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About joseph DeMartino
Expertise
there is not a lot of questions that i'm unable to answer though most referring to home building i do have a lack of extensive knowledge.

Experience
i have been a woodworker for 26yrs.have worked for carpenters doing
custom interiors in some very expensive homes and offices in some commercial buildings as well.anything interior i've done.for the last
11yrs.i've had my own shop.i focus both on restoration as well as accurate reproduction of furniture.focus on primarily 19th and 20th. century.do alot of early to mid 18th century.if i don't know the
answer i have a book relating to it.very into antique

Organizations
i belong to, the national trust for historic preservation
carpenters and joiners of america
antique furniture restorers of america

Education/Credentials
i am primarily self-taught.served a four yr. apprenticeship with a phenominal dutch man,jen(john)derrickson.other than that,on the job.

You are here: Experts > Hobbies > Woodworking > Woodworking > Preparing log for table

Woodworking - Preparing log for table

Expert: joseph DeMartino - 10/24/2009

Question
QUESTION: I just pulled out 2 large logs, approx. 2 feet in height with a 18 inch diameter. I want to make end tables out of them. I am wondering how long I have to wait to start working on it. From what I understand, it needs to dry out. Can you tell me the best way of doing this? How can I "debug" them. Thanks for all of your help!

Linda

ANSWER: hi linda
   first,let me tell you it's nice to hear when someone is doing this sort of thing as oppossed to going to the local home depot.in addition to saving a couple of dollars you will as i often do, come across a beautiful wood that isn't on the market.
    alright,as to the two logs,will take at least 1-2 yrs if air drying that you alot depends on where you are as well as how long the trees had been cut down.however,the most important thing is what the tree itself is.oak will dry
out at a faster rate than say a maple or olivewood which is a much more dense fiber and so will dry at a much slower rate.try and keep your logs off ground and as dry as you can.logs will dry at a different rate out off the overall logs oppossed to the ends of the logs so a good thing for you to do is paint the ends of the logs to restrict exit of moisture too quickly as that will cause stress and therefore structural integrety.as far as the bugs you asked about,what i do is just a light coating with a shellac spray i buy at a store.it stops anything from entering as well as exiting.let me know how you make out i hope i've been helpful to you,please leave a rating                                Joe

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for the quick response! I guess I am a little impatient...the wait for the drying process seems too long for me! The type of wood is a Jack Pine. I live up in Canada, Northwestern Ontario. Would it be wrong to sand or plane down the ends and the sides, as the bark fell off very easily, then shellac or varathan each surface equally to enable us to have use of this end table sooner? Again, thank you so much for your quick response.

Linda

Answer
hi linda,
     i'm afraid you don't have much choice.first,if the bark is loose as you say,by all means,remove. then if you have a drawknife you can take off whatever you can.if not then use the largest chisel you have available edge up.trying to sand or plane a very wet wood will do nothing for you except dull blades very quickly.using shellac or varathane won't change how things how logs dry out in terms of how the moisture exits the wood.one of the things you have to be careful with is "bleeding".bleeding is a gummy,sticky type of material that exits the pores of a wood like jack pine and no matter what sort of sealant you put on it,it will bleed through and be blotchy.
once it dries to approx.12 to 14% moisture content then you can deal with filling pores to better help to control it.i understand impatience but i'm afraid it is something you'll have to deal with.i dry out a great deal of my own wood and on average it takes a 12-18 mo.period for me to get to a stable moisture content.wish i could have delivered better news.since your pcs. are relatively small units you may well be able to get away within a 6-9mos. period.if i can be of any more help please feel free.
please leave a rating

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