drying a maple beam

jrplep | Posted in General Discussion on October 31, 2005 04:11am

I have a client that wants me to make a mantelpiece from a maple tree cut from the site of his new house. I have had a local sawmill cut the log to about 10-1/2″ by 12-1/2″ by about 6-1/2 feet long, to be finally planed and shaped down to about 10x12x 6 feet. My problem is that the client wants the piece installed within about a month, and a kiln operator has told me it will take much longer, perhaps up to a year, to dry it in his kiln as it is right now. It makes sense to me to hollow out the back side of the beam as much as possible, or possibly bore a series of holes in the back side, so that no part of the remaining wood is more than a couple of inches from air and thus could be dried out in a much shorter time. Does anyone out there have any experience in preparing such timber for such a use? Are my ideas for hastening the drying good ones, or do you have a better one? The client, for sentimental reasons, is set on using THIS piece of wood, so obtaining one already dried and ready to use is not an option. Any help anyon can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Replies

sonny | Oct 31, 2005 04:32am | #1
Someone has to give your client the facts of life. Water, density and surface tempature equals time. You are on the right track but you need to treat the ends to slow down the rate of drying there. You could wrap the finished log in a semi porous material and slowly expose more and more of the finished log as it dries. Twisting will be the biggest problem after cracking. I'll think some more on it but you have some answers to keep this thread going. Best of luck from a guy with a 100 + acres of maple/ash and beach. Could you maybe switch logs and just tell him it's from his lot. Sorry my evil twin emerges. Frank, North of 60

sonny | Oct 31, 2005 04:45am | #2
One last thought. I dry smaller piece of maple in a microwave by covering them with cloth and repeatedly exposing them to microwave time bursts. I don't know how handy you are or how desperate you are but is there any way you could fashion an old microwave by cutting out the back side and constructing a temporary container around the log, slowly sliding the log through the unit. I thinking canvas bag/plastic etc. I'd get a lead jock strap if I were you but I can see this working.

Hey work with me here, I'm out side the box. Good luck, Frank
jrplep | Oct 31, 2005 04:51am | #3
I have 55 acres of maple, beech, cherry, yellow birch, ash (until the emerald borer gets to this part of Michgan) and have cut and air dried lots of timber over the years. I have thought of subbing a maple log of my own, but I let them sit out for a few years before cutting, and I know there is a fair amount of spalt which, to be honest, I want to keep for myself. Yes, the client doesn't really understand wood; the tree was cut down all of six months ago and he doesn't quite understand why it isn't dry enough to use yet. I have warned him that even under the best of circumstances, his log will show some amount of twist, checking, and so on, but he's been a good client and I want to do the best I can for him. I thought of hollowing out the back side, as I know that's what some native tribes used to do with long douglas fir (I think) logs to make canoes, plus the fact that it will reduce the weight and make it easier to hoist up into place. I have to do something with it fairly soon, but will wait for your further thoughts as well as those of anyone else that offers them. Thanks for your input!

JohnWW | Oct 31, 2005 06:39am | #4
In traditional Japanese timberwork, a deep slot is cut down the full length of the beam on the side that won't be seen. The slot is cut to the center of the beam, to the original center of the log. As the log dries this allows much of the stress that would create random radial checking and distortion to be relieved. Completely hollowing the beam out would be the same technique in overdrive and would probably work quite well. If the walls were only an inch thick you could probably safely install the log on schedule even though it wouldn't be fully dry. The remaining movement would be about what the beam would move because of seasonal humidity changes, which the design would still have to allow for anyway if the log remained solid. After hollowing out the log, the open side should probably be closed off with a glued in plank of a wood with similar responses to moisture. If you stop the hollowing short of the ends, to create the impression that the log is still solid, you may have problems keeping the ends intact and relatively crack free. A design that hides the ends, allowing you to fully hollow the entire length of the beam would be the better approach, and the hollowing would be easier to accomplish.John W.

GHR | Oct 31, 2005 04:56pm | #5
FR kiln, vacuum kiln.

A couple weeks perhaps.
Samson | Oct 31, 2005 06:10pm | #6
A six foot beam? Is it for a closet?

I'd tell him the facts of life about wood, the time it needs to dry, and the risks associated with using it when wet. If he still wants it installed, make hime sign a waiver so that you don't get stuck with cost associated with fixing the results of his ignorant insistence.

Maybe you could convince him to let you slice it into planks that could be dried quicker and used for something else like some trim, decorative header, mantle, or even a hall bench or table.
WillGeorge | Oct 31, 2005 07:35pm | #7
I have no idea.. But drilling holes sounds reasonable to me..

I would do the work but MAKE SURE the contract states.. Any call-backs are at my normal (as in the day you call me back) RATES..

EDIT:: BUT if other work has come your way by the client EXCEPTIONS could be investigated...

Edited 10/31/2005 12:39 pm by WillGeorge
frenchy | Nov 01, 2005 02:03am | #8
jrlep.

Of all the woods I have dried maple far and away gives me the most trouble.. If i were in your shoes under these crcumstances is tell the home owner the facts.. that it simply can't be forced to dry fast enough. accordingly i would simply shape it to size spray a lacquar finish on it and let time do it's job..

Warn about checks and splits etc. so when they happen (and they will) they don't get upset at you.. once dried come back and finish it as the home owner wants..

simply wipe off the lacquar with alcohol and refinsih..
Samson | Nov 01, 2005 04:04am | #9
oops! I reread your top post and noticed I skimmed over the part that said it was going to be used for a mantlepiece. I guess the "beam" from the title stuck in my head. Anyway, how about this:

Put up a temporary mantle fashioned from planks of clear pine or whatever wood the client wants to afford. Next year, you can come back and hang the Maple one in its place? Patience is a virtue.