Hi all!
On my way home today I stopped at a local orchard who had cut up some of their old apple trees. I grabbed a couple of short logs (12″ – 24″ long, 8″ – 12″ in dia.) thinking these would be nice for some spoons, boxes, etc.
So… How do I go about ‘slabbing’ up the “logs” and stacking them and preparing them for air drying? I have read here that I am best off making the slabs thick while they air dry so I can machine them flat after all their twisting and cupping.
Also… What do I do to prevent the ends from checking? I have read about (and seen) colored paint on the ends of boards. What is this and where does one find it? Do I apply it before making the slabs or afterwards?
Yes, I am a newbie at preparing my own lumber which is why I figured these might be a suitable start. They’re small but what I am looking to do with them is not terribly ambitious… Or is it?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
Adam
Replies
aron,
Some people will recommend melted wax, others latex paint on the ends of the logs. The idea is to slow the drying through the ends of the boards, which will reduce checking. Apply this as soon as possible to prevent end checking. No problem if you apply it before cutting into slabs.
I would agree about cutting the slabs a little on the thick side, but I believe the thicker you cut it the more prone it will be to checking. And the longer it will take to dry. So you may have to experiment a little, and maybe cut a few pieces a little thinner to see what works best. Sounds like the wood was free, so you can't go wrong.
Personally, a bandsaw would be my method of choice for slabbing the logs, but you will need 8-12" of resaw capacity. And I believe there is a special blade for cutting green wood which works better than regular commercially available blades. I think Highland Hardware in Atlanta sells them. They are marketed to woodturners for cutting bowl blanks from green wood.
Just my $.02
Good luck,
Lee
aronson,
I've generally split the rounds down the middle with wedges and a sledgehammer, then sliced the resulting cants on the bandsaw, using a coarse toothed 1/2" blade. Splitting first gives you a fairly flat face to run on the saw's table (and reduces the weight), if you want, you could flatten it further on the jointer.
You can just slice the cant into boards through and through, or finish squaring the thing by ripping along one edge, then the other, then turning the cant up on edge if your saw has the height capacity to do so. I usually "saw for grade", that is, try to cut the boards off the best face til a defect shows up, then flip to a new face, but you can go for width, or quartersaw, whatever you want. One man's defect is another man's charactermark.
If you don't have the saw, or the time, just splitting the pieces into quarters will lessen the chance of checking, and should yield some small squares for turning legs or handles from even fairly small rounds.
I've had good luck just stacking the longer boards with stickers every 18" or so and weighting the stack to hold things flat. Short pieces (I've salvaged firewood that had interesting grain) can be stacked with one layer longwise and the next crosswise, eliminating stickers. I just put them in the loft above the shop. Be aware that wood from small trees, and limbs, "juvenile" and "reaction" wood, will want to warp in drying, and may contain stresses after drying that cause it to move when you cut into it.
Apple is pretty wood. The apple I've seen is similar to cherry, lighter in color, but darker than maple. The chunk I had, had real fine irregular curl, don't know if that is characteristic of apple in general, or just the tree I cut up.
Regards,
Ray
All good advice so far.
Apple takes a long time to dry if you are air drying. It is very hard and dense.
The small scraps are great for the barbecue or if you burn wood in a stove or fireplace apple is some of the best firewood. Burns hot, leaves lots of coals, smells good.
Once it is dry enough to work you will find it turns great. Takes a wonderful polish and develops a beautiful patina.
I have worked on a few "fruitwood" pieces which had a wonderful reddish amber color similar to cherry but lighter.
Good stuff.
J.P.
I think its a waste of time to try to make boards out of apple. I doubt you even have ennough to build much of anything with it. Moreover, the wardrobe that leads to Narnia not withstanding, there are better woods for boxes and better uses for your apple logs.
Apple turns and carves beautifully, makes excellent tool handles, and turned "carver's" mallets. You might be able to make a small turning saw out of it. I think its fairly easy to dry but due to its high shear strength (which makes it excellent for all the things I mentioned) its very difficult to split once dry.
If I were you, I'd split it into fairly large pieces, large enough for a good mallet or 5. The small left over sap wood pieces, which often will twist and curve are good for spoons and bow saw arms. If you have any little girls in your life you can carve nice doll heads or bodies out of apple. I've made dollies by roughing a head and body on the lathe then carving the rest of the way.
Use commercially sawn lumber for boxes and tree trunks for stuff you can't buy commercially.
Adam
P.S. Like many of you, I hoard wood, saving even the tiniest irregular pieces. I recently turned some wooden pulls and shaker style pegs out of left over riven fragments. Apple takes a marvelous polish on the lathe with nothing more than its own shavings.
P.P.S. Here's some irony for you: years ago I turned apple wood into wooden apples for my little girl. I put them in a little basket and gave them to her for Christmas. I try to give the kids little hand made things each year at least. Truth is, I was just practicing rolling beads with my skew and the apples were the result. A basket of apples are a key component in every good tea party.
It is one of the best turning woods I have ever used. If you rough turn bowls to about an inch thick, seal with some cheap paste wax and let it dry about a year, you’ll have some beautiful stuff. If you let it spalt, it smells like good whisky when you cut it.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of this info, but I once came across a warning about working with fruit woods. It stated that insecticides, etc., used on the trees may be in the wood and that cutting, sanding, or turning could release them into the air being breathed. You might want to check with the orchard guys.
Cadiddlehopper
Adam,
I made a simple sled based on an article in Methods of Work in an old FWW (forgot the issue). It consists of a piece of MDO with a hardwood runner that slides in the mitre guage slot. I affixed uprights on each end that capture a pipe clamp which holds the wood.
You have to keep adjusting the wood as you take slices off but it worked quite well.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
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