Drying rings for wedding centerpieces

[Carl1991]

Hi all, the mrs wants some rings to put candles etc on for our wedding in Oct. Just wondering what the best plan is regarding cutting and drying, should I cut them asap and store them in the garage etc or cut them just before the day and not dry them out? I dont want them cracking so what's the best plan? Cheers

[Mike Hill]

Cut a few up and biff them in the microwave for 30 second bursts.

 

I had a 70% success rate with Silver Birch.

Some cracked,most didn't. The rings were about 10mm thick

[Steven P]

I've had some in the garage since about November and they haven't split.. yet.. about 25mm thick and I kept them in a pile of sawduxt for a few months (my thought, right or wrong was that they would dry slower that way). However if it was important that they didn't crack I would be tempted to cut them closer to the weddng

[Carl1991]

Cheers, looking at ash and birch so hopefully that'll work.

[Rough Hewn]

Cut them a day or two before if possible.
At least 1" thick, 2" is better.
[emoji106]

[Squaredy]

8 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

Cut them a day or two before if possible.
At least 1" thick, 2" is better.

Yes agreed, that is the easiest way.  The surface can still dry but not the inside.  And keep them somewhere cool but with air gaps between them so they don’t start going mouldy.  Softwoods usually best as they won’t fall apart.

[Ashes_Firewood]

I've got 45 Ash centre pieces sat in my cellar stacked and sticked like you would with sawn boards and got the cellar window open for a bit of airflow. I cut them about 6 weeks ago for my mates wedding that's happening this weekend. They've a little bit of cracking on them from the middle of the log but nothing serious. I wouldn't get too hung up about a bit of cracking, it all adds to the rustic look! If I hadn't put them in the cellar they would have cracked a lot more with the heat we've had.

 

If there's a bit of stress in the wood they'll crack slightly the moment you cut them anyway.

[TIMON]

Cut them as close to the day as possible. Leave them wet.

[Chalgravesteve]

3 hours ago, TIMON said:

Cut them as close to the day as possible. Leave them wet.

Wet logs on an ivory/white tablecloth at a wedding leaves marks all over the cloths that don't come out easily..........so be prepared for a bill from whoever dresses the tables/owns the cloths!! Not saying it happens all the time but it does happen! I've done both sides of the coin, cut the logs for someone and run the function and had cloths ruined. Best thing you can do is place the log on a piece of decorative voile fabric or similar which protects the cloth.

[Rough Hewn]

Doilies [emoji106]