Project:Drying Timber

ProjectInfoBox Drying Timber

Status:	ongoing
Release Date:	hoping for first products in 2017 2018 2019
Initiator:	Lukas
Materials Used:	various kinds of wood
Tools Used:	pocket chainsaw, hacksaw, drawknife

Before actively looking for sources of unprocessed timber or rough-cut boards for woodturning blanks or projects like a "river table", I want to experiment with drying and storage techniques to see which works best. Drying too fast will cause the wood to crack while incomplete drying allows fungi to grow.

Here you'll find my experiences! Different woods are tested as they probably won't behave alike.

some photos
apple logs in late 2016
apple discs in late 2016
the pine log in late 2016

Progress/Results

Species	Approx. Dimensions	Source	Treatment	Storage	Outcome	Use	Notes
pine	log	forest (left over by workers a few weeks before)	bark mostly gone already, no further treatment	uninsulated attic since 2016-9-25	not too great	(poor) chop block, then firewood (2017-5)	first "attempt" without any effort, no big surprise...
apple	log	orchard	cut into pieces for various approaches: 1.5 cm discs with and without bark untreated log log with cuts painted over log with bark removed and cuts painted over	garage (logs) or basement/attic (discs) since 2016-10-3 Lukas' workbench since <???>		planned: woodturning
cherry	small piece	gardener at the JKI Dossenheim (2016-12)	bark left intact, cut faces painted after two months outside double coat of clear lacquer too late - already had several cracks	$home since <???> Lukas' workbench since <???>
maple	small piece	gardener at the JKI Dossenheim (2016-12)	bark left intact, cut faces painted after two months outside double coat of clear lacquer too late - already had several cracks	$home since <???> Lukas' workbench since <???>
beech	small log	sawn from fallen tree (2017-2-5)	cut faces painted after two weeks outside double coat of clear lacquer already too late!	uninsulated attic since 2017-2-20 Lukas' workbench since <???>		planned: mallet head	"marbled" with some kind of fungus (spalting)

Further Ideas

get/make a moisture meter
there is an instructable on kiln drying at home, but it seems to require lots of space and electricity
try cheaper and ecologically safer options than clear lacquer for painting cut faces
- wood glue and water mixture
- paraffin (candle wax)
wood discs can reportedly be placed in a bucket of sawdust to dry, be treated with "wood hardener" or weighed down in a stack and rotated every few weeks
- not tried yet, but as they are really hard to dry it's best to not cut the timber into discs when still fresh!