to sticker or not to sticker?

[paul case]

i have 3 good sized wanut krotches to saw in slabs and then they will be for sale. i have some dry oak stickers but i am always worried that they will still stain the walnut wood. i have heard that on short stuff you should lean it against a wall? i dont want to mess up something that could be my next paycheck.  help! ???   pc

[Larry]

Paul, I've been drying walnut crotches since '94.  If there wide they almost always show some warp so I don't think it makes much difference how they dry so long as they get air circulation.  Most of the time I put em on sticks.  Sometimes I just lean them up against the wall.   

Infrequently they will show a bit of stick stain on sap wood, but invariably that gets trimmed off.  If it doesn't it never goes deep and will plane out.

Most of the time my crotch wood is 3 to 4' long and as wide as the mill will cut.  Thickness is usually around 2 1/2".  I try to saw them so the pith is not in any of the slabs...sometimes that doesn't work.

[paul case]

i am figuring to try to cut these thick like 3''. they will be 2' or wider but only 4' long or so. i am thinking table tops or something along those lines. is that too thick?

thanks for your replies.  pc

[metalspinner]

Coincidentally, just yesterday I unstacked a set of walnut slabs in the sizes Larry mentioned.  They were stacked less than a year and they should be ready to go.  I was able to pick them up and carry them away they were so light. But, they need to be checked with the meter to be sure, though.  I used dry oak sticks and there is no sign of stain on these.  They were stickered under a roof, so no rain or snow was able to sneak into the stack.

Paul,
My opinion is to cut a mix of thicknesses.  From 2 1/2" - 4" . That will allow you to have maximum design flexibility of whatever you will build later.  4" makes for a stout looking leg under a thick (2 1/2" - 3") tabletop.  The log will help you decide how thick to make certain pieces - working around the pith and log edges.  Walnut drys beautifully in thicker pieces, so you should not have too much loss to drying defects.

[WDH]

I have not dried any crotches, but sticking the slabs will cause the slabs to dry a little slower than if leaned against a wall.  The slabs leaned on the wall will get much more air flow across the surface than a similar slab in a stickered stack.  Drying slower will lessen the likelihood of splits, cracks, and checks, although as Chris points out, walnut is not a bad actor in that regard like oak and cherry.  I think that sticking the slabs is safer in general, maybe not so much with walnut, but it might give them the chance to have the best quality. 

[5quarter]

Hi Paul,

   I sticker walnut crotches vertically...that is, I lean them against the wall in consecutive order in the machine shed with stickers in between for even airflow. Definitely cut a variety of thicknesses from 6/4 to 10/4 and seal the ends well. Ditto others comments.

Chet