Replies

1. 
   davidbrum | Jan 17, 2010 10:42am | #1

   Sounds like a goldmine! I read your post the other day, and didn't respond because I don't have actual experience drying orchard wood. I was curious and did a bit of research however, for what that's worth. It seems that most fruit wood contains lots of moisture, which it loses very quickly once cut into lumber, especially in your dry climate. The too quick drying is what causes the checking and cracking. After sealing the ends, the best suggestion seemed to be to wrap the boards with plastic for a week or so, in order to slow the drying process. I have done this with really wet walnut blanks for turning. Worked fine. I had them in plastic bags, which I just turned inside-out every few days.

   Keep us posted on how you do with the orchard wood. Sounds like a great problem to have.

2. 
   RalphBarker | Jan 17, 2010 10:53am | #2

   That's great. Good luck as it
   That's great. Good luck as it dries.

   I've been looking for "old growth" sagebrush here in New Mexico, but the planks tend to be pretty small (toothpicks for stickers). ;-)

3. 
   bduffin104 | Jan 17, 2010 11:54am | #3

   Thanks, what should I use to seal the ends? Latex paint?

4. 
   TomHigby | Jan 17, 2010 06:24pm | #4

   I've only used cherry wood
   I've only used cherry wood from my back-yard trees. Ifound to be of little use, bery coarse and soft. I used it for fire-wood.

   Tom

1. 
   bduffin104 | Jan 17, 2010 09:51pm | #5

   I know that cherry trees of different varieties are grafted onto a variety of root stocks. I'm wondering if your "unusable" cherry wood was from a rootstock less preferable for lumber. I'll let you know how it goes in a year or so.

5. 
   Troy | Jan 21, 2010 10:02pm | #6

   I think both the apple and the cherry wood is worth playing with. A neighbor cut down a small ornamental cherry tree and I kept the trunk and it produced a small amount of nice lumber. Apple can be fun although it the wood I have cut tends to warp as it drys once dry though it cuts nicely. The apple is great for the BBQ I would take as much of that as I could. Be careful you might start thinking about a portable bandsaw mill:)

   Troy

1. 
   bduffin104 | Jan 22, 2010 01:33am | #7

   Oh, I've already thought
   Oh, I've already thought about the band saw mill but I'll start with the chainsaw gadget I already have.

1. 
   popawheelie | Jan 22, 2010 10:26pm | #8

   Some of the small stuff is great for turning as well.

   I use latex that is left over form projects to seal wood.

   Apple is used for smoking meats if your into that.

   If you don't use it to smoke it still smells great.

   Small lumber works for small projects. Wood planes?

   It's nice to show someone something and be able to say where the wood came from. Now-a-days people think everything comes form a store.

6. 
   flairwoodworks | Jan 22, 2010 10:41pm | #9

   I've got some apple, fruit
   I've got some apple, fruit cherry, and plum wood - not from orchards, but trees growing on private properties that came down in storms or had to come down for some other reason. Fruit cherry very nice. Apple (at least what I have) isn't nearly as nice, colourwise and I've yet to crack into the rounds I have. Plum has a gorgeous red heartwood but is very hard to turn successfully - my thin-walled bowls kept blowing up. I am told that due to the way they grow - in a spiral. Like most (or all?) fruitwoods, it's a dense wood.

   To minimize checking you need to seal the end grain as soon as possible - as soon as the tree is felled if practical. Some people have reported success with latex paint. I use a wax emulsion sold as an end-grain sealer.