For the squillianth time ... drying wood!?!

[Rooster]

Hi all. Just a quick question that has obviously been answered to death. Sorry about that. I can't really find a suitable answer using the 'Search' tool.

I acquired a piece of wood from my Granddad today. He gets log pieces from a neighbour of his who fells trees. They're his Christmas fire logs (:S). It's about a foot in diameter and a foot tall. It has still got the bark on it. It's been in his shed for about 3 or 4 months. Dry but not warm.

My question is; what do I do now. Obviously I just want to start carving it, but I don't want it to crack, so I'll be patient (if I must). My main query is; do I remove the bark or not. After that I think I just have to hide it and forget about it for a while. But where should I leave it. Is somewhere warm a must, a necessity, a help or a hindrance. My shed can be quite warm and stuffy. It has a tumble dryer and a tall freezer. My attic is like a sauna at the moment (due to the weather) but being Ireland, that won't last long. Is sealing the ends necessary for such a short piece.

Thanks for an advice. Haven't even thought about what to carve. Probably return the piece to my Granddad when it's finished. Maybe for Christmas. Mind you the piece I was carving for last Christmas is nowhere near finished, and is not looking like it will be for the coming one either. Life is getting in the way. Ah well. Sorry, just thinking out loud really!!

[Mottles]

Boy Rooster, sure wish I knew more about logs to help you with your query. Say if it were mine and I wanted to carve this log--I'd keep it in a very dry place--not moist for another say 3-4 months at least and check on it. As for removing the bark or not while drying I know with Aspen I have removed the bark then let set for months to a year before carving.
Now, even if you have some cracking plan your carving around or to include the cracking or fill with wood puddy to stablize. Now after saying all of this I have to make a disclaimer that is what I would do not necessarly what others would have done.
So it really comes down to your decision you might think of this as a test piece for future log carvings you might want to do.
Someone will come along with text book information for you. Please let us know what you find out and share your log carving when you get started or finished which ever you wish.
Kathy

[Claude]

Rooster:
Up near the top of the page is a green bar with white words. Click on Search, and the pull-down window appears. Type the word drying into the space for it and click Go. You'll find many pages appear that have to do with drying wood.

Claude

[Rooster]

Hi Mottles. Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I have no idea (yet) what type of wood it is. I think I will go ahead and remove the bark (like you said. then I can blame you if it all goes wrong!!! ) and then let it dry. I would still be interested to know what others have done. I've no idea how to incorporate cracks into the design, but I guess that just comes with practice. I'll definitely post whatever it is I eventually carve. Probably post a few progress pics too. By the way, I love Roadrunner Pete - Wood Carving Illustrated Photo Gallery. (Gives me an idea for my piece. hmm) The detail is fantastic. Is that a wood stain for the eyes?

Hi Claude. Thanks also for the reply. I did try to do a search for drying, drying wood, bark, removing bark, etc but there is so much info to go through (searching for 'drying', for example, gives 500 threads, one of which had over 200 posts, and it wasn't really anything to do with drying anyway.) I guess I just got frustrated not finding what I was looking for. I will be sure to post what I find out so others can see. I had a look at some of your carvings too Claude. The train and Stackable Santa are my favourites. I know they'd be my sons favourites too. He's 2 and loves trains and building things. Might have to try make one myself.

[Mottles]

LOL, hey Rooster I'll take the blame and on the other side I'll take the credit if you carving comes out good. LOL
Actually, incorporating a crack or flaw really just means working around the crack or flaw. Some times a crack can add character and interest to a carving.
Thank you, glad you liked Roadrunner Pete he is my favorite sofar. The eyes are woodburned then I add a high light using the acrylic color Antique White, then I finish with a very thick clear ploymer. You can use clear nail polish that you allow air to thicken it by leaving the top off. Be careful only to apply to the retina applying to the whole eye ball doesn't look as natural.
Kathy

[Claude]

Rooster:
Thanks for the kind words about my carvings.

I got the pattern for the Stackable Santa here: Santa Showcase - Celebrate the Season with 24 Patterns from the Best of Woodcarving Illustrated

Bought a clear pine board from the local Home Depot, cut various sized circles out of it with a saber saw, and then glued them together to build up the thicknesses I needed. Gave it to my grandson for Christmas just before he turned 2.

The train was caved from Jenga blocks. Here's the thread that shows all the carvings others did from Jenga blocks as well:
Jenga Blocks: Anyone taken the challenge?
Claude

[Tooljunke]

Hey Rooster , Just thought that I would throw in my two cents worth. A couple of things that I have leared the hard way was , to seal the ends of a piece as soon as you get it home if you can . Otherwise , it WILL DEFINATLY CRACK ! Sealing the ends will slow down the drying process and help REDUCE but not completely eliminate cracks . As far as the bark goes , removing it while the wood is still green is much easier than waiting til after it dries. Also depening on what time of the year youcut the tree down will make a difference as to wearther or not the bark will stay tight on the wood or just fall off . If memory serves me right , you need to cut the tree down in the winter time if you want to retain the bark on the wood ( Woodturner's do this to retain the bark for natuaral edge bowls ) Oterwise if youcut it down in the spring or summer the bark will be loose and come off of the wood fairly easy . ie: Summer - sap up / Winter - sap down . As for drying it in different places around your house the heat won't bother it as much as the moisture in the air . Be sure to "sticker" it so air jas a chance to move around all sides of it to make it dry more evenly . Hope this helps , Bob

P.S. Sorry about the spelling but my "spell check" button wont work for some odd reason.

My Page Of Woodworking Projects

[Rooster]

Tooljunke, thank for the info. I will try to do that with the next piece I get. I can't see myself personally cutting down any wood , but it's still worth knowing if I get a piece from somewhere.

Be sure to "sticker" it so air jas a chance to move around all sides of it to make it dry more evenly

I have an idea what you mean, but I've never heard the term "sticker it" before. What does that mean?

Claude, thanks for sharing. It's given me a few ideas for my own son. If I ever get around to creating these ideas I'll be sure to post them.

Mottles, I removed the bark (most of it anyway) and there was plenty of cracks beneath the surface, so you're off the hook, lol. I took a photo of the log with the bark on and when I finish cleaning it I'll take another one. But I'll probably post it in the WIP section, and then post some progress photos as I go.

That's a long way off though as I haven't even decided what to carve yet, and I'm in the middle of a few other things too. Anyway I'll keep you posted!

Rooster.

[jmischel]

"sticker" means to place the limbs on small risers so that air can get underneath. That's as opposed to just lying the limb on the floor. I put my limbs up in the rafters of my garage, giving them airflow all around except for the parts that are resting on the 2x4's.

I, too, had difficulty finding definitive information on how to dry wood. So I decided to try different suggestions. I have some limbs up there with the bark on, some with it off, some of the ends are sealed, some not. So far, I have reached only a few firm conclusions, the biggest one being that different woods have much different drying characteristics. What works for the live oak didn't work for the mesquite.

I'm sure there's lots of good information out there, but I haven't been able to find anything definitive. Fortunately, I have time and I'm not terribly disappointed if one of my branches cracks. Plenty more where that came from.

[Rooster]

Thanks jmischel. You learn a new thing every day! That's all I need to learn today then! My dad would have done something similar with timber in his workshop. Just never heard it called that. Never heard it called anything in fact.

That's interesting about the different woods. I would have thought all woods act more or less the same. I guess it's a bit of trial and error then.

Thanks again,
Rooster.