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splitting hickory

Started by SWAMPRAT, January 15, 2003, 09:35:37 AM

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SWAMPRAT

noticed that all of the Hickory and Red oak that i have milled with my Alaskan mill have major cracks in the planks.  Is there a certain way I should be cutting the boards in order that this not happen.  I thought that maybe it was just a few boards, but its all of them.  I cut them 2 inches thick by 10-12 feet long, not sure what I am doing wrong.  The trees were fell and bucked 7 days prior to slabbing, Do I need to wait longer before milling this type of wood.  I have access to literally a few hundred downed trees from Hurricane Lili, and would like to make use of some of the staight trunks, most of the trees are 16-24 inches with a few of the red oaks larger than that.

Tom


Weekend_Sawyer

Did you use an end sealer?
How are you drying them?
Imagine, Me a Tree Farmer.
Jon, Appalachian American Wannabe.

SWAMPRAT

no type of sealer, (I assume you mean like Thompsons or the like) as I have not made plans on whether or not I will plane and rip them or use them rough.  I stack them with short pieces of scrap 2x4 pine between boards.

woodmills1

could be the cracks are present in the logs due to the blow down.  If you find this is true then cut parallel to the cracks to minimize the number of boards affected.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

GarryW

You should use something like AnchorSeal on the boards. You are losing moisture too quickly from the ends of boards and they are then splitting.

Here is the link for AnchorSeal: http://www.uccoatings.com/prod_anchorseal.php

And you can get it in different colors too!  8)
Garry

Minnesota_boy

Losing too much moisture from the outside while the center is still wet can cause cracking.  For example, most species will crack if left exposed to the sun if it is hot out.  Stack your boards with dry stickers and cover the pile with a layer or two of slabs to keep them out of the sun but let the air through on the sides to keep them from molding.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

Tom

I think we're all "shot gunning" the problem and need some more information on just what is happening.  Cracks in planks can appear for many different reasons from shake to growing stresses to dryng stresses to mis-handlling, to .....

Maybe a better description will get us more on target. :P

Minnesota_boy

Awww, Tom, It's too cold out here for skeet and now you're trying to put a damper on shotgunning here too.  ;D
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

DanG

I was thinking the same thing, Tom. He never said the cracks were at the ends of the boards, like end checking from not sealing the log ends. If they are splitting all along the board, that's a different problem, altogether. We just need more info.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

bull

 Sounds like hurricane lilly pre split some nice fire wood
 blow downs probably took a pretty good beating in the storm
 If you can see a crack in the butt of the log saw down the crack and see what you get. Try quarter sawing, also try shorter  logs 6' or 8 '. may get you out of the check !! How long have the trees been down ????

SWAMPRAT

The Hurricane was October 3rd. Most of trees were uprooted due to the ground being really soft from the large quantity of rain from Tropical Storm Isadore a few weeks before.  So I dont think there is a whole lot of stress in the trunks of the uptooted trees.  I could see where that would be a problem in a tree that was snaped off.  the Chekcing is only on the ends (12 inches) of the boards. (Not to say that the longer they sit the farther they will crack.)  The Trees have set for 3 months, I dont know if this makes a difference or not, I would think it would be better than milling freshly cut logs.

I have not tried to quartersaw any of them, though I may give it a try, the beams that I have boxed from Heart wood seem fine, the boards that I have slabbed from the logs are cracking in the heart 10-12 inches from the ends. This may be due to them drying to quickly with no sealer on the ends.  Thanks for all of the input, this is very much a learning experience for me.  I have a ton of logs to play around with, but would like to start getting some reward for my labors.

GarryW

I would get some AnchorSeal and seal up the logs you have laying around. It would help to keep them from checking too much.
Garry

beenthere

What Swamprat describes is drying too fast from the end grain, and the Southern red oak is particularly bad for that. And growth stresses will contribute as well, but they are not controllable, where as the drying from the end grain is treatable. The "Anchorseal" is likely the best remedy (per comments from others), but the sooner one can get it on the ends, the better. Immediately after sawing the log to length is the best, as anything later will have allowed a lot of moisture to exit the log or board ends. Not much drying will occur in the downed trees, but this is one reason logs should NOT be left lying around to "cure" before sawing, as some mis-informed old loggers and old sawyers tales seem to perpetrate.  
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

SWAMPRAT

Thanks for the comments. I will try the Anchorseal next and see how it does.  I will also try to post some pic tommorow just to back up my explanations and make sure we are on the same page.  However, all that has been recomended so far sounds really acurate.  thanks again.

Minnesota_boy

I don't have much hardwood to experiment with, but with softwood, sticker placement is very important.  The first sticker should be placed as near to the end of the pile as possible, flush to the end is best as the wood on the end of the board loses moisture from 4 sides plus the end.  Using a sealer on the end of the log is a good start.  
On unsealed softwood, checking will continue to the first sticker.  If the sticker is flush with the end, there will be almost no checking at all on that end.  Since not all logs are cut exactly the same length, the last sticker should be as close to the end of the pile as practical, but you should keep it in a bit from theend to account for the uneven lengths and try to get the shortest boards to reach the sticker, even if the longer boards stick out an inch or 2.  If there will be much more difference in the lengths, add another sticker row to the pile so all boards are supported and none stick out very far past the last sticker.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

ARKANSAWYER

SWAMPRAT,
  On hickory it is best if you coat the log with endsealer and then the boards for a inch up and the ends again.  Hickory is a bad splitter and will stain fast if is not on dry stickers with air flow.  It is best if it gets to a kiln most quick.  End sealing the red oak will help it also..  
  We like photos.
ARKANSAWYER
ARKANSAWYER

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