rskybiz
TreeHouser
Can't wait to watch the process in that Jay, whatever it is you may make!
Sawmill
- Thread starter woodworkingboy
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Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
Jay do you find that big cants like that don't move when resawing? I have resawn some hardwoods, and they can still have some tension in them. Maybe it's the quality of the log. That last one looks like it is very clear, and possibly more stable.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #28
Interesting question, Dave. I don't have a lot of experience resawing from cants, mostly go directly to slabbing from the log. In this case, considering the worth, I sought some advice, and was told by a good source that if I wanted to be able to use the yellow sap wood as well, have it remain firmly attached to the darker wood, I needed to leave the wood in the cant for a year or so before resawing. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible, the sap wood would separate. On the Enju tree, the sap wood is pretty hard. I don't know if I would be wanting to keep the sap wood on, say for a table top, it is very contrasting, but it is a beautiful bright yellow color, so I thought maybe something useful could come from it. As well, the thought did occur that it might also render the wood more stable by doing that, leaving in the cant, that is.
I have heard it said that the most stable wood comes from trees that die standing and dry out that way as much as possible. Felling them just before rot sets in is the ideal.
That kind of seems to be also in keeping with the premise that wood dries freer of warp if you can have it standing vertical, as opposed to the usual horizontal stacking method. I don't know why that is, but I have heard that claim a number of times.
I used to buy Walnut from a guy in the California central valley, he had lots of experience with milling. He would leave the logs in his yard until lizards would be hanging out in the separated bark that occurs when the log looses the initial moisture and shrinks up a bit. He said that he knew when it was time to saw when his dog started snooping around a log, having a thing for lizards, apparently. He seemed certain that he ended up with more stable material that way. Walnut is one of the easier hardwoods to dry without much warping, to begin with.
It seems to me that some of that wisdom could be transferred over to lumber that has aged in a cant, the wood being forcibly help in place as it begins to shrink. I have seen better results from drying slabs that are either banded together and tightened periodically to restrict warping, or some massive weight put on the stickered lumber to also try and control it. Still, I do think that there is some species variation that comes into play, and wood that has grown under tension might also be less positively effected by leaving in cant form. You know how it is when you run some tensioned wood through a saw, even though it may be perfectly dry and appearing stable before you do it, and good quality looking grain. It just seems like there are forces in nature at work there beyond human control. My gut feeling is that you can only help things by leaving in the cant for a year or so, if time allows., especially if the tree is cut during the wetter time of year.
Curious, what species have you left in the cant and then found them unstable when you did resaw? How long a time between the iniital sawing and resawing?
I have heard it said that the most stable wood comes from trees that die standing and dry out that way as much as possible. Felling them just before rot sets in is the ideal.
That kind of seems to be also in keeping with the premise that wood dries freer of warp if you can have it standing vertical, as opposed to the usual horizontal stacking method. I don't know why that is, but I have heard that claim a number of times.
I used to buy Walnut from a guy in the California central valley, he had lots of experience with milling. He would leave the logs in his yard until lizards would be hanging out in the separated bark that occurs when the log looses the initial moisture and shrinks up a bit. He said that he knew when it was time to saw when his dog started snooping around a log, having a thing for lizards, apparently. He seemed certain that he ended up with more stable material that way. Walnut is one of the easier hardwoods to dry without much warping, to begin with.
It seems to me that some of that wisdom could be transferred over to lumber that has aged in a cant, the wood being forcibly help in place as it begins to shrink. I have seen better results from drying slabs that are either banded together and tightened periodically to restrict warping, or some massive weight put on the stickered lumber to also try and control it. Still, I do think that there is some species variation that comes into play, and wood that has grown under tension might also be less positively effected by leaving in cant form. You know how it is when you run some tensioned wood through a saw, even though it may be perfectly dry and appearing stable before you do it, and good quality looking grain. It just seems like there are forces in nature at work there beyond human control. My gut feeling is that you can only help things by leaving in the cant for a year or so, if time allows., especially if the tree is cut during the wetter time of year.
Curious, what species have you left in the cant and then found them unstable when you did resaw? How long a time between the iniital sawing and resawing?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
I like your Cali friend's method of monitoring the logs. In that wilderness video, the logs for his cabin were cut the season before.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
Now that is interesting . I do believe that the African acacia is related to our native osage orange or black locust .
Evidently then some variation of that genus of tree type only from a different portion of the world .
If that is true then one would assume perhaps that it would exibit the same as osage or locust in it's ability to withstand the effects of weather for a long period of time if in the form of lumber .
Cobleskill
Treehouser
Cottonwood is the only one that has really twisted up on me. I sawed a White Oak that had been standing dead. A bit hard.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #32
Nice evolution of thoughts, Al. In quantity, the wood is mainly used for interior purposes, but it is tough springy. Perhaps it does have the durability characteristic that you mention, it is also favored for axe and knife handles, said to be resistant to damage from water. Cooking knives especially often have Enju handles.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
Oh that reminds that I too have big dead one in the woods that needs tripped .Before it started blowing top limbs it was a hundred footer .
On that cottonwood ,that stuff is so full of water it's hard to say which way it would twist .Most likely if it weren't heavily ballasted when stickered could produce corkscrew lumber .
Cobleskill
Treehouser
I found out if you saw cottonwood you should saw off big slabs and get rid of any sapwood. It didn't really corkscrew, it made bananas. It does make decent construction lumber. It doesn't like weather though.
