nacoran
6565 posts
Mar 10, 2013
9:47 PM
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We had to cut down an ash tree this fall (okay, the professionals cut it down, too close to my mother's house and too big for us to try) but then the snow fell before we got it all cut up. It's starting, on some days to look like spring around here, and I'm thinking of lopping off some wood for combs (which I will probably ruin with my Dremel!) but I was wondering, how do you handle big pieces of wood? What are the best parts of a log for combs? Do you dry/age it? The log even has some lightning damaged parts, just like The Natural. (I wish I had a lathe, I'd make myself a bat too.) Is it even possible to attack a comb project with a Dremel and patience? I'm probably going to make a table top and bench tops out of it too. That's a little closer to my wheelhouse, but still, I'm not sure how to handle raw timber to prevent splitting and stuff. Any suggestions?
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Nate
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STME58
387 posts
Mar 10, 2013
10:36 PM
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I was just talking with a guy at work that works with wood like this. This is second hand info so take it with a grain of salt. Drying is critical, especially if you want to get a large piece for a bowl or something. The log needs to be cut and the ends sealed in order for it not to crack. Drying time is several months.Hopefully someone with first hand experience can chime in and give you more detailed info. Greg Deering, of Deering Banjo is my son's Scout Master, he sometimes starts with raw logs to make banjos. I will try and ask his advise on this Tuesday night and will pass on any info I get.
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tookatooka
3229 posts
Mar 11, 2013
6:30 AM
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I have some pieces of Ash about 8 x 1.5 inches dia. When they are knocked together they make a really nice metallic sound. Keep some back.
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HarveyHarp
470 posts
Mar 11, 2013
7:43 AM
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I dried some Pecan from a tree in my back yard that was taken down during Katrina, in my microwave. There is instructions on the internet. I did not make combs out of them, but I did make some nifty, but crude microphones out of them, and they looked great.
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HarveyHarp
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Sherwin
45 posts
Mar 11, 2013
8:15 AM
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Hi nacoran you ought to take a skill saw and run it full cutting depth down the length of the logs you want to take lumber from, it will tell the log where to crack (Count you fingers before and after). That way way you won't get radial cracks appearing willy nilly all over the circumference of the log. They will crack no matter what, and this will give you more usable lumber. And buy you some time.
I had better get out and do the same thing as soon as possible to some ash I have left from two large trees I had taken down in January. I plan on building some ukuleles and afew other things out of the wood. The sooner you can reduce the wood to planks, however crude, the quicker and better it will dry. Even quartering or halving the logs with a chain saw would help. Keep it up off the ground, give it air, keep the sun and rain off it. Sealing the ends is good practice and some old oil paint you may have kicking around would do just fine.
Good luck......Sherwin
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Greg Heumann
2053 posts
Mar 11, 2013
10:17 AM
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Yeah - basically - it WILL crack in its natural state. It cannot be dried whole - it is just too thick. You can saw it into boards which can be kiln dried if they're less than about 2" thick. Otherwise you seal the entire thing to KEEP any moisture from escaping to prevent cracking. The most common material to do this with is wax. Melt it, brush it on or dip it in a big tank. I confront this issue all the time with the hardwoods from which I make my mics. I buy some hardwoods that are still at 30% moisture level! They take very special handing to make a mic that isn't going to warp, crack or shrink dramatically.
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/Greg
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nacoran
6567 posts
Mar 11, 2013
11:17 AM
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Thanks guys!
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Nate
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