How to dry logs properly

[brianhabby]

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how to treat fresh logs.

I had some eucalyptus logs that were felled in the spring. I treated the ends with a good dose of PVA but it clearly isn't enough seeing how they have cracked on the ends. Not sure how deep the cracks go.

They have been stored in a shed over the summer.

When you buy a turning blank is seems to be coated in some kind of wax coating - does anyone know what this wax is and where to get it? Is it what I should be using on the logs?

Also, where is the best place to store them, inside or out?

Hope someone cane help

regards

Brian

 

[bellringer]

the wax is candle wax but it might just be that it is eucalyptus which splits like a bugger

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

I melt wax (old candle ends) in a baking tray and dip the ends or brush the wax on, making sure the wood gets a good coating. Even then you can still get the odd crack. I think different methods of sealing the end-grain works differently on different wood types. I could be way off the mark, but I believe it is because of the different rates that wood species dry at.

 

[procell]

I used knotting solution on the ends of some Eucalyptus but its only been a few weeks so far so I cannot say if it is working. I do know the bits i cut off to try wet turning have warped but don't seem to have cracked yet. This may be due to the pith being removed from them so its only heartwood and sapwood left.

 

[CHJ]

I have put a few notes on the subject in the Help Sticky at the top of the forum

I use Old Candle wax to seal the majority of my stock, but have used old gloss paint and PVA in the past to good effect.

If you ever manage to dry UK grown Eucalyptus without splitting either around the periphery or unseen until cut internally; let us know your method, we'd all like to know the secret.

 

[finneyb]

Turn 'em green, it's a lot more fun. Nice long creamy shavings and no dust.

Brian

 

[chipmunk]

+1 for Chas' sticky comments.

Unless your shed is in the shade it will almost certainly have been a bit too hot for wet logs this summer although any wood that was on its way to being dry would have come on in leaps and bounds.

I have a turning friend in Hampshire with a large garden who stashes logs of various sorts under the shrubs in the flower beds where it's nice and cool. He loses some to rot and the ends still split (he doesn't seem to end-seal) but somehow he gets away with it most of the time. I have an open shed (opening facing North) which I built in early 2012 and it was fine over July and August 2012 (not even going to call that summer!) and it stayed pretty cool but then it got a bit too hot to be honest this year.

I would honestly forget about your Eucalyptus. It's pernickety in the extreme unless you can turn it green and then it moves almost before your eyes - there is just too much built in stress in it I think to dry successfully. Console yourself that it's a very dull looking wood when it's dry and there is much better looking wood out there which is a lot easier to dry!

HTH
Jon

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

+1 for eucalyptus. When we built this house 5 years ago we removed two of the offending and entirely un British monsters. They're nothing but trouble in my view. Ugly brutes that drop bark and leaves seemingly without regard to the season and as far as turning goes....forget it. I've never seen a wood split so readily once cut...it's quite amazing.

I even bandsaw'd some into planks once and the grain was actually following a spiral....never seen anything like it. Brittle, sharp....hideous stuff. If there is such a thing as a real life Triffid.......then that's it!
One thing its great for....firewood. Its dense and burns beautifully, in fact its designed to burn if I remember correctly. Ie its a tree that has adapted to its native bush fires....burns to the ground but then seeds re-colonise very fast so it can re-establish itself.

I think the only possible method that might work is to saw it immediately its felled to remove the pith and then cut blanks. Then store it in water until you turn it green. Turn it to say 20% of final thickness and then wrap that sucker in everything water holding you can find. That might work. Personally....cut into fire sized chunks....light blue touch paper.....retire to safe distance with toasting fork and chestnuts!!

 

[CHJ]

Tried the water tub storage, on some pieces 40cm+ dia. did not work, water turned to black slime despite several changes, wood much the same to handle, split just as rapidly whilst trying to get it dry enough to get the saw through it.

After 4 years they are now filling holes under neighbours fence to limit Badger access to my veg plot, only thing I had heavy enough to stop them lifting them back out.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Well I have to say that doesn't surprise me Chas. A geezer at our turning club that turns Stetsons (out of green maple) said similar things ie he keeps it under water till he's ready to turn. He was experiencing the rancid water problem and he ended up adding something to stop it....Dettol or something...cant quite remember. But it was some kind of household antiseptic and it stopped the water going off and now his hats smell nice too

However....Eucalyptus.....save the water

 

[KimG]

I could be wrong but I suspect the wax you get on bought pieces is more likely to have been applied in the form of an emulsion like the Chestnut end seal product, you paint it on as a water soluble liquid and it dries to a wax, I find it very good but it's also a bit expensive. Not having tried melted wax, I wonder how they compare for adhesion, the emulsion, by virtue of being water based actually gets into the grain a little really sealing it up, would not the presence of water in a green log prevent a as good a seal with a hot wax? Dunno, I imagine it that way though.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I have a big pile of eucalyptus, which is intended to keep us warm in winter !

