fresh wood...

[twelchPTM]

A neighbor had a tree taken down, It was a massive Pin Oak. A very good friend of mine actually grew up in the house and his mother was the one who planted the tree. The tree guys were kind enough to give me a few slices of the tree. I want to make something nice for my buddy. The first slice is about 2 to 2.5 inches thic and 12 inches across, the other two are the same thickness but about 36 inches across. I haven't figured out exactly what I am going to make them but I was wondering if anyone could tell me the best way to get them ready to be carved. How long should i let it dry? how should I store it while it is drying? anything else I should know?

I have never worked with wood fresh from the tree, so this is new territory for me.

[steve_g]

Thomas…
I do a lot of “found” wood projects… Are these across the grain “oysters”? if so, they will crack and split! First off paint/seal any end grain and put them in your attic for 1 year per inch of thickness… Get back to me then!
SG

[twelchPTM]

they are slices straight across the trunk the entire surface is endgrain the edge is bark, paint them and store them for a year? also i don't have an attic and I imagine my basement is way to moist... would it be possible to force dry them somehow?

[steve_g]

I have forced dry by using two different methods… One involves displacing all the moisture with alcohol and the other involves microwaving. Neither method is practical for your size pieces. Do you know anyone with a kiln?
Oh… by the way, it’s a year/ inch of thickness. 2-3 years in your case!
SG

[Ger21]

Force drying will speed up the cracking. You want to dry them as slowly as possible.

[gc3]

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Processing_trees_to_lumber.html

http://www.woodweb.com/KnowledgeBase/WDKBPPAirDryingLumber.html

[steve_g]

Gene…
Interesting links! The first article suggests 60 days to air dry 1” Oak and 90 for 2”. Anything else I’ve ever read suggested the 1 year/ inch rule and that has worked well for me! As a qualifier, The woods I tend to be air drying are Osage Orange, Mesquite and Pear. Oak is to inexpensive and readily available to bother with, unless, like in Thomas’s case there is a sentiment involved.
SG

[Ger21]

Interesting links! The first article suggests 60 days to air dry 1” Oak and 90 for 2”. Anything else I’ve ever read suggested the 1 year/ inch rule and that has worked well for me!

That only brings it top 20% mc. It states that additional drying is required for indoor use.

Here's some info on drying discs.
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/How_to_Limit_Cracking_when_Drying_Wood_Discs.html

[barrowj]

I have a neighbor that has a portable sawmill and he usually comes to me when he has something of value that I don't already have. A couple of years ago I got 300 bd ft of Black Walnut ($1/ft) 1 1/2" thick and it took a little over a year in my shop to dry. I just recently got 500 bd ft of Pecan and it is not stickered in the back of my shop and will stay that way till next summer. These are usually no more than 1 1/2" thick so a year has been good for me.

[twelchPTM]

Wow, thatks for the links guys, going to read later, in the meantime I have figured out what I want to do with them, The smaller round I would like to engrave with something, the bigger two I would like to make into tables, one for inside one for outside, surfaced flat and finished nothing else, any specific advice would be greatly appreciated