Hickory slabs

francismilker · December 25, 2012, 11:53:52 PM

I had a 24" hickory that suffered some pretty bad damage during last week's windstorm so rather than turn it in to smoker wood I decided to try my luck at slicing it up. I'll admit, it was pretty slow sawing, but that is some of the best looking wood I've ever sliced. I stickered and stacked it in the barn loft and placed a couple cinder blocks on it to keep it weighted down.

It was as close to walnut in looks and grain as any wood I've ever cut. Anyone got any experience with hickory and can you give me a "guesstimate" of how long it will take to air dry?

If there's any value to it, I'll cut a lot more. I've got a pretty dense stand of hickory on my place and have always thought of it as potential income from cutting and selling it as bar-b-que wood.

If it has value of lumber I'll slice it up.

drobertson · December 26, 2012, 12:12:56 AM

fm, if you can cut it, cut it, I would suggerst 1-1/8 thick, plane saw it for the nice boards and the character. sticker it and weight it as you have. There are always folks looking for hickory. figure around a year for air drying, give or take a little. Q sawn is not bad just not that pretty in my opinion. You might find some good clear logs and q saw it in slabs for someone that has the need for this, 2" and thicker would be a good number. Just keep it dry and stickered.

francismilker · December 26, 2012, 02:41:22 AM

Quote from: drobertson on December 26, 2012, 12:12:56 AM
fm, if you can cut it, cut it, I would suggerst 1-1/8 thick, plane saw it for the nice boards and the character. sticker it and weight it as you have. There are always folks looking for hickory. figure around a year for air drying, give or take a little. Q sawn is not bad just not that pretty in my opinion. You might find some good clear logs and q saw it in slabs for someone that has the need for this, 2" and thicker would be a good number. Just keep it dry and stickered.

Thanks, I have an abundance of it. It's about 50\50 clear versus knotty. I'll plan on sawing the clear stuff and firewooding the knotty stuff.

I cut this tree into 5\4 slabs. I have more time than chances and an empty hay loft so I'll cut a few thousand bdft of it and wait.

Thanks again.

WDH · December 26, 2012, 07:43:38 AM

Powderpost beetles LOVE hickory, so it would be best if you treated the lumber Before stickering. They can surely ruin all your hard work.

drobertson · December 26, 2012, 08:41:50 AM

That is a very good point, I let that one slip by, taking the bark off and treating a good step for sure, I was going to say, the pin knots around the size of a pinky nail or so really make some nice cabinets, lots of character, I have some freinds that just put some in, very nice looking set.

samandothers · December 26, 2012, 10:31:05 AM

what is the best treatment for powder post beetles for wood to be air dried? Seems I remember comment about using a liquid spray, but what is the solution content? I probably need to mix some and keep near when stacking lumber.

drobertson · December 26, 2012, 12:30:20 PM

samandothers, I have heard of folks using a bora-care solution for treating logs and lumber, I have not used it, so I dont' know the effects on the lumber itself, it is a water solulable solution, it could be worth a try in small amounts.

samandothers · December 26, 2012, 10:44:52 PM

Thank you drobertson, I'll have to do a search and see what I can find.

YellowHammer · December 26, 2012, 11:11:07 PM

Good looking hickory has significant value around here, I sell it kiln dried for $2 per bdft. Bugs love it, so spray or sterilize.
YH

WDH · December 26, 2012, 11:19:24 PM

There is a product called Timbor that is a borate salt that you mix with water at about 1 pound per gallon of warm water. It is labeled for use as an insecticide. There is another product that has exactly the same amount of active ingredient that is a fertilizer supplement. It is called Solubor. It is not labeled for insecticide use, but it is the same basic product as Timbor, just less than half the cost. You can Google Timbor and read the label that describes how to use it.

samandothers · December 27, 2012, 02:09:37 PM

Timbor or Solubor. I'll see if I can find them and goggle some of the info. Thank you!

Resolute · December 27, 2012, 07:12:00 PM

Hi Folks,

Timbor and Solubor are Not the same.

