What Time of Year to Cut Wood?

[Isaac Litster]

As I get more invested and knowledgeable about our dear arboreal resources and the functionality of their flesh, I am curious about a few things. The two species I will refer to are Pacific crabapple and red alder. Alder cracks and warps less than the crabapple, but the phenomenon is bilateral: no cracking, and white. I have seen some other pictures of apple wood, which is light chocolate. Some crabapple is, but sometimes it is white, almost bone white (unless it has a purple-red heartwood). Alder has many different colors, from golden brown to light cream bone-white, or even yellow. I like the lighter color for some applications, especially on the crabapple, as it is so hard, it is like a holly, boxwood, or even bone. Why is it sometimes white, but sometimes not? Some variables I can isolate are how it is dried, kiln, bagged, boiled, and air-dried. What finish, shellac, oil, urethane, etc. However both crabapple and alder have had this happen, but I am not sure why. I have read about holly, and how the time it is exposed to the elements before it is dried is critical to avoid enzymatic staining, or even fungal. Also, kiln drying is better.

Another part is partially related to my questions about drying boxwood vs. mountain mahogany, but some pieces don't crack. I mean small branches/trunks/limbs, from ~1" to 3" on apple, and <6" on alder. Sometimes it splits, but other times it dries completely with no cracks, always accidental. At my school shop, there are alder logs, because it is the largest, most common, and hardest hardwood on our island. It has no sealant and is on the floor. It is dry, and sometimes has cracks, but sometimes has whole logs with no cracks, and a white color. Now, I found a piece of crabapple from about a year ago in a pile of scraps, one side had cracks halfway down the "log" and the other side had none. On a fruitwood? didn't think it was possible.

The question is, how do I get my alder and apple to be white and have no cracks in rounds 2-3" in diameter?
time of year? drying method? length of pieces? Sealant? Bark on or off?

 

[robo hippy]

Well, if you are turning natural edge bowls and want to keep the bark on, then you harvest in the fall or winter. For me and my once turned warped bowls, I like to harvest as soon as the spring sap starts to rise. For apple, and just about any fruit wood, the sap wood will 'oxidize' no matter what you do. If you want the sap wood to stay white, I think the only way to do that might be to rough turn it as soon as you can, seal it, let it dry, and then turn it again. That might reduce the oxidization of the sap wood. I don't turn much alder. It always felt 'funny' to me as in too light after it was turned.

robo hippy

 

[Steve Tiedman]

"The question is, how do I get my alder and apple to be white and have no cracks in rounds 2-3" in diameter?
time of year? drying method? length of pieces? Sealant? Bark on or off?"

It seems you are asking for the assistance of mother nature to defy the laws of lumber physics- good luck.

As wood dries, the fibers shrink away from each other and, especially, when "in the round" (branches or logs), the wood wants to split. Splitting/cutting in half on the length (or thirds or quarters) when harvested to remove the pith helps relieve that shrinkage stress and lessen cracking. Sealing the end grain with wax emulsion (Anchor Seal and similar) or a couple coats of cheap latex house paint can slow the moisture loss out the end grain to more match side grain loss. This helps to lower immediate drying stresses to help limit cracking. Season the wood in a protected area, not out in the sunny yard.

Time of year can help. Late fall to mid winter, when the plant's liquids are in the ground, may help drying shrinkage issues.

As to wood color, some woods are naturally very light (most maples, ash, holly), some medium (think cherry), and some dark (walnut). Nearly all woods are light to white in the sapwood under the bark and are easily differentiated on medium to dark woods. But shy of chemicals (bleaches?), I've never known of a way to make darker colored woods light. If a normally darker wood gives you some lighter wood to meet your needs, you got lucky.

I believe an author named Bruce Hoadley(?) has a book titled Understanding Wood. Or something similar. This may be a good resourse. The Univ. of Wisconsin/US Forest Service has deep research resourses if you go digging for their laboratory website.

Best of luck!

 

[hockenbery]

Well, if you are turning natural edge bowls and want to keep the bark on, then you harvest in the fall or winter.

That is a latitude consideration.
The idea is that dormant trees are more desirable is more true the further north you are.
This is less true the further south you go.

This year the maples never went dormant in central Florida. We had no frost or cool weather.
The maples on our property had flowers before dropping all of last years leaves.
Many of our deciduous trees are ever green. Most oaks, camphor, magnolia, and many others never loose all their leaves.
one tree that does go bare for several months are the cypress. Unknowing tourist often ask - what’s with all the dead trees?

In central Florida the i can keep bark with an high degree of success anytime of the year with thin CA run around the bark edge.

 

[Isaac Litster]

"The question is, how do I get my alder and apple to be white and have no cracks in rounds 2-3" in diameter?
time of year? drying method? length of pieces? Sealant? Bark on or off?"

It seems you are asking for the assistance of mother nature to defy the laws of lumber physics- good luck.

I understand how wood works to a degree, however, I have had pieces dry with no cracks and be white, which puzzles me. I don't think that it would be possible to repeat the occurrence every time, however, I guess what I am to see is how to get as good of a chance to repeat this as possible.

