellas yet...
Click to expand...

Sounds like the only option is to wait a lonnggg time to dry it out! haha
 
Youngturner101 said:
76winger said:
I have similarly sized walnut logs that I cut up a couple years ago. Most of it got halved and quartered, depending on the size, then I got a gallon of wood end sealer from Rocker and double-coated the ends to prevent checking. It's all in the upstairs storage area of the garage until its got a 4-5 years air drying before I do anything else with it. So far, everything looks good so the plan is working.

There's a few really big chunks that I might not touch for a decade! I don't even have a big enough lathe or bandsaw to handle those fellas yet...
Click to expand...

Sounds like the only option is to wait a lonnggg time to dry it out! haha
Click to expand...

Good things take time :cool:

Actually though, the REALLY GENERAL rule of thumb I'm running on is that of air drying a year for every inch of thickness. There's a lot more complicated forms to drying it quicker and/or more evenly but I didn't want to take on an extensive learning project so I kept my approach simple.
 
:rolleyes: If you are in a hurry to dry your wood. Build a small frame and cover it with plastic. Make sure you put spacers between your boards. Install several light bulbs inside to do the drying. Want it faster? Add a small fan to move air around and increase drying. Want to go even faster? Add a dehumidifer to remove even more Moisture. Take a piece of wood and weigh it. Mark the weight on the wood itself. Every couple days take out the wood and reweigh it, mark it down. When the wood no longer loses any weight, it is ready. Restack your boards ever couple of weeks. Dried boards should be about 11% moisture content. Some words to live by. Faster is not always better. If you dry your wood to fast it may crack or warp. Seal the ends with something. If you have a can of old paint, use it up for this purpose. There are other methods that are used for outdoor drying as well. Most important is to keep your wood covered and out of the weather, make sure you have good air circulation betreen logs or boards, restack your boards every month or so. keep your logs off the ground, and seal the ends. Jim S
 
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I will cut down the logs and do my best. I have limited time before the semester in school is over. I am borrowing my teachers chuck so I will make sure i get the logs cut asap and start drying them. thanks!
 
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