How to prepare or store a section of trunk for furniture or decorative use?

I have a section of maple tree trunk thats about 4" thick. The diameter is roughly 3 feet.

Tree was cut down about 2 months ago. It's been sitting in a storage room (70f, 40-50% humidity).

How should it be stored or cured or dried (or what-ever) prior to being prepared for some sort of use - maybe as a decoration or a table-top ?

Should it be stored? Or should it be sanded, planed, stained or sealed ASAP?

Are there any web sites that might have some good info on this?

Reply to
Wood Guy
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If you haven't already put that waxy green wood sealer on both ends, it's probably already too late. The wood want's to begin drying immediately and start checking and cracking. Such a sealer is available from Rockler among other places.

I believe there's a chemical called Pentacryl that's used to keep green wood from checking and cracking. You soak the piece in it, and the chemical displaces the water in the wood cells. I might be wrong on that name, but I'm sure such a chemical is available.

FWIW, I've got a couple of log sections around 2 feet in dia x 2 feet long in my garage sealed with green wood sealer from Rockler for around a year with no visible checking or cracking. Yet.

Reply to
George Max

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