Cutting my own pine plauqes

[BirdOasis]

Not bragging, but I live on 17 acres, 10 acres are covered in ponderosa pine.

I cut down two big pines about a year ago. I cut them down because if they were putting a large shadow on my wife's greenhouse.

Now that was about a year ago, and I left them where they fell so that the quail would have some good cover. It worked, we are host to about 50 quail now.

If I cut the trees at about a 30 degree angle at a 1/4 in thick I'll come out with some large plauqes from 15 in to 20 in wide.

Is a year long enough for the plauqes to be used?

If not how long do I set them out to dry?

Does anyone know of a good site that has this info?

I estimate I'll have well over 100 of them for scrolling.

I plan to use them for items to sell on my site.

[Gill]

Hi John

If I had that wood, I think I'd speak to a local lumber yard and see about getting the wood cut and kiln dried commercially.

Gill

[PuzzledMoose]

Hi John

If I had that wood, I think I'd speak to a local lumber yard and see about getting the wood cut and kiln dried commercially.

Gill

.... and find a market for quail eggs ...

[Bill Wilson]

Rule of thumb for rough sawn lumber is that it generally takes 1 year per inch thickness to air dry. This is if it is stacked & stickered properly to allow for circulation.

I have no idea how long a log, left whole, would take to dry, but I see a few problems. If the logs were left laying, they will begin to deteriorate where in contact with the ground. May just be the bark, but at the very least, it is impeding the logs rate of drying. There is also the possibility if insect infestation. Insects love dark, moist places and logs laying in the ground for expended periods of time offer just the right environment.

Once cut, the wood will check & split as it dries. If you start cutting thin blanks from that log, I suspect that most will eventually be unusable because as they finish drying they will warp, split and check. You may be able to cut thicker angled blanks, let them dry fully or have them kiln dried, then resaw them into thinner boards for plaques.

I don't mean to suggest that your idea is doomed. I think it can be done, but needs to be done the right way or you'll end up with a lot of firewood. You need better advice than I can offer, but that's my $.02. Good luck!

[workin for wood]

Hopefully the logs aren't ruined from sitting in the yard for a year. rotting happens fast in pine. Did you paint the ends of the log after you cut it, because that helps prevent internal checking by slowing down the drying rate. Lets asssume the logs are ok deep inside. However thick those logs are, they won't be dry inside, especially when sitting outside in the weather and on the ground. If the logs where indoors and up off the cement, they would dry at a rate of about 1 inch per year, and the ends still need be painted and the bark left on. If you crossgrain cut them, especially with a water dense wood such as pine, the wood will begin to dry fast, the rings will shrink and fall out leaving you with wood that looks like diced onions, and especially when you want them to be 1/4 inch thick. It's impossible to dry a crosscut log by air or by kiln...and yet, we've all seen plaques and tables like this. There is a solution that the wood is soaked in where basically the wood becomes stable and never really ever dries out. I think..ah yes, pentacryl is one of the chemicals...http://www.preservation-solutions.co...entscracks.php
read that, should basically say what I said and more.

finally a question suited to my love of wood.

[BirdOasis]

Most of the logs are still above ground, being held up by the branches. That's the only reason I think they are still harvestable.

I didn't do any prep to them. Just cut them and let them lay since I figured the quail would use them.

So I'll try some cuttings. It's raining an cold today so I didn't cut them. I think I'll need to build an airtight kiln. From what I've read the pine will simply absorbe moister from the air.


Quail eggs. Wonder if they go well with grits.

Lumberjack idea is good but cost money.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Especially the chemical ones.

[Dragon]

I don't know about drying wood for scrolling but I dry birch for other craft. I cut it into slabs of 1 inch as soon as the tree comes down. I then air dry it in the house for about 6 months. Each slab has to stand on it's end upwards. Takes a lot of room. That's the only way that they won't crack.

[BirdOasis]

Sounds good Dragon. Now all I have to do is convice Carol that we don't need that guest bedroom. hehe