Drying 3" - 4" thick slabs of Black Oak

[webgal]

Though Bailey's is a sponsor of other forums here, I do have an honest question about drying some thick slabs of Black Oak. There is a guy in our woods doing a little thinning and he cut me a couple of "cutting board" slabs, both are about 3 - 4 inches thick and about 20" x 18 or so. Any suggestions on drying these so they won't check. Also comments about drying to carve to shallow platter. Not super thin platter maybe an 1" thick at the shallowist.
A local fellow suggested soaking it in Anti-Freeze, but I was wanting to use it for food preparation and was concerned with the toxicity.

I love wood working, but am denser than a seasoned black walnut on this stuff. Thanks!!

I can provide pictures when it gets lighter out...

[Ianab]

One method would be to use PEG wood stabiliser. This a related to the anti-freeze thing, but is a much larger molecule, non toxic, and stays in the wood. Basically you soak the piece in a batch of the PEG, it replaces the moisture in the wood, and stays there permanently. So the wood never shrinks, and you avoid most of the cracking etc that can happen as wood dries.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Polyethylene-Glycol-Green-Stabilizer/dp/B001DSZZ30

A write up on how it works.

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/pubs/peg.pdf

Ian

[webgal]

Ah, yes, the Old PEG treatment. I'll probably just grab a quart since you mix it with water. My guy mentioned that but I thought it was synonymous with Anti-Freeze. I did ask why not soak it in vegetable oil? He said that wouldn't work. My supposition would be that the oil would force out/replace the water. Then dry it after that treatment.

Comments?

[Ianab]

Don't think oil will work. Oil and water don't mix, so no matter how how much you drench the wood in oil, it's still going to eventually dry out, shrink and possibly crack. The PEG is water soluble, and actually gets into the structure of the wood. It then stays there, and supports it even after the water is gone.

Now maybe you could get the wood dry by end sealing the pieces really well, then waiting (a couple of years?). But thick / short pieces like that would be hard to avoid some sort of end checking.

Ian

[webgal]

Nah, I'll stick with the PEG idea. We have beautiful wood like Madrone and Manzanita around that would be beautiful turned into art.
8) ok, you can tell I'm from California...

[beenthere]

Pics of your "slabs" would be great.

And best to start soaking them in water until you have the PEG solution and soaking vat ready to begin treatment.  Any bit of surface drying will start the checking, which you want to avoid. So from log right into water for best results.

[webgal]

Thanks! Will find an old plastic can today! I only got these yesterday afternoon. I did leave them on the south side (silly!) for the afternoon, then my woodworking pal told me to avoid that at all costs. So I moved them to the north side. Pics coming in a few.

Thanks for your advice in this. There is something wonderful in creating things from wood, that are durable. I think my cross stitch and crocheting days are winding down..  :laugh:

My workshop is in an old redwood repair shop that was used the a long ago mill that was on my family property. Though the wood is probably over 70 years old and untreated, it still glows. I find old tools that were my Dad's. Plus I found stuff and asked him and he said it was during the mill times. Loads of history if you know where to look in and around that old shop.

[jdtuttle]

wood turners rough turn bowls & put them in a paper bag with wood shavings to minimize cracking. Not sure if this will work with full blanks.

[Sawdust Lover]

Drying any type of oak without checking is tough. Drying it slow is the key.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

About 40 years ago we tried PEG on California black oak and it did not work well.  Penetration was slow and the wood did crack.  In the east, we do see very few people drying over 8/4 red oak, as the results are not very good.

If you are getting paid a lot, then look for someone to take the wood to Den (moderator) and have them vacuum dried...this is the only good way for such refractory oak...black oak in CA is harder to dry than any eastern oaks.

[webgal]

Hmmmm, how long does water drying take? I've got an unused cistern on the property too. Anyone tried boring holes in the center to help even drying, then plug and sand out those holes for actual working?

These slabs were a kind gesture, that I hoped to do something more with.

[beenthere]

When will we see the pics ?

Hard to help not really knowing what you have.

[webgal]