 

[Richard Coers]

High sugar content trees should NEVER be cut in summer and fall. Holly is the classic that will turn gray if air dried during those times. Very easy to get sticker stain in hard maple as well. Of course, hard maple enters into this category as well. Fruit wood sapwood loves to crack as it shrinks more than heartwood during the spring and summer. Cherry is the classic.

 

[Isaac Litster]

High sugar content trees should NEVER be cut in summer and fall. Holly is the classic that will turn gray if air dried during those times. Very easy to get sticker stain in hard maple as well. Of course, hard maple enters into this category as well. Fruit wood sapwood loves to crack as it shrinks more than heartwood during the spring and summer. Cherry is the classic.

If I would like my apple to stay white, should I harvest it in the winter? the tree is always small, so to use branches with the best chance of having a section have no splits, what length should I cut it into? longer or shorter lengths?

 

[Isaac Litster]

If you want the sap wood to stay white, I think the only way to do that might be to rough turn it as soon as you can, seal it, let it dry, and then turn it again. That might reduce the oxidization of the sap wood.

robo hippy

Do you know why? what is it about drying it quickly that might result in the maintainence of the white color?

 

[Richard Coers]

If I would like my apple to stay white, should I harvest it in the winter? the tree is always small, so to use branches with the best chance of having a section have no splits, what length should I cut it into? longer or shorter lengths?

There isn't much white in apple that I've seen. but yes. Harvesting when the sap is down and the tree is dormant is the perfect time to harvest. Graying sapwood is a fungal issue. That's why winter is the best for harvest. Hard for fungus to live in freezing weather.

 

[Dean Center]

The Southerners will think I'm insane for asking, but, does it get below freezing for very long where you live? (Yes, it's apparently Alaska, but SE Alaska isn't the same as Inland Alaska) If so, that's the period of time for harvesting wood to get the best chance of avoiding cracks--when it's dormant.

 

[Isaac Litster]

The Southerners will think I'm insane for asking, but, does it get below freezing for very long where you live? (Yes, it's apparently Alaska, but SE Alaska isn't the same as Inland Alaska) If so, that's the period of time for harvesting wood to get the best chance of avoiding cracks--when it's dormant.

It is SE, and it is a temperate rainforest. It gets cold, there could be weeks at a time when it is below freezing, but it mostly rains. We have two seasons, rain with occasional temperatures over 60 F, and rain with occasional snow. It will get cold, but around freezing is where it stays because of the thermal effects of consistent oceanic temperatures. The leaves will fall, though it will not be below 0 F and month-long night. Picture Seattle, but more rain, and a little more snow. I will be harvesting this winter now I think.

 

[Isaac Litster]

There isn't much white in apple that I've seen. but yes. Harvesting when the sap is down and the tree is dormant is the perfect time to harvest. Graying sapwood is a fungal issue. That's why winter is the best for harvest. Hard for fungus to live in freezing weather.

The crabapple in SE Alaska is sometimes, very little heartwood. I would like to maintain as light of a color as possible, as sometimes it will become darker almost chocolate-ey.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Nice spoon! I'm slowly learning to carve those, too.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

This is a piece of flowering crab apple that was cut from the tree last week but that was a planted yard tree and that is the darkest apple wood that I have ever seen. The area it grew in, central MN lake country, can see temps in the winter down to 40 below and it is still healthy. I will try to make a thin wall goblet, but the rotten pith will probably turn into a large leak.

 

[Isaac Litster]

View attachment 65146
This is a piece of flowering crab apple that was cut from the tree last week but that was a planted yard tree and that is the darkest apple wood that I have ever seen. The area it grew in, central MN lake country, can see temps in the winter down to 40 below and it is still healthy. I will try to make a thin wall goblet, but the rotten pith will probably turn into a large leak.

I have very limited access to different trees, and Pacific crabapple is the only fruitwood that is on the island, ornamental or not. What do you know about apple/crabapple? ours is usually light-colored, with a small dark red/purple heartwood in larger trees. It is usually small, growing on beaches, roadsides, and creeks, but we have a stump of a tree that is 13 inches. It has multiple trunks and never grows straight up.

 

[robo hippy]

Do you know why? what is it about drying it quickly that might result in the maintainence of the white color?

I think the only answer is "because". Exposure to oxygen and UV light makes it oxidize. Some woods are worse than others about this.

robo hippy

 

[Richard Coers]

If I would like my apple to stay white, should I harvest it in the winter? the tree is always small, so to use branches with the best chance of having a section have no splits, what length should I cut it into? longer or shorter lengths?

I was confused with your post, you used the words crab apple most of the time, but your question at the end asks about alder and apple. Crab apple definitely has more sapwood.

 

[musky]

One thing you can try to reduce moisture in the wood if cutting with leaves on the tree is when cutting, let the tree sit for a week or possibly more without harvesting any wood or felling the branches off. If you leave the branches and leaves on, they will pull moisture from the trunk. When the leaves start to dry up, you will know it's time to cut some wood. Will the wood change color from what you want, couldn't tell you that, but the moisture content of the trunk will be reduced quite a bit more than if you just cut it up right away.