drying cross section cookies ?

[Daren]

I know this has been discussed before, but I did a couple searches and didn't really come up with what I was wanting. I dragged this weird maple crotch home a few months ago and was hoping to get some good spalted crotch wood it was real deep and long down the log. It looked like a good one, turns out is was kind of a dud. It was packed full of overgrown dirt and it was not fused once I got into the good part.

I did however cut some cross section slices of the short piece of limb I left on, they look pretty decent in person it was hard to get a good photo.(and I over optimized them) I have been contacted by taxidermist and hobbiests for stuff like that in the past and never really had any around. They are 3/4" thick and 16"x30" (some bigger some smaller). Are they going to dry without blowing up since they are cut on an angle, if not what can I do to help the situation ? Keeping in mind they will be varnished later. I am not trying to be rude, but if I hear PEG as the answer one more time I will throw up, I'm kinda looking for other options.







You can see the crotch opening up and it went downhill from there.

[beenthere]

How about this.  PEG is not the answer......   I used to use it, and it works only under special circumstances. Maple isn't one of the woods, and unless you get the wood very green, there is already too much drying of the wood to exchange PEG with water. With PEG, I have a lot of experience. Don't even think about using it.    (Hope that helps keep da lunch down ).

There are some new things out (i.e. pentacryl) that are touted as working, but I have serious doubts that they work. Others may have more confidence in them than I. Soaking in alcohol may be another. I've no experience there.

I'd dry these pieces slow, and expect them to have some checking. Include the checks in the display of the final finished piece. Because of the angle cut, and the indentation on one side, the checking may be minimal.

Nice looking pieces.

[Burlkraft]

Daren,

I have not done this yet, but a source close ta me has told me that the ONLY way he has had cross sections or burls dried well is in a vacuum kiln. I been wantin' ta build a small one, but I got 1000 other things going and it's far down the list. I have been cuttin' my green burls oversize, lettin' 'em dry and then throwin' them on the saw and cuttin' them to size. It works but it wastes a lot of primo wood too..... :-\ :-\ :-\

JevJay is gettin' everything else....talk him in ta buildin' a vacuum kiln..... ;D ;D ;D

I got a bunch of stuff like that I'd like ta dry...... ;) ;) ;)

[Daren]

Daren,

JevJay is gettin' everything else....talk him in ta buildin' a vacuum kiln..... ;D ;D ;D

Don't give Kevin any ideas... he will try it. He is building and buying so much stuff he all his bandsaw blades are rusting from setting idle  :D . I will wait till he gets his d/h built, then talk to him about how much better a vacuum kiln would be.  ;)

[metalspinner]

How about the boiling method.  Has that been followed through with yet?  That sounded like it had good possibilities.

[Burlkraft]

I was always gonna try that too.....I got a deer head that is at least 8 years old I was gonna boil... : : : :

He's been hangin' on the side of the shed since then...I think Beenthere had his eye on him one day.... ;) ;)


I believe he's mostly petrified right about now.... :D :D :D

[Daren]

How about the boiling method.  Has that been followed through with yet?  That sounded like it had good possibilities.

I have done it on small things, like pen blanks/reel seat blanks.It seems to work just fine, but so does the microwave (on for a few seconds off for a few) for anything I can shove in there... a word of advice on the microwave, don't put soaking wet cypress in the house microwave (I have my own out in the shop, for my experiments $5 rummage sale). I had a chunk of cypress that I split that smelled like a hog farmers sweat sock that a sick cat took a wee on...until I stuck it in the kitchen microwave, then it got to REALLY stinkin'  smiley_airfreshener . It was this winter when it was about 0 out and I couldn't open any windows. I did this experiment about 9:00 a.m. and when the wife walked in the back door at 5:00 p.m., she gagged a little and said "What is that awful smell?"

I just don't have a pot big enough for these cookies...and my microwave is too small too. I have them stickered in the corner of the shed, we'll see. I only cut a few, if they hold together I will cut some more.

[Burlkraft]

I just tried callin' KevJay ta plant that vacuum kiln seed in his head... ;) ;) ;).....but I couldn't get him ta answer....Mebbe he was call screenin'.... :D :D :D :D

[jim king]

I just sticker them and in a year or so they ae quite dry and have had good luck











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[Burlkraft]

Jim,

What kinda wood is that  ??? ??? ???

VERY nice tables....... ;D ;D ;D ;D

Is that other picture a desk... ??? ???

Or is it tall enough ta be a bar.. ???  ???

Got any more pictures.. ???   ???   ???

