Storing green oak

[samharber]

Morning all.

I've just picked up some recently planked green oak, approximately 2" thick, and 5' long for the longest piece.

Having just wrestled it into the cellar/workshop, I'm now stuck with a quandary about how to store it. My options are as follows:

1) Store it vertically. This is easy and doesn't require any effort.
2) Anything else. This will involve trying to redesign the entire layout of the cellar due to it being the home to all the gardening/cycling/caving/climbing gear as well.

Any thoughts on the best way, or dire warnings against vertical storage?

many thanks.

 

[Bills Elm]

The problem you'll have whatever way you store it is airflow in the cellar!

I recently dried 2" thick wych Elm planks and I stacked and stickered them horizontally outside and covered them from the rain.

Now it took them over 2 years before the moisture content was low enough to start working with them and that was with the airflow they had from the outside elements i.e. wind and heat.

So I would say if you can, try and get somewhere outside to dry them and if you can't, be prepared to wait a long time on them drying!

As for stacking them vertically you'll find they won't dry evenly as gravity will play it's part in the drying process as the moisture will tend to run down the tubes in the wood so it will dry from the top down giving you problems with twisting and warping! You're cellar will always be warmer near the ceiling as well compounding the situation.

Another consideration on drying time is how wet the timber was when it was cut i.e. time of year it was cut, etc. etc.

So in answer to your question I would definately try and dry them flat and outside if possible!!

Bill

 

[Wood Monkey]

Hi Sam

I'd suggest storing it vertically will leave you with planks only suitable for propellers

You need to store it flat with sticks between each layer. Ideally it needs to be in a position where it gets good airflow. The sticks need to be 3/4 to an inch thick and spread across the length so that the boards are supported across their entire span. For 5ft boards you'd probably get away with 3 sticks per stack layer. Last point is to get some weight on top of them (above the stick lines) to minimise movements.

They can go outside with some roofing flet of similar over the top to keep the rain off and aid drying.

Then the hard bit. Sit back and try to forget about them for several years....

Here's some photos to show you my stacks that I put together after I was given 6 Oak tree trunks. Should explain it better than words. I have a stack in my garage and another stack behind my workshop in a dry store. I'm approaching a year since planking and will select a couple of boards to stack in my loft over the summer (above a supporting wall...!) to accelerate drying.

Good luck.

Jon

 

[samharber]

Cheers for that.

Sadly I don't have any outside space (I live in a 2 up, 2 down terrace with no yard).

I'll have to look at doing some major reworking of the cellar to get them laid down (and then pile all the crap back on top).

Would running a dehumidifier be a good or bad idea?

In other news, what are the pros and cons of working with that sort of thickness while its still green?

 

[Wood Monkey]

D'oh. Forgot to add. Seal the sawn ends to avoid splitting. I used neat PVA.

I can't see why a dehumidifier wouldn't help. It'll keep your tools from rusting also.

Jon

 

[Bills Elm]

Cheers for that.

Sadly I don't have any outside space (I live in a 2 up, 2 down terrace with no yard).

I'll have to look at doing some major reworking of the cellar to get them laid down (and then pile all the rubbish back on top).

Would running a dehumidifier be a good or bad idea?

In other news, what are the pros and cons of working with that sort of thickness while its still green?

You could always ask a friend or neighbour to let you store it outside if your friendly enough with someone who would let you do that.

As for working it while it's green, well what you make when it's wet will look totally different when it's dry!

Say you make a lovely table, well after a couple of years it will no longer resemble a table it'll be more like something your dog made on drugs :lol: if you see what I mean, it will move and crack and twist and warp so badly it will break your heart so you just gotta be patient and let it dry and in the mean time buy some kiln dried stuff from your local hardwood importer to keep you going.

If you do any wood turning, then you should rough out a wet blank and leave it to dry for a while and you'll get an idea of how much timber moves when it's drying.

Bill

 

[Giff]

Sam, I put a humidifier in our small crawl cellar and was amazed how much water it extracted. The only problem was it seemed to be on permanently and used a lot of power. Geoff

 

[wills-mill]

Say you make a lovely table, well after a couple of years it will no longer resemble a table it'll be more like something your dog made on drugs :lol: if you see what I mean, it will move and crack and twist and warp so badly it will break your heart so you just gotta be patient and let it dry and in the mean time buy some kiln dried stuff from your local hardwood importer to keep you going.

If you do any wood turning, then you should rough out a wet blank and leave it to dry for a while and you'll get an idea of how much timber moves when it's drying.

Bill

That's not entirely realistic. I know it's heresy to suggest it, but we've had lots of success with fresh sawn timber going more or less straight into service and supply a surprising amount to folk who are very happy with the end results. It's obviously not going do behave too well if you are making something with polite little doors and drawers, but if you keep things chunky and allow for a little movement you'll be fine.

A wax or oil finish is nice and flexible and still allows the timber to dry fairly slowly and shrink without breaking up the finish or excessive cracking of the timber itself.

If you do want to dry your timber gently then in the meantime you could always try air dried stuff from your local timber sawyer to keep you going Hardwoods do grow in this country as well......