Cedar Stump for a table

[BrothersMule]

Hello again FF. Hope every one is doing well and enjoying the cooler weather as we are in NC (rain also). I was not sure which category to put this in so sorry if this is incorrect. I have a little project in the makings and just wanted to share and maybe get some tips on how to proceed.

This past weekend i help my Dad gather a large load of cedar logs. He is working on a construction site that they are clear cutting. The logger clearing the site plans to chip everything. My dad is having his logs milled by a friend for various projects.

While we were cutting i found the below stump and thought it would make a good end table. I currently have a good friend of the family building me a whole log bed frame out of cedar and thought this would go great next to it. I plan to strip it and finish it, cut it to height and place a glass top on it for an end table. Sounds like an fairly easy project but since this is my first attempt at a project like this i am unsure about a couple of the steps. For instance how long should i let it dry before stripping the bark and cutting to height? Also would you just let the glass top sit on top or is there a good way to secure it to keep it from falling off? How would you go about it? What would you use the stump for if you had it? Thanks in advance for any tips.

[metalspinner]

Sounds like a good project.

To keep the glass on top, I would place clear sticky backed rubber bumpers on the bottom of the glass and around the outside perimeter of the log. Three or four should be plenty.

The bark will peal off easier with the log being wet.  A pressure washer might help if the bark is being stubburn. You might not want tool marks on the finished  surface.

What would you use the stump for if you had it?

I might turn the stump upside down to show that cool shape of the bottom off.  The stability is a concern, though.  A piece of glass shaped to mimick the cool shape of the stump bottom would really make the end table stand out.

[Brad_bb]

Yes it looks like it would make a nice table (with the bottom pointing up to the sky as metalspinner said.  If this stump is green, I'd quickly figure out the height, rough cut it to height, and seal the open end grain with end grain sealer.  Then strip the bark off.  Place the stump ina shed or the like, out of any direct sunlight, but so that can freely flow.  Don't let the stump face sit directly on the ground, but place a couple of sticks under so air can move under there and that way condensation or moisture won't gather.  Some mold may start on the wet stump after stripping the bark (within 1-2 weeks), feeding on the sugars in the sap on the surface.  you can spray a 10 percent bleach to water solution on the stump to prevent/kill the mold, with a garden sprayer.  I'd let the stump then set for a year, then you can nicely finish the cut ends(removing the anchor seal when you do).  I'd prefer to let it sit a couple more years.  The point is to not seal the outside with moisture still inside.  On the other hand you seal the end grain so that moisture does not escape too quickly and cause excessive checking.  You're forcing drying slowly through the sides of the stump.
   As far as stability of the base, check the stability as is.  Is it too top heavy?  Sometimes a heavy enough stump with two trunks like that will be stable enough on their own.  If not you need to either add weight to the base, or add a wider base on the bottom.  Maybe some old rustic barn boards as a square base?  or maybe a glue up or slab that you cut to mimic the glass shape?

[Ironwood]

Use glass/ mirror "mastic", you need to let the glass "float" on the wood. Too much adhesion and it will crack the glass. I etched a piece and epoxied it to a stump and the wood expansion/ contraction cracked the glass.

Ironwood 

[BrothersMule]

Thanks for the tips. A lot of stuff i did not know. I was planning to see if it would work upside down also. I agree that it would look much better that way. I have not tried yet to see if it will work as is.

I didn't realize it would take so long to dry. I was thinking maybe a year or so. Hope my wife can wait that long she tends to be a little inpatient some times. Also Brad_bb i never would have thought of the mold. Again thanks you gave me a lot to think about.

[Dale Hatfield]

Whatever you do. Dont let the log  bottom  touch any type of finished floor, as it will make a mess  out of it untill it is really dry.

[Brad_bb]

I mean, you could let it dry just a couple months and make it with no finish and leave the end grain sealer on.  It will dry out in your house.  Then in a couple years you can prep it and finish it.  That's an option.  Although I wouldn't do this and put it in the house just as winter starts as it will likely be very dry in the house and cause too rapid drying and cause checking.  Work with the wood and keep the drying slow and even.

[WDH]

One good thing in your favor is that ERC dries faster than just about any other wood.

[shelbycharger400]

 




i have 3 or 4 more stumps but they are short.
this table is yet to be done.. but is stable.   slab is in house..stump is somewhere in the backyard..lol
tools i use in debarking a cedar log
3 in wide mason chisel
channel locks
a curved hook (hose removal tool) i have to get a new one..i broke mine abusing it on some steel parts.lol
flat blade screwdrivers.
picks or an awl
stainless steel tooth brush gets all the fine fur and that soft stuff that looks like cork off..just have to clean it often.

when the bark comes off hard..move to a different spot, let it dry more for a few days and come back
the cats faces and crevices take a bit more time with the picks and hold a lot of dirt, and worms and bugs.

[BrothersMule]

Brad_bb it is almost like you are reading my mind. The plan now is i am going to cut to rough height, seal the ends and strip the bark. I am going to let it dry for a year and then i am going to complete the table short of a finish. Then i will go ahead and put in the house and let it dry there for another year or more before i finish it.

As for stripping the bark i am going to hit it with the pressure washer like metalspinner suggested and see how that does to avoid any tool markings. The guy building my bed has some special tips and any specialty tools i may need and he doesn't mind if i use them.

[shelbycharger400]

the nice thing about cedar is it sands so easy. i have developed enough skill i dont create tool marks, but if you do, its so easy to take a cheapy ($5) 5 pc walmart carving set  and straighten it out, make it look like a divit that was their all along.
I have used those on Ironwood...  they do hold up fairly well to a degree.      I made 2 handrails , one is 9 ft other is 7 foot.. carved every check crack, and then some, let it "green" from the forest mold,  then carved some more then oil poly'd the daylights out of it..   the worst part is putting in screws for the hangers..  dont use the screws that come with hangers, use deck screws and predrill.

i have never pressure washed cedar.   its rather easy to peel them by hand..  i think i had less than 2 hr in the stump shown in the picture, and it was within a few days of being cut down.

leave the stump a little long, when the larger ones, like mine 12 to 14 in dia.. they crack at the ends during drying and no longer sit flat.        also... i found mine... it has greyed out from the picture from laying in the sun for over a year.

[Cedarman]

The nice thing about a pressure washer is that you can blast the ingrown bark out of the cracks in nothing flat.  When we have 50 to 100 big logs to do, I want that log peeled in minutes.
But if you only have one stump to do, you can have a good start on it by the time I would get the pressure washer out, hoses out. Gas everything up, check oil etc.  Then have to put all that stuff away.