Drying eucalyptus

Denatured doesn't do anything to it that straight alcohol won't.
Just cheaper.

What it does is delute the water content.
Since alcohol evaporates way faster than water, once yoy take it out of the immersion bath, it'll dry fast.

Make sense, otherwise I'll try to explain it better.

Old woodturner's trick.
 
stig said:
Denatured doesn't do anything to it that straight alcohol won't.
Just cheaper.

What it does is delute the water content.
Since alcohol evaporates way faster than water, once yoy take it out of the immersion bath, it'll dry fast.

Make sense, otherwise I'll try to explain it better.

Old woodturner's trick.
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Isn't alcohol hygroscopic? The mechanism that makes sense to me is the alcohol pulls the water out of the wood, and the alcohol then evaporates from the wood fast, speeding drying. Maybe that's what you said/meant; dunno. How does that affect the wood's natural oils? Does it matter?
 
Related to what I posted about guitar wood, apparently wood for instruments can be torrefied. I think it removes some oils. The process uses heat but it's also in a chamber where oxygen is removed. Not sure how that would work for wood used to turn on a lathe.
 
I have never used the method, myself.
Back when I turned for money, I had around 600 rough turned items on my drying loft, plenty to choose from.
So speeding up the drying process was not necessary.
 
Fresh fallen (green) E. globus (bluegum) I can split with a 6 pound maul. Generally without problem, unless they're really big, but even small there are some tough ones that I had to rip with the saw to get them apart, even green. Cross-fibered grain like a helix.

Here's my wood pile" Bishop pine and swamp cypress. Standing in the background. The pine can be tough to split, but the cypress splits easy. Well, once you "pop" the round it does anyway.

my wood pile.JPG
 
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Stuff I split tends to be big 30” plus. Most experience is with very old dry red gum. Outer rind is twisted grain but splits, just doesn’t make straight firewood. Inside then there will usually be some wood that will be cracked and split ok (with the rings). Then the core which is usually offset from center. Rarely can it be hand split. I use a press with a wedge on it or noodle. I have split green trunk wood by hand and it split easily only once. Usually springy. Limb wood is worse. Half dried (like in above pic) is very tough.

Aleppo pine is incredibly tough and stringy. Noodle.

Ponderosa I noodle through the knots and hand split those quarters.
 
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Some co-dominant blue gums can get 12 foot dbh.

Single trunk specimens to 8 foot. Largest in the state was a little over 9 foot and 227 feet tall.

Key word "was". I have no idea what the current state champ is. But probably close.

The blue gums are especially nice trees to climb. With their stout limb structure and broad open canopies.



bluegum 1.jpg

bluegum 2.jpg
 
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I think in my skyscraper thread I posted a regen red gum that js 10’x12’ at the base. I need to get better pics of it.

I just went a made a splitting (attempt) vid, need to edit and upload.
 
That wood looks like a real bastard. Ever use maul+wedges? I find it's easier with nasty wood. Maybe no fewer swings, but you don't get stuck axes either, which gets really infuriating after awhile.

You ever oil your axes? Climate here's way different than you, but oil seems to keep everything tight. I use olive oil, but I'm not sure it matters. Well, aside from rodents anyway. They might gnaw olive oil handles, where they'd leave petrol alone.
 
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lxskllr said:
That wood looks like a real bastard. Ever use maul+wedges? I find it's easier with nasty wood. Maybe no fewer swings, but you don't get stuck axes either, which gets really infuriating after awhile.

You ever oil your axes? Climate here's way different than you, but oil seems to keep everything tight. I use olive oil, but I'm not sure it matters. Well, aside from rodents anyway. They might gnaw olive oil handles, where they'd leave petrol alone.
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Been meaning to try soaking the head end in BLO and allowing to dry.

If I have to beat a wedge, I will noodle or hydro split first. I plan to build a forklift fork mounted splitter. Just need a round tuit.
 
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gf beranek said:
Say, what's a cord of dry Euc go for down there?

A couple of years ago I bought a 35 ton hydraulic splitter. Easy splitting.
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I have only sold a couple to acquaintances, $300 I think. Lot more to do this winter. It’s more camping and ambiance wood since it’s so warm down here. Gotta take it to the mountains to really sell I guess.

Out in the Glamis sand dunes it’s $25 a wheelbarrow load. Maybe $50 actually. Good $ but I don’t have time to sit out there and have to buy a permit to sell on public land.
 
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