Silver Birch Drying Questions.

[William Young]

I recently recieved these three pieces of freshly cut silver birch. Of course the first thing I did was to seal the ends.
But I have been turning a number of bowls from this same wood for the last few months so I am thinking of saving these for projects best suited to using dry wood. I need some advice from those in the know so I can best salvage these pieces for future dry wood turning.
Should I remove the bark ?
Should I chainsaw them in half to release stresses from the pith ?
Should I quarter them or leave them in halves?
How long should I expect to leave them for turning things like captive ring goblets and vase's etc without the wood distorting from not being dry enough yet.
Is end sealing enough if I half or quarter them or should I seal them enitrely ?
Should I sticker dry halfs or quarters inside in my shop or is it best air dried outside. ? ?
How long should it take before being dry enough for dry wood turning ? ?
Inquisitive minds need to know. They are only 12 " to 13 " diameter but I have turned more bowls than I really need recently out of this type and size of wood.
W.Y.

 

[Elizabeth Woodturner]

Have a look at this sight and you find more info on drying and grading lumber than you knew existed.
http://www.woodweb.com/KnowledgeBase/WDKBPPLumberGrading.html

 

[C Edward Moore]

cut 'em

Hi Bill,

I would either halve them or third them and then seal the exposed wood. If you halve them, then later you can probably rip three squares of various sizes from each half.

 

[William Young]

Thanks Elizabeth;
There is a world of knowledge in that site and I have bookmarked it for future reference .
With all due respect it is an excellent site for dealing with lumber processing but unless I moved over the topics a little too quickly, I didn't see much that addressed the processing that I am inquiring about for turning the short birch logs I have into future dry turning stock.. Not as in lumber but in quarter or half log processing and drying to get the best end result. .
I appreciate your input and will be watching for other responses on the subject as well. .
W.Y.

 

[William Young]

Thanks Ed;
Do you mean by sealing the exposed wood to seal the entire piece including both edges and both ends but leave the bark on the outside without sealing that portion?
Or should the bark be removed and seal the whole piece all around.?
W.Y.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Do you mean by sealing the exposed wood to seal the entire piece including both edges and both ends but leave the bark on the outside without sealing that portion?
Or should the bark be removed and seal the whole piece all around.?
W.Y.

The bark is waterproof. What you have now is a mold incubator. Halve or cut in into pieces which will yield stock of your preferred size. Leave the bark on, store off the ground out of heat and sun. Don't coat anything else.

If you want spalting, on the other hand, you've set up the conditions. Key is to catch it at the right time. White birch transitions fast, yellow slow through the zone of usability. Have no idea how silver birch might react.

 

[dkulze]

Hey, Will.

I'd recommend halving them, removing a slab approx 10% thickness of the log that includes the pith. This should remove most of the problem wood. Then end seal it and give a slap of sealant right up the middle of the log length wise.

The only problem with leaving it fully sealed and barked is, like the man said, you now have a mold/fungus incubator and will end up with heavilly spalted wood. If you plan to only do goblets and vases with the wood, go ahead and mill it into squares and seal the ends. This will not only reduce cracking signficantly, it will remove the need to mill out the pith (just cut blanks around it) and will speed the drying time alot.

Finally, is that white paint you're using to seal the ends? If so, I'd recommend investing in a gallon of Anchorseal. Works better and not that expensive.

Good luck on your aquisition.

Dietrich

 

[William Young]

Thanks Dietrick
Yes, that is latex paint that I used for sealing . I have used it for years with good results but if I ever get into a big enough city where they stock anchorseal, I will pick up a gallon and try it. I just don't want to order some and wind up paying more for the shipping than the price of the product .
W.Y.