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drying croch wood

Started by smith2bj, September 16, 2009, 10:54:34 AM

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smith2bj

I have some beautiful blask walnut croch wood how do I dry it without it cracking?

Kelvin

seals the ends and seal any surface area that is end grain, like around knots and the actual crotch area itself.  This is end grain in the same way the end of the board is and will dry too quickly and check.  You need to slow down that area.  Keep out of hot sun as well.  Protect the board well and air dry for awhile before kiln drying if that is what you will do.

jim king

Smith:

I have worked with tropical hardwood crotches from Mahogany to the high priced woods for many years.  There is one solution to crotches and it is PATIANCE. 

Cut the crotches to what thickness you like and sticker them and dry with a fan pushing air thru the stack.  This will take a couple of months with the ends sealed.

When the two months or so are up process them into turning blanks or flitches and air dry for a couple more months.  Now wax all sides of the blanks and the flitches should be dry enough to hold and you have a minimum of $20 a board foot value in your product.

The market is there.

smith2bj

Well the stuff I have started to crazy within a couple of weeks after I cut them up even with the end coated and letting them dry in our polebarn.

Kelvin

did you seal the surface of the crotches?  If not they will check, split and break.  That is end grain the same as the ends of the boards are.  You need to seal all the end grain right when its sawn.  Sometimes checks occur right after sawing but the wood is still swelled being green.  They will open up as the board dries and appear.  They form right away especially if the weather is dry and windy.
KP

Den Socling

How many pieces do you have? Can they be shipped UPS? I will be drying some walnut gunstock in a week or so in one of my vacuum kilns. I can throw in a couple pieces of crotch no charge no problem.

jim king

There is no way to better solve the problem than Dens offer.  If I were there I would take him up on an offer like that for bloodwood crotches and others that are out of this world for gun stocks. 

smith2bj

thanks for the offer but some off the pieces are a little to big for that.

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