Sourcing timber logs

paddylonglegs

Hello,

I'm looking to source "nice" logs for a project. While I could talk to someone who sells logs, they probably wouldn't take the same care in sourcing something that looks good.

I would like to find 5 inch diameter or so logs such as silver birch, beech and oak, or those with interesting bark.

I plan to cut them into inch thick discs and decorate the faces.

Would anyone have thoughts on where I could source these? I'm based in kikdare.

Thanks

timfromtang

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Hello,

I'm looking to source "nice" logs for a project. While I could talk to someone who sells logs, they probably wouldn't take the same care in sourcing something that looks good.

I would like to find 5 inch diameter or so logs such as silver birch, beech and oak, or those with interesting bark.

I plan to cut them into inch thick discs and decorate the faces.

Would anyone have thoughts on where I could source these? I'm based in kildare.

Thanks

I'll supply you, i would have oak, birch and beech thinnings that size and other species with attractive bark too, sure you'd only need a few logs. Best thing is to pm me,,, I am located about 19K north of athlone so not too far from kildare.
tim

recipio

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Hello,

I'm looking to source "nice" logs for a project. While I could talk to someone who sells logs, they probably wouldn't take the same care in sourcing something that looks good.

I would like to find 5 inch diameter or so logs such as silver birch, beech and oak, or those with interesting bark.

I plan to cut them into inch thick discs and decorate the faces.

Would anyone have thoughts on where I could source these? I'm based in kikdare.

Thanks

You know the wood will be 'wet' and as soon as you cut them into discs they will start to shrink and create radial splits ? I have a little experience of cutting trees like this to create veneer 'oysters' for box making. Typically about half will develop one big split out from the centre. Some will remain intact and thinner discs tend to distort into a dome. Not impossible but just allow a lot for wastage unless the splits are acceptable.

timfromtang

recipio wrote: »

You know the wood will be 'wet' and as soon as you cut them into discs they will start to shrink and create radial splits ? I have a little experience of cutting trees like this to create veneer 'oysters' for box making. Typically about half will develop one big split out from the centre. Some will remain intact and thinner discs tend to distort into a dome. Not impossible but just allow a lot for wastage unless the splits are acceptable.

there are methods that will help counter the wet splitting problem, experimentation helps. one way to minimise cracking is to cut ellipses instead cross cutting your log diagonally, of course this does not make discs but ellipses, these can show off attractive bark to good effect.

another method i have used is deliberate case hardening, in my case with turned mushrooms. These are turned from wet branchwood with the bark on and of course will crack through to the pith in many cases as they dry out. To counter this i often deliberately case harden the wood by drying the exterior layers quickly, so i take the fresh mushroom turning and place it in a cooling range oven overnight to dry, this shrinks the outer layers of the wood, and seems to restrain cracking to a large degree to many small surface cracks which are more mushroomy and more acceptable than a big radial crack to the pith.

In the case of the wooden discs I'd begin by trying case hardening logs, and then slicing them into discs and testing them for drying and cracking by leaving them in a warm dry place for a week or three.

another method which comes to mind is simply cutting the discs green (wet) and drilling a hole through the pith say 12-20mm diameter would be good for 125mm diameter discs i'd suggest. On drying the removed hole provides space to shrink to and relieves drying stresses and cracking to a large degree.

There will of course be considerable variance in the difference between radial shrinkage and tangential shrinkage between species, I'd suggest that oak discs might prove more prone to cracking than small leaved lime for example, so that experimenting with a number of different species of timber and various different drying schedules might prove rewarding.

hope this helps
tim

paddylonglegs

recipio wrote: »

You know the wood will be 'wet' and as soon as you cut them into discs they will start to shrink and create radial splits ? I have a little experience of cutting trees like this to create veneer 'oysters' for box making. Typically about half will develop one big split out from the centre. Some will remain intact and thinner discs tend to distort into a dome. Not impossible but just allow a lot for wastage unless the splits are acceptable.

Hi recipio

Thanks for letting me know about this. Are you saying the wood should be seasoned for a year or so to avoid these splits?

Were you trying to get a clean cut when cutting the discs? Did you use a chainsaw or something else?

paddylonglegs

timfromtang wrote: »

there are methods that will help counter the wet splitting problem, experimentation helps. one way to minimise cracking is to cut ellipses instead cross cutting your log diagonally, of course this does not make discs but ellipses, these can show off attractive bark to good effect.

another method i have used is deliberate case hardening, in my case with turned mushrooms. These are turned from wet branchwood with the bark on and of course will crack through to the pith in many cases as they dry out. To counter this i often deliberately case harden the wood by drying the exterior layers quickly, so i take the fresh mushroom turning and place it in a cooling range oven overnight to dry, this shrinks the outer layers of the wood, and seems to restrain cracking to a large degree to many small surface cracks which are more mushroomy and more acceptable than a big radial crack to the pith.

In the case of the wooden discs I'd begin by trying case hardening logs, and then slicing them into discs and testing them for drying and cracking by leaving them in a warm dry place for a week or three.

another method which comes to mind is simply cutting the discs green (wet) and drilling a hole through the pith say 12-20mm diameter would be good for 125mm diameter discs i'd suggest. On drying the removed hole provides space to shrink to and relieves drying stresses and cracking to a large degree.

There will of course be considerable variance in the difference between radial shrinkage and tangential shrinkage between species, I'd suggest that oak discs might prove more prone to cracking than small leaved lime for example, so that experimenting with a number of different species of timber and various different drying schedules might prove rewarding.

hope this helps
tim

Tim thanks for this excellent advice.
The ellipses might be an option in this case.

recipio

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Hi recipio

Thanks for letting me know about this. Are you saying the wood should be seasoned for a year or so to avoid these splits?

Were you trying to get a clean cut when cutting the discs? Did you use a chainsaw or something else?

The is no point leaving wood in the log if that is what you mean - it will still have a high moisture after a year. I have cut thin 4mm discs - ellipses really -on the bandsaw and they are dry in a few days but splits are inevitable.
The only certain way to avoid radial splitting that I know of is to use PEG - polyethylene glycol. Its an inert substance which is let soak into the discs and replaces the moisture in the cells. Woodturners use it and its available from the mail order suppliers in the UK. Worth a look.

tabby aspreme

For traditional veneer work laburnum was popular for cutting into oysters, one way of drying the discs slowly is to put them in layers into a box of damp sand and let them dry out slowly with the sand, it could take several months