Well my dad came over this evening and split some osage logs a friend had dropped off at my house for fire wood(would have done it my self but im trying to recover from a Lt paw injury long story.)any way the were approx 50" long 12"diameter.He split them in 1/4ths which still left them very large.They are still very green.we sealed the ends with white glue the best we could considering it was raining and put them in a dry place.Anyway my question is whats the next best step for us to do to these billets.Thanks scott
I would remove the bark, and sapwood, and chase the first ring, and seal the backs, just to prevent bugs from havin their way. Sounds like you could probably split those quarters again, a 3-4" wide billet will be fine.
Now that they are out of the rain in a dry place, finish sealing them with white glue, a couple more coats. I think it's OK to leave the bark on - they shouldn't dry too fast in Illinois. How many do you have? Removing the sapwood/exposing the first ring is a lot of work if you have very many - but it's a lot easier when it's green. You can spray them lightly with some bug spray.
Can anything be done to control the way they bend/warp when they dry? I heard if you lean them against the wall with the point/innermost part of the heartwood against the wall then you will encourage a little reflex the way you would like it.
You shouldn't notice any warp drying out that thick and short of billets. I always lay my wood horizontal to dry. I think if you stand them on end to dry, the bottom end will retain more moisture. Guess you could flip them over every week or so.
Thanks fellas for the help.i put more glue on the ends this morning.I tought about reducing there size on the band saw.Or we could split them again with wedges.I wasent sure which was a better option.
If you don't want to remove the bark and sap wood.Spray them down with some pestside and store in a dry place to they season and your ready to use.
If your bandsaw can handle those quarter log staves, then I think the bandsaw is best. You will end up with more usable wood that way. Also lets you see what you have, lets you see the grain and rings better. Good luck.
How about some pictures Scott? We could tell you better then.
Well ben tring to post some pics for 2 hours.Tooks some pics,Opened a photo bucket account,but I cant figure out how to post them:(
This may help.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000039
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/618scottm-pics/staves/Image006.jpg)
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/618scottm-pics/staves/Image005.jpg)
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/618scottm-pics/staves/Image004.jpg)
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/618scottm-pics/staves/Image003.jpg)
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/618scottm-pics/staves/Image002.jpg)
(http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/618scottm-pics/staves/Image001.jpg)
Hope there not too big i tried to resize.If there too big sorry;)
Scott, that stave in the last two pictures looks defective. Don't use it. To be on the safe side, just send it to me:) LOL
Very nice Osage Dude.. The pictures are too big and the moderator will prolly remove them. You can edit them back out and try to make them smaller, then post them again.
Please ignore the junk in the background.And no this isent fred sanfords house it just looks like it.LOL! :)
According to photo bucket these photos are 640X480.If there removed ill make them smaller.Im just glad I finally figured out how to post pics.That makes me very happy!Thanks for the help Roy:)