Drying Bluegum

[sigidi]

Hi All,

I've just sawn up a stack of Bluegum Eucalypt here is OZ, to use as floorboards.

I recently read an article which gave info re. air drying and the article mentioned that stacks less than 5' wide don't need horizontal spaces between the boards, but just keep the vertical spaces. (stickers)

IS this okay?

I only ask as I wasn't totally ready to stack this timber and don't have anything to weight the top, but was going to strap it down for the meantime while I fabricate some concrete slabs

What are your thoughts?

[sigidi]

Anybody

Anything

TIA

[Den Socling]

I was zooming through but we don't want you to get upset.  

You don't need any gaps between the boards. Use uniform stickers and try to get even airflow through the stack. Even, uniform drying is more important than drying speed. It's the moisture gradients that lead to stresses that lead to cracks and warp. Drying 'too fast' means that you made the shell too dry. For example, in a vac kiln you can drop Red Oak 30% per DAY and not hurt it one bit.

Ratcheting straps are fine if you tighten them regularly.

now I'm outta' here. ZOOOOM  

[Ianab]

Hi Sigidi
I've got a small stack of Bluegum drying in the same manner.
I figure it's gonna be a problem because some of it was warping 1" off the saw  
Anyway It's stickered close spaced and has some heavy slabs and a heap of Cypress on top of it...
I will investigate the stack in a couple of month and see how it turned out...
Seems the stuff can be a bit hit and miss, and vary in different logs, but if you can get good stuff it gives really nice timber.

Ian

[sigidi]

Ian

I had similar trouble with my gum bending before the cut had been finished. Single operator on Lucas, so vertical cut first, then horizontal and almost 2 feet from the end of the Horiz cut, the board had 'sprung' out from the log almost an inch.

I was wondering if I was feeding my vert cut too fast or running with a blade that needed sharpening? I thought our hardware 'should' cut through the spring in the grain thus leaving us with less reaction wood?
Am I just fantasizing?

One last thing - can you tell from a standing tree if it will be 'good timber'?

[FeltzE]

Sigidi

The swing blade mills have an easier time with stress in the log due to the method that the log is cut. As you cut you will incounter boards springing away from the cut which is normal as you release the tension on the log. You will always have that tension in the lumber if it was originally present in the log.

It's important to pay attention to the shape of the log in relation to the rings and potential internal stress. If a log is egg shaped with an off set heart you can bet there will be some tension in that log. Put the egg shape up on end... as if you were going to balance it on either end of the egg. and saw you lumber primarly flat, not on edge. That way there will be less crown in your lumber but a it will have a bow on the wide side that can more easily be worked with.



Eric