when best to cut logs

[Acg128]

Cut straight away make a cover.. Chucked this together in about 20mins!

[muldonach]

A log of wood is basically like a bundle of straw tied together (the xylem). Very little water loss occurs through the sides of the straws as most is lost through the ends. So cutting to length early is the quickest way to dry.

 

So whether splitting or not, cutting to length should be the first thing you do. It will also cut easier with a chainsaw when green.

 

Sorry but I have seen this posted on previous threads and it just does not match with experience, if you want to season timber then split it, and the thinner you split it the faster it will season.

 

I certainly would not leave 500mm logs at 6" diameter and expect them to season through the ends.

 

Cheers

mac

[Alycidon]

Cut to length and split now, keep undercover but allow wind to blow through, should be ready for next winter but oak will take another year.

 

Bark is practically waterproof, very little moisture form a log escapes through it, so processed some soft a couple of years ago, felled 3 years, 6-10 inch diam, 27% a foot inside the log, 4% on the end grain.

 

If its soft wood then you could wait another month or three, hard get it moving now.

 

A

[davetaz]

Piece of oak 3ft long, 12" diameter will take 5 years to season throughout.

Same piece cut int 9" rings will take at least 2 years to season throughout

Same piece cut in to billets (3ft long, 4" across) will season in 6 months when stacked properly.

Splitting timber down is the best way to seasonwood, no matter how long it is

[Nick B]

I know you dont want to split the logs in half but it will be by far the quickest way to dry/season them.

[woodyguy]

if the length is fixed ie 500mm then splitting will speed up the drying. Generally though if you want them to season quickly, you cut shorter and split as well.

 

If people don't understand that, then cut a full round from a 12" log about 1" thick. I tried one and measured the weight at 700g. Then cut a 2inch branch until it weighs 700g. So one is short and one is thin, but same mass of wood. I put them on the window sill and the round had dried to 20% in 3 days. The 2inch branch had barely changed showing that wood mainly dries from the ends but not exclusively.

 

In reality though we can only cut logs so short, so short and split is the quick way.

[ThrustSSC]

if the length is fixed ie 500mm then splitting will speed up the drying. Generally though if you want them to season quickly, you cut shorter and split as well.

 

If people don't understand that, then cut a full round from a 12" log about 1" thick. I tried one and measured the weight at 700g. Then cut a 2inch branch until it weighs 700g. So one is short and one is thin, but same mass of wood. I put them on the window sill and the round had dried to 20% in 3 days. The 2inch branch had barely changed showing that wood mainly dries from the ends but not exclusively.

 

In reality though we can only cut logs so short, so short and split is the quick way.

 

I'm afraid that when a critical scientific eye is cast over that experiment, all it proves is that seasoning through the bark is very, very slow! Yes, it does dry through the ends. But it dries most through the split sides.

 

I do sometimes wonder if this is why the HETAS spec used to specify no branchwood (although I can't see that in the spec any more)? Was it written by someone in the trade who uses kilning and therefore had a competitive incentive to drive down the value of the wood he couldn't use effectively?

[Woodworks]

This discussion of how wood looses it,s moisture comes up quite often and I am keen to have some clear answers. I am thinking of doing a couple of careful tests. Here is what I propose but if you can think of a better way just say.

 

First the drying through end grain. I shall cut 2 pieces of wood from the same wet wood to 150x80x20 one shall have the end grain on the shortest face and one the longest.

 

Second test is take one round maybe 25mm diameter and 150mm long also I will turn on a lathe a slightly larger diameter log to 25mm getting rid of the bark. Leave all to dry on stickers to allow good air circulation and after maybe 2 weeks cut all in half and re test moisture content. What do you think?

[woodyguy]

Great. If I repeated the experiment I detailed but taking the bark off, I'd be very surprised if it varied. Yes bark is a better seal, but not that much.

 

One point for yours. Moisture meters are useless, so just weigh the wood on kitchen scales at the beginning and use weight loss. Will be interested to see your results.

[Woodworks]

Great. If I repeated the experiment I detailed but taking the bark off, I'd be very surprised if it varied. Yes bark is a better seal, but not that much.

 

One point for yours. Moisture meters are useless, so just weigh the wood on kitchen scales at the beginning and use weight loss. Will be interested to see your results.

 

Thanks woodyguy

 

Yes I will weigh the wood and we shall see how it goes.