drying wood slab table tops

[countryjonez]

what is the best way to dry big slabs for table tops without getting cracks? any info would be helpful. new to drying.

[metalspinner]

That's the million dollar question.

Den has a vacuum kiln that  is probably the best way to go.

Otherwise, seal the ends with end sealer, and set aside outside and covered to dry slowly.  I've accepted that cracks and checks are going to happen.  If your slabs are only about 2" thick, you might have luck in a conventional kiln that has a good operator.  But if it is 3"-4" thick your rolling the dice. :( 

Extra length is a plus as you can cut away end-checking.  But sometimes surface checks can happen in the middle of the slab because the surface of the wood has dryed too quickly and the interior is still wet.

The species plays a big part in your success.  Walnut has been the most successful for me.  8)  Soft Maple does well, too.    Cherry is tough. :'(  Oak is a crap shoot. >:(   Sycamore... :D :D :D :D :D

[crtreedude]

I have a whole stake of pilon from when we built our home, they are just fine. But then again, this is the tropics and it is never dry around us.

[beenthere]

I have a whole stake of pilon from when we built our home, they are just fine. But then again, this is the tropics and it is never dry around us.

What is that?   I know I'll kick myself for not figurin it out.

[crtreedude]

Stack, not stake.  :D Pilón is a tropical wood - looks sort of like black walnut.

[SwampDonkey]

I would add birch to the list, my experience is with yellow birch. Rock maple and beech are hard ones I think. Butternut is pretty stable, doesn't have much drying to do.

[tyb525]

http://www.powerswoodsource.com/pilon.html

[SwampDonkey]

But sometimes surface checks can happen in the middle of the slab because the surface of the wood has dryed too quickly and the interior is still wet.

Planing can help alleviate this, it's not only the fact it's drying quicker but a rough surface wicks the moisture quicker. That's what seems to be going on in some cherry of mine. It's not a cure, but may help according to my text on wood.

[jim king]

I have found it much less frustrating to let them crack and try to use the defects to your advantage.

[Wrangler55]

When I first started carving gunstocks I avoided any defects in the wood I was using. But when carving test stocks or stocks for my projects I used wood with defects that I would have never considered using on a customers stock.  It helps that I specialize in laminated stocks so each defect is backed by solid wood. For small cracks, holes, or other defect I fill the defect with sanding dust and super glue.  It works great for the smaller stuff.  Turns out the defects made some of the best looking stocks I've carved. Here's a mesquite stock made from an expensive mesquite blank.  It had a huge 1/2" crack that I filled with black epoxy. 



Here's the finished stock.  Turns out the crack got smaller as I carved the outside away and the black epoxy just added an accent to the overall look of the stock.



Hal

[Burlkraft]

Nice work! 

[SwampDonkey]

I appreciate the work in those gun stocks. 

[jim king]

Wrangler55

I always charged more for the wood with defects as it is much more attractive.  Here is a 410 stock that I made for an old gun I bought in the jungle for about $10 for my wife.  The wood is Pink Flame.

Also a photo of a stock I made for an old one from Orange Agate.

[Wrangler55]

Jim King,

You've got some beautiful wood there.  I love the color of both stocks. Great work.

Here's a Ruger 10/22 stock that I made from a laminated blank using English Walnut, maple and black walnut.  It was the first 10/22 stock I'd carved and I wanted one for my Ruger so I used some wood with a big defect.  This detailed view shows where a 1/2" crack was filled with epoxy and sanding dust. I could have filled it one more time and sanded it down so you couldn't see a low place where the crack was. There was also a 1/8" crack and a 1/16" crack that I filled as well.



Here's what the overall rifle looks like:

[SwampDonkey]

To me, the wood means more than it's intended purpose.  ;D :D

[Just Me]

 I have reasonable luck by spraying water based clearcoat on them as soon as they are cut and surface dry. I spray a light base coat over the whole thing, and then do a feathered coat, from nothing in the middle to heavy around the edges, soaking any end grain. Takes much longer to dry, but that is kind of the point.

I am not sure how this will work in a kiln, but I have decided to build a kiln before I buy a mill and will be trying it.