oak

[hussaruk]

hi all
i was wondering if you could help me. a massive oak tree got blown down near me across a public footpath and has been chain sawed by the council....i took some home today...some really big pieces that i had to roll and some smaller pieces. my questions are.....
1. is it worth getting more of it.
2. do i need to dry it and how.
3. can i whittle it or is it to hard.

thanks all and please excuse my lack of capital letters and question marks....my keyboard is broken, i even have to copy and paste the letter a

[BeaverDon]

makes great firewood. not the best for carving. You have to get it down to smaller pieces and let it dry for a bit. carves OK if you are using a mallet.

[chipmunk]

i would build furniture from it its good for that or make boxs if u in to that use it in board form
u could do releif in it, if u let it dry then soak it in water a couple hrs. before carvin w/ chisels
cut it green ,stack /w3/4x3/4 pcs between the boards let it dry a yr. in a cool dry place.

[Sharon Dell]

I would love it if I had access to oak like that!!!! you can carve it green, you can let it dry. For the small stuff, I would melt wax and dip the ends in it. use a double boiler to melt the wax. I 've dried a lot of limbs of different trees this way and have had pretty good results. It's great firewood, but I wouldn't burn it all. It's expensive to buy big hunks of wood and free big stuff doesn't come around much. Get as much as you can, I would! I would keep it off the ground so it doesn't rot. hardwood is hard, but left outside on wet ground will rot fairly quick. Enjoy the heck out of it!

[James]

On large peices I like to make a saw cut to the center in order to relieve avoid compression cracks as it dries, it works to some extent if I'm in no rush to use the wood.

[Donsexton]

split it in 1/4 and carve it no need to dry or cure it will crack but you can manage the checks.