A tree service dropped off some holly logs today. Until today, I thought 12 or 14 inches was a big holly log, but this big fella is 28", and the rest of 'em are not exactly tooth picks. Not much clear in them, but most of the uses for holly that I know don't need much length.
I've used holly mainly for accents and stringing on furniture and I know some turners who like holly. Looks like I can make them all happy when I get this stuff sawed up into some billets.
There are some burls on a couple of these logs, but I'm not sure what a holly burl will do for me since I've never seen figure or grain in holly. We've been going from rain and wet to cold and windy so I'm hoping to get a decent day later in the week to work on these and see what's inside.
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The bark looks a lot like silver Maple.
Good to get some input on any new ideas for how to saw up this unusual find. Very nice.
Could be some very valuable wood if you can dry it without gray staining.
I've had trouble with stain in the past and that was with small quantities. I hope to saw it as soon as possible to avoid the stain setting in the logs. I have to air dry for now or take it somewhere to get kiln dried. I'm hoping to air dry for a while until I build a solar kiln. Hopefully I'll get some advice here on avoiding the stain. One thing I know is that it's easy to get stain. PP beetles like holly also, and I've got more than my share of beetles around here.
Put a couple of box fans blowing on the sticker stack as soon as possible after sawing. Keep your stack width more narrow than normal. I usually make my drying stacks 4' wide, but with holly, you might want to limit the stack width to no more than 2' to assure the best air flow.
Can't wait to see what this lumber looks like. :)
I'd give you a hand but somebody else beat me to it. ;D
I wondered if someone would notice the glove. Good eye.
Would it help to spray the lumber with bleach/water when I take them off the mill?
I've got a lot of mold around right now from all this rainy weather we've had. For two weeks, if it wasn't raining, it was still cloudy and 96% humidity. I had some pine and poplar stacked up next to my cabin as I was using it. Covered with a tarp during rainy days, but that was just a greenhouse. If I could sell mold, I'd be a wealthy man. Everything laying around the mill is growing mold. Cold clear weather for a week, then more rain in the forecast.
(I wonder how fishfighter is making out down there in bayou country with all that green lumber in the fishcamp. ?? )
Bleach, bleach and more bleach. :o With my camp closed up and burning my wood stove, things have been good. ;D But yes, mold was a problem and I have it under control. 8)
Heck, we are having our second freeze for this winter this morning.
Seal the ends throughly (several times with anchor seal). I would sticker with 1-1/2 stickers. Holly is very sensitive. I had some nice logs that a friend wanted taken down but it was a little late in the season. We fell the trees, they were sawn and in the kiln within 5 hrs of hitting the ground and there was still some staining. Message me if you need kiln service as I'm not too far from you.
The gray stain in holly is not caused by mold or mildew. It is a chemical reaction. Bleach will not help prevent the chemical reaction. Of course, you don't want it to mold and mildew either, so you could still spray it with bleach. The bigger problem is avoiding the gray stain.
Sounds like there's lot's of potential for stain problems.
Right now I'm thinking about just sawing it all 8/4 for now and then it can be turned into billets or whatever. I don't know if there's any reason to have some bigger billets?? Or any bowl blanks?? I don't see holly as bowl material, but I'm not really a bowl guy.
One problem I face is stickers. I don't have any appropriate stickers ready at the moment, especially 1½ x 1½ stickers. I could get some SPF studs and rip 'em in half for stickers. Will that work?
Hopefully I can do some sawing towards the end of the week so I better make a plan. Today I'll at least get the logs up off the ground and seal the ends. And then run back to the shop and warm up by the woodstove.
I forgot to mention to be sure and remove ALL of the sawdust from each board each side. I suggested 1-1/2 only to have more air flow but it may be overkill. Yes holly makes some beautiful bowls but I would suggest prepping them separate from sawing. I do not know what kind of turning you do but currently my 2 favorite woods to turn are butternut and holly. Maybe we can trade some 12/4 for some kiln services