Need to dry small pieces of tree

A neighbour's favourite mountain ash went down in a windstorm the other day, and they have asked me to create some keepsakes as it was the tree they were married in front of.

I've slabbed a section of the trunk into approx 1" x 5" x 18" pieces for stickering and stacking. Am end-sealing them now. The wood is very wet.

Can anyone point me towards a cheap way to speed up the drying somewhat? I've told them that it could be 6 months before it's dry enough to work, but she's been through chemo lately and even though she seems to be doing well, I would like to do this as soon as possible.

I have never worked with mountain ash (rowant) before and don't know how to expect it to behave while drying. All and any advice would be most welcome.

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SIx months for ash?

I would think more like 1-2 years unless you have some heat and/or forced ventilation or vacuum you can apply.

Depending on what you are making you want stable wood. You may have a hard time burning it in your woodstove after 6 months.

Mountain ash... aka Rowan (Sorbus sp). Not green, manchurian or black ash (Fraxinus sp).

Very different woods.

Dave Balderstone wrote in news:220720111644584940%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca:

I don't have any experience with this, but just having a fan blowing on the wood pieces is supposed to reduce drying time.

Some pieces are turned green, maybe that would provide something neat.

Puckdropper

I have a couple of crotch pieces I am going to toss on the lathe tomorrow.

I'm considering whapping together a small solar kiln. It's not a huge quantity. The boards are stickered in a singled laundry basket and I do have a fan on them... but don't want to run it for 6 months.

Mountain ash... aka Rowan (Sorbus sp). Not green, manchurian or black ash (Fraxinus sp).

Very different woods.

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You posted freshly squeezed "tree". That was good enough for me. Six months wouldn't be good enough to burn in a woodstove for most.

The thinner it is the quicker it will dry. How about making something that is veneered with the ash? Art

If you have a place in your attic, sticker them, and use a circulating fan.

I'm drying semi-dry 8/4 walnut this way, should be dry in less than 6 months.

Perhaps you could use polyethylene glycol (PEG) or pentacryl to displace the water and stabilize the wood.

A number of wood turners use a microwave oven to dry small pieces for turning. See:

Get it kiln dried. If you can't find a place in phone book, etc., contact your closest saw mill. Maybe even (real)lumber yards might know where to fine a place. If I remember correctly, it takes about 2 weeks for one inch basswood to kiln dry and about 32 days for oak. Not all kilns do custom work. But, if you find one that does not, you might plead your case and win. Maybe ask at a cabinet shop.

Pete Stanaitis

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