Dilemma

[davidwyby]

I have a pile of eucalyptus logs. 18” up to 36”, mostly kinda stubby. It’s very difficult to dry without cracking. It’s a lot less fun to cut once dry. Summer is upon me. The only use I’ve found for it besides firewood is milling it green and screwing it down green as truck and trailer decking. Closest sawmill is a couple hours away. I have a 60” Alaskan but not the time or desire to cut that much. I could try covering with a tarp for summer…or just have a saw party and mow it all into firewood to dry and crack for a year or two and then split. I just hate to see it go to firewood. I have some conexes I could store it in. Out of sun and wind but super hot. Lot of work. I’ve heard leaving it in a pond will stabilize it, but I don’t have a pond.

 

[hacskaroly]

I’ve heard leaving it in a pond will stabilize it, but I don’t have a pond.

What?? But it's California they have lots of ...oh...wait...nevermind....

 

[Wilhelm]

Milling GTG?

Run what You bring, bring what You got, prove Your chain sharpening skills, have fun doing so.

My CSM has been sitting unused since I milled a wild cherry log months ago.
I just have nothing mill worthy.

 

[PA Dan]

Thats some good looking wood!

 

[Sloughfoot]

Get a pond.

 

[SCHallenger]

That's beautiful stuff, David! Yeah, milling is very laborious. I've done a lot of it in white oak, sugar maple, beech, black walnut, red pine & honey locust (very hard & dense).
Here is a thought about stabilizing. I know of a woodturner who turned massive tulip poplar stumps into bowls large enough that he would have young children stand in them & take photos of them.These "bowl blanks" averaged 3ft in diameter & were about 2ft deep. Before turning them, he soaked the blanks in a tub filled with polyethylene glycol to stabilize them, & then turned them green. Had they not been stabilised, they would have split right through the heartwood. It might be worth a try.

 

[JIMG]

Sometimes I will mill out just the best widest boards from a log and send the rest to the firewood pile. Up here we run through a LOT of firewood, the house, shop, in-laws are all 100% wood heat so it doesnt feel wasteful. You could also just cant it and seal the ends to slow drying but I suppose out your way nothing is going to work well to retard drying at least not easily.

 

[davidwyby]

Not dry at the moment

While
I’m trying to firewood

 

[Wilhelm]

I have seasoned/dried large cookies buried within wood chips from cutting them (and firewood).
The wood chips seemed to help keep a ballance of moist & dryness.
I have a large OD walnut cookie in a chip filled jumbo bag for months now, may have to check how it is doing.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

I have a pile of eucalyptus logs. 18” up to 36”, mostly kinda stubby. It’s very difficult to dry without cracking. It’s a lot less fun to cut once dry. Summer is upon me. The only use I’ve found for it besides firewood is milling it green and screwing it down green as truck and trailer decking. Closest sawmill is a couple hours away. I have a 60” Alaskan but not the time or desire to cut that much. I could try covering with a tarp for summer…or just have a saw party and mow it all into firewood to dry and crack for a year or two and then split. I just hate to see it go to firewood. I have some conexes I could store it in. Out of sun and wind but super hot. Lot of work. I’ve heard leaving it in a pond will stabilize it, but I don’t have a pond.

View attachment 453539View attachment 453540View attachment 453541

Cheap Walmart pool?
" Pond ? Pool? Your more of a pond man."

 

[Stump Shot]

Make a dry kiln out of an old ship to shore cargo container.

 

[Sloughfoot]

How far are you from Salton Sea? It needs a purpose.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

The polyethylene glycol will work for smaller pieces, it works by actually forcing the water out and taking its place which keeps the fibers from shrinking and causing a crack. The other ways to minimize end checking and the start of a crack is to use anchor seal water emulsified wax on the ends to force the moisture to leave from the center of the board more which will make the shrinking more even during the drying process. This is also the same reason putting it in a pile of sawdust works. Only problem with the sawdust pile you have a tendency to create mold and rot because it can stay too wet for too long. Best and easiest thing to try would be anchor seal after milling and stick in a shaded area with white tin on top and out of high heat and strong wind that will make it dry too fast. Also depending what you plan on doing with it the cutting into smaller boards will minimize the cracking potentials. Wide thick slabs are hard to dry even being careful compared to 6-8” wide boards. Hardwood boards can shrink 1/4-1/2” per foot of width on average so a 36” wet slab could be only 34” wide after it’s dry depending on particular pieces of wood. Might make some beautiful flooring if a person had it milled.

 

[hacskaroly]

out of high heat

He is in Southern California...that will be a challenge

 

[lehman live edge slab]

He is in Southern California...that will be a challenge

I know as cool and shaded as possible, the white tin will reflect as much as it can vs absorbing.

 

[davidwyby]

The other day it was 93

then 60 and raining

then 40mph

summer will just be Hell

 

[lehman live edge slab]

The other day it was 93

then 60 and raining

then 40mph

summer will just be Hell

Yeah I’m not a fan of heat, mid 60’s to low 70’s is about max for me unless sitting in a boat fishing and having a beer