I have turned some green on the pole lathe - if you only want thin spindles and can spit it into quarters or so so that it can move without spitting, you may fare better - little chance of joy leaving it in the round.

Console yourself that it's a very dull looking wood when it's dry and there is much better looking wood out there which is a lot easier to dry!

The bishop in this (not too great) photo is turned from green eucalyptus. Interesting patterning on it, not quite sure what that is (the dibber is buckthorn, I think).

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

Not having tried melted wax, I wonder how they compare for adhesion

I've never had any adhesion issues. Capillary action draws the hot molten wax into the grain and it seems to hold really well.
It's amazing how many folk will donate old candle ends, and jars etc. I've even used old citronella candles.
Failing that, our local pound shop does a dozen white candles for a quid. They do the same job. :lol:

 

[chipmunk]

I have a big pile of eucalyptus, which is intended to keep us warm in winter !

I have turned some green on the pole lathe - if you only want thin spindles and can spit it into quarters or so so that it can move without spitting, you may fare better - little chance of joy leaving it in the round.

Console yourself that it's a very dull looking wood when it's dry and there is much better looking wood out there which is a lot easier to dry!

The bishop in this (not too great) photo is turned from green eucalyptus. Interesting patterning on it, not quite sure what that is (the dibber is buckthorn, I think).

Tony,
I could really have done without you showing me that! #-o

Now you're telling me I've been deluding myself for all these years!

...but are you sure it's Eucalyptus Gunnii (- that horrible stuff with the evergreen penny leaves and white peeling bark that Bob was mentioning)? ....he said, trying to convince himself again :roll:

Jon

 

[CHJ]

I have from time to time turned some beautiful Eucalyptus Burr wood, a recent example.

But I have yet to see any species grown in the UK that had anything but bland white stringy wood.


On the waxing front, I find that melted wax, Old Candles, Paraffin wax etc, (all gets dumped in the same pan) is a big advantage on green wood.
If the pieces are of a size that they can be dipped in the hot wax for a few seconds the surface water can be seen to be boiling off as steam, and the wax bonds well and penetrates the odd millimetres as it cools.
I heat the wax to just below fuming point, at this temp. it also makes a fair job of working with brush application on bigger pieces.
The last two times I have seen wood yards cutting blanks they were using a large pan of melted wax to dip and roll the blanks. I suppose using a water based sealer in a shallow pan would work the same.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Now you're telling me I've been deluding myself for all these years!

...but are you sure it's Eucalyptus Gunnii (- that horrible stuff with the evergreen penny leaves and white peeling bark that Bob was mentioning)?

Hmm. I don't know eucalyptus varieties terribly well, but it came out of a neighbour's garden. Roundish leaves when young or freshly cut back, long leaves on mature wood. The tree had some decay in it, so I don't know if the pattern is some sort of spalting ?

The eucalyptus I have for burning is mostly a lot less interesting. And mostly too split to use for anything else, as I discovered looking for something to make a rice bowl ... chopsticks might be possible though !

 

[chipmunk]

Well it certainly sounds like gunnii...

I know they have hundreds of Eucalyptus species in Australia. I have samples of a few but it's strange that it's just that gunnii variety we seem to get in gardens here.

Jon

 

[KimG]

I have from time to time turned some beautiful Eucalyptus Burr wood, a recent example.

But I have yet to see any species grown in the UK that had anything but bland white stringy wood.


On the waxing front, I find that melted wax, Old Candles, Paraffin wax etc, (all gets dumped in the same pan) is a big advantage on green wood.
If the pieces are of a size that they can be dipped in the hot wax for a few seconds the surface water can be seen to be boiling off as steam, and the wax bonds well and penetrates the odd millimetres as it cools.
I heat the wax to just below fuming point, at this temp. it also makes a fair job of working with brush application on bigger pieces.
The last two times I have seen wood yards cutting blanks they were using a large pan of melted wax to dip and roll the blanks. I suppose using a water based sealer in a shallow pan would work the same.

Useful info Chas, I'll have to start saving up the old stumps!

 

[woodfarmer]

basically the outer rings shrink more than the inner ones. It is very difficult to dry a round log without it splitting along the medullary lines. easiest way is to split the log across its diameter although taking out a segment will usually work.

leastwise thats how it seems with firewood (Oak, Ash, acacia and most fruit woods)

 

[procell]

That settles it I am splitting my logs and removing the pith tomorrow. Its only for me to practice on so if i learn anything from it all is not lost.