TIM-BOR Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, an alkaline salt, is produced in two forms. One is a clear, liquid concentrate, which can be mistaken for corn syrup if repackaged and not properly labeled or it is packaged as a white, odorless, powdered chemical substance that is not flammable, combustible, or explosive and has low acute oral and dermal toxicity. This salt, which is commonly confused with boric acid, is used as an insecticide [1] and fungicide, and is commonly sold as an insecticide in liquid or powder form. It is also effective against fungi and algae. It has an infinite shelf life and is not affected by temperature. "Bora-Care" is the liquid form suitable for use in a sprayer. The powdered brands are "Tim-Bor," "Borathor" or "Termite Prufe" as sold in the United States. This chemical is also a flame-retardant.[2] In the liquid form, it is commonly diluted and sprayed on wood surfaces to kill termites, carpenter ants, fungi and algae. This alkaline salt is not to be confused with Boric Acid (an acidic chemical) or the laundry detergent additive used for stains.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
SOLUBOR is a concentrated soluble powder boron fertilizer. Solubor helps to correct boron deficiencies in a variety of crops including fruit trees, vegetables and berries. Boron is essential to plant nutrition. Solubor can be soil or foliar applied.
Analysis 20.5% Elemental Boron
CAUTION: Boron is extremely phytotoxic to some crops. Do not use unless you are certain no crop injury will occur

Resolute

Ianab · December 27, 2012, 07:53:52 PM

Actually when you look up the MSDS of Solubor, the actual ingredient is... Na2B8O13 4H2O
or - Chemical Name/Synonyms: Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate

So I'd be guessing the active ingredient is exactly the same thing, just packaged for a different purpose.

Also info on safety, it's relatively harmless unless you eat it by the spoonful, then you end up with vomiting and diarrhea
http://www.pestell.com/msds/Solubor.pdf

Ian

Resolute · December 27, 2012, 08:26:50 PM

Right you are Ianab. I stand corrected.
Resolute

WDH · December 27, 2012, 09:44:20 PM

The only difference between the two, Timbor and Solubor, is that the brand name "Timbor" is approved as an insecticide while Solubor is labeled as a fertilizer additive. They are both the same concentration (20.5% boron) of Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate. Oh, the other difference is the price. You can buy Solubor from an AG chemical supply store for about $1.00 per pound (at least that is what it costs me). Timbor is over $3.00 per pound.

There is also another product called Beau-Ron D that is a fertilizer supplement with exactly the same formulation as Timbor and Solubor.

TimGA · December 29, 2012, 07:19:49 AM

WDH, Will Boric Acid work as well? Farm store was out of sol-u-bor.
Tim

WDH · December 29, 2012, 07:25:22 AM

That is a good question. Do you know the concentration of Boron? That would be important to know.

TimGA · December 29, 2012, 07:35:03 AM

WDH, Active ingredients on bag say, Boric Acid (H3 BO3) 100%
Boric Oxide (B2 O3) Equivalent 56.3%.
Thanks Tim

WDH · December 29, 2012, 07:59:19 AM

By my calculations, that would be 17.5% boron. Someone with a chemistry mindset needs to verify. (I mainly do wood, trees, and leaves

).

TimGA · December 29, 2012, 08:05:48 AM

WDH, Would I be safe at 1lb to 1 gal mix rate at that concentrate, I will try to get sol-u-bor next time. The Boric acid was 48.00 for 50lb.
Thanks again Tim

WDH · December 29, 2012, 08:35:45 AM

That is what I would do. However, not sure how the acid will behave. Maybe a chemist can come along and add some perspective.

Ga Mtn Man · December 29, 2012, 09:46:36 AM

I'm interested in the answer to this question too.

smiley_blue_bounce smiley_blue_bounce smiley_blue_bounce Happy Birthday Danny (WDH)! smiley_blue_bounce smiley_blue_bounce smiley_blue_bounce

francismilker · December 31, 2012, 07:21:38 AM

Thanks all for the awesome info on this thread! I'd never given bug treatment a thought at all when the idea of stickering a bunch of hickory slabs out for drying.

I took my mill to a boyscout camp this weekend for their "winter camp" and sliced a few dead logs that had been removed for wildfire purposes. I can't really say I know the species of some of the trees I sawed but most were scrub trees not really worth sawing with expectations of production. We stacked all the wood in a maintenance shed for drying and it will be used for future projects in woodcarving and woodworking merit badge. Had a great time!

thecfarm · December 31, 2012, 08:03:53 AM

You did good sawing for the boy scouts. Did any of the scouts help?

francismilker · January 01, 2013, 07:00:03 AM

Quote from: thecfarm on December 31, 2012, 08:03:53 AM
You did good sawing for the boy scouts. Did any of the scouts help?

Sadly no due to insurance and liability. I set up a log on the mill and gathered them around to explain to them the process and then pushed them back about 40 yards to watch from afar. I would make a few cuts, shut down, and then let them come up to see progress. It was amazing how some of them were absolutely amazed at "this is where boards come from". It was a good time and maybe inspired one or two.