Green wood

[Lumberman]

Can anyone please advise me on how to prepare logs of wood prior to sawing and planing.
My questions are: How do I know when the logs are sufficiently dry to use? I understand that the ends of the logs should be sealed with wax to prevent drying out to quick if so what type of wax should I use can they be sealed with ordinary paint?

Do I need a particular bandsaw blade?

Would be grateful for any advice


Harry

 

[AndyT]

If you want to convert your logs to boards then the usual practice is to bandsaw into boards straight away, stack the boards up on stickers ( strips of wood to separate the boards and allow air to circulate) and leave under cover but well ventilated to season, for at least a year per inch of board thickness.

You will need to fix your log to a sled to bandsaw it, using quite a coarse skip blade.

It's turners who want thick or whole logs who need to wax or paint the ends.

There is a lot more to it than anyone can cover in a post on here!

 

[Doris]

My questions are: How do I know when the logs are sufficiently dry to use? I understand that the ends of the logs should be sealed with wax to prevent drying out to quick if so what type of wax should I use can they be sealed with ordinary paint?

Invest in a moisture meter and this will tell you the moisture content on the wood. You want the wood to reach a percentage which is close to 10% as possible.

I use a lot of green wood in my carvings and seal the ends with PVA glue and store out of the rain.

What species of tree do you want to turn into boards? I ask as some can be more unstable than others in the drying process, splitting etc.