Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 05, 2009 08:49am | #1

   "conventional would be to seal only the end grain."  Conventional would be to put it in a bag with some shavings, but that seems farfetched with that hunk o' wood.  Hope you can post some pics after you get it cut!  I showed the pic to my husband, suggesting the little stumps on our property pale in comparison.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
2. 
   ctsjr | Jun 05, 2009 05:01pm | #2

   I know one woodworker who seals his walnut crotch boards by coating them with paraffin wax--all over. He does this outside with a propane burner, an old pot and old paintbrush. Then he allows them to air dry in his barn till needed. Tom

   "Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
1. 
   Gretchen | Jun 05, 2009 05:51pm | #3

   How do they "dry" if coated?Gretchen

1. 
   ctsjr | Jun 05, 2009 09:55pm | #4

   They will dry very slowly, which minimizes checks and undesirable wood movement. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"

3. 
   Jimma | Jun 07, 2009 12:22am | #5

   That's a real treasure, but it's going to be hard to salvage it. Do you live where the humidity is below 50 percent most of the time? You'll need to get it out of the ground and under some kind of cover. Also, it's unlikely you will be able to control the rate of drying of that big a stump except for the extremities, and what that means is finding a way to cut into it enough to have pieces of similar thickness that can be coated with wax or thick paint as it gives up moisture. The cut/exposed surfaces will dry faster. You'd do well to find a sawyer who could do that for you unless you have access to heavy equipment and a bandmill. I did it with a cherry tree about 1/4 your size and it was a hassle to do and it took forever to dry. Also, it's nearly impossible to know what's included in that big thing from rocks to dirt to barbed wire. Good luck!

1. 
   snapperhead | Jun 07, 2009 10:47pm | #6

   thanks, we got the stump out of the ground after much hand digging, spent a half a day powerwashing the dirt off it.

   it is going to the sawmill next week to be saw up into 3" blanks.

   I am trying to figure out how to slow down the drying process to save burl wood on the face.

   we plan to stick dry the wood in central IL.

   we just got all the other wood from the tree stick drying yesterday.

   also picture attached was the largest white mulberry tree in Iowa.  It had to be taken down before it went through the house.  It measured 21 feet around.  Real Monster.

   
1. 
   snapperhead | Jun 07, 2009 10:48pm | #7

   sorry I cant attach any more pictures, seemed I've run out of space??

2. 
   Jimma | Jun 07, 2009 11:28pm | #8

   You'll have to find someone a lot smarter and more experienced than me to suggest how to slow the drying process of that stump. Maybe you can search on line or here for references, or even ask one of the high-end lumber dealers (several run ads in the back of FWW) for suggestions. As for the burls, they don't seem to need the same treatment for drying as the lumber which is probably due to their every-which-way grain and natural tendency not to crack. I've had several oak burls that were fresh cut and dried just fine without any coating at all, just plenty of time and low humidity. However, I'm amazed at the size you are dealing with and, considering how much time (and money) you're likely to invest in cutting, storing and drying them, I'd get some professional help from people who make a living at such things. I would think one of the guys who sell such treasures wouldn't mind talking to you, maybe even offer to buy them. This month's issue of FWW has some ads in the back for companies that sell unusual and large woods. Good luck snapper -- you're way outta my league with those beautiful big stumps.

3. 
   RickL | Jun 08, 2009 03:46pm | #9

   http://www.preservation-solutions.com/woodstabilizerpreventscracks.php

   Try Pentacryl

4. 
   KeithNewton | Jun 09, 2009 04:28am | #10

   Chris, I am not sure how you plan to cut the stump, and how you plan to use it after it dries.

   I would just like to say that you may be expecting something more than you should reasonably expect.

   Most of the wood in that stump is worthless. The best figure will be on the tops of those large roots as they bend out. It is not really "burl" figure, but more likely fiddleback or wavy.

   Since you have power-washed it, I would suggest that you just cut your planks out with your chain-saw. Although, you are probably already tired of sharpening it. But if you think getting that thing oriented to get a good end-product on a sawmill is easy, I would like to learn the easy method.

   A lot of people seem to think that any stump has something special, but it really takes a large stump to make it worth the effort. Yours is what i would call borderline.

   If you have a big corrugated framing hammer, you can strike the bark at about 45º to knock some bark off of those root buttresses to take a look at how the grain figure looks.

   I have had good success by sealing the wood with Glidden latex white primer for air-drying. Two thick coats on the endgrain, and at least one on the sapwood if you want to keep and use it. Sapwood will dry faster than heart, and split in thick planks otherwise.

   If you are planning to use it as cross-grained cookies, which doesn't do anything for me, but you would do well to order a drum of what RickL suggested.

   As for using the wood, this would make some great wood for a turner, but it is a little hard to find uses for that curving figured grained wood. Good luck.