You know...The inquiring mind thing..... : : :  :D  :D  :D

[jim king]

Burlkraft:
The first large table is a burl slab of Machimango and can seat 8 people easily.

The red desk is Bloodwood limb slices  (30 inches tall)

The table with the lazy susan is Chontiquiro with a Remo Caspi base.

The small table is a Dalmation log slice with a black palm base.

[Daren]

They are all awesome. The big table is just plain incredible 

[jim king]

Here are some more photos.

36" to 40" purpleheart log slices

Large Masaranduba table slabs in the jungle

My office desk with a Capinuri burl top and Spanish cedar base

The small table is Pink Flame

[Burlkraft]

I see ya do some turning too......

Very..Very nice...This is the kind of stuff Daren and I have dreams about.... ;D ;D ;D

But that kind of stuff just don't grow in Wisconsin or Illinois.... :'( :'( :'(

Those purple heart slices look outstanding.... You don't get any checking... ??? ??? ???

Do you seal them..???  Is your humidity high ??? Around here now the air is so dry you can saw pine in the morning and make sawdust out of it by afternoon.... :D :D :D

Are you in the harvesting and sawing business or do you just build furniture... ???  ???  ???

Let me know when you get sick of answering dumb questions..... ;D ;D ;D

[jim king]

Burlkraft:  Our humidity is about 90% when it is not raining.  I export tropical woods from here in the Peruvian Amazon ,the city we live in is Iquitos, we are the largest city in the world with no roads getting to it and we are a seaport 2500 miles up the Amazon.  I make turnings and furniture for our advertising photos.  I know what WI is like, my wife and I grew up in Turtle Lake.

Here are some more photos.

Dalmation inside out turning beer cooler
Turning blanks prior to vacum packing
Hobby wood in the warehouse waiting shrinkwrapping
Cutting board of several species about 16 x 20
Black agate covered bowl about 10" in dia.

[Paschale]

Man, Jim, very impressive pieces of furniture!

I'm wondering if you have such success with these is because of high humidity.  Now is this a crazy idea:  would it be smart to add some humidity to the air in a room with burls, to slow down the drying process?   ???  Seems counter-intuitive, but maybe it's the only way to slow things down enough to avoid the checking.

Well, Jim replied before I had a chance to post this one.  With a 90% humidity rate, the drying rate's gotta be nice and slow, so maybe that's the solution.  Add some humidity to the air?

[WDH]

Jim King,

All I can say is........DanG DanG WOW!

[Daren]

But that kind of stuff just don't grow in Wisconsin or Illinois.... :'( :'( :'(

Those purple heart slices look outstanding....

Way to burst a guys bubble  :'(, that was the first thing I was going to do in the morning was go find a monster purple heart and make me some slabs like that, guess I will have to head south a few miles. All joking aside, those dudes caught my eye big time, I am green with envy. I can only imagine what they look like once they are exposed to UV and finished. I am tickled pink you joined this discussion and love the pictures, keep them coming!!

[jim king]

This photo was in front of the shop this morning.  This is the street and one of my guys fishing.
You can only imagine the humidity when the sun comes out. 

I do believe patience in drying is everything.  I dry down to about 20% in the shade and then sun and then everything goes to the kiln and down to 6%.  This process can take a year.  If the tables are for here kiln drying is not necessary.

[jim king]

I just thought of another couple of log slice pieces.  This was about 16-18 inches in dia. rough turned green and boiled then dried and finished.  Pink flame wood.

The second is Tigre Caspi about 24 inches in dia.

[metalspinner]

smiley_eek_dropjaw smiley_eek_dropjaw

Jim, your work is awsome!

I love the pics of the slabs and what you have done with them.  Keep them coming. I'm eatin' that stuff up.
food2 food2 food2



40" purple heart cookies! smiley_dizzy smiley_dizzy

[Burlkraft]

Wow...every picture git's better and better... ;D ;D ;D

You know you are truly blessed...Don't you..???

I bet ya got snakes and spiders around too... smiley_spider drop smiley_spider drop smiley_spider drop

That pink flame is spectacular.... ;D ;D ;D

Thanks for all the pictures...I gotta go take a cold shower now...... :D :D :D

[WDH]

The top pic in the last post looks like some of Kevjay's boxelder........

Jim King,

All I can say is DanG Dang DanG WOW (that is 3 DanG's, so that should show how impressed I am with your work :D).

[Max sawdust]

Jim,
You made my day!  Pretty stuff.  I especially like that pink flame!  8) 8)  Think I can grow that in Wisconsin ??? : 
max

[jim king]

BurlKraft:

Yes, we have all kinds of creatures.