Something with simple crude joinery like window boxes can be built green as long as the grain direction is maintained in the same direction. That’ll keep any shrinkage uniform across the box. Built but then kept in the shade to slow drying. Wouldn’t want to put them in sunny windows this time of year.
What do you think for drying time Joe? Id like to get working on some in the cold weather. Maybe ill get a box fan running on it. Have an old one on the deck next to it we use on occasion. The 4x12's will be benches and not worried if not completely dry.
T Jeff is correct. The old standard is 1” per year. That being said as I mentioned for rough live edge boxes with no fancy joinery you could start tomorrow as long as your design doesn’t cross the grain with anything of substantial strength. You’d want it to shrink all the same at the same time. Remember the steps and bench I built out of White Oak? Those logs were fresh cut. The 6” solid steps are doing fine, no real checking. The bench was 4” thick pith cut. Basically waste from the step cuts. It was either make a bench out of it or firewood. That is checking pretty good. It was checking when I built it. It also sits in the hottest and driest area of my porch getting tortured. I’d build with one inch first. Build and store in the shade. You don’t need any flowers this time of year anyway,,,do you,,,you in trouble again Either way. The trick is to dry slow. If you want it dry before using cover with tin or build a tent with a tarp leaving lots of room on the sides for air. If you start building now I wouldn’t even worry about keeping it dry. Keep it out of the sun no matter what you do as long as you can. The sun does a number on green lumber. oh, and never leave a board laying flat on the ground. It’ll look like a Pringle chip in a day or two
Thanks Joe. Appreciate the input. Its a couple inches off the ground and stickered with wood laths. Ill cover tonight with a thin plastic.
I agree with the advice to get a row of stickers as close to the ends as possible. Haven’t done enough of this to say how different one species is vs another but I can say if there are slabs that contain limb growth sections, they like to twist (and shout, lol).
Ok sorry been busy I hope you enjoyed sawing locust always seal the ends if you can locust is not real prone to checking if you dry it slow enough ( out of direct sun ) . Next you should sticker every 2 ft it keeps your boards straighter and keep your stickers even right above each other you really need one in the middle of your stack you should have 1 at each end 3-4 inches in and at least 2 in the middle . Next if your pile is outside metal roofing is the best cover for the pile do not wrap sides unless you use a lumber drying material that will keep shaded but let the air through it is like the weed control mesh sold for flower beds Hope this helps JB
Locust is a strange wood it does not seem to react like other hardwoods it seem to react when you first saw it and that is all it really does . I have not kiln dried any yet all the locust I sell is green or air dried in a open shed . I have cut some ugly locust logs that you would think the wood would move everywhere and if it did not move when first sawn it seemed to stay that way JB
Thanks for the input guys! Ill move the stickers to the ends and insert a third in the middle. The boards are 60" long. The slabs are HEAVY. Experience will be a good teacher. Hey JB what is BL selling for per board foot? Curious as to how much this is worth.
Right now I am getting 2.90 bd ft for # 1-2 grade 3.50 bd ft #1 select and .25 more a bdft for 10ft and over length or 10 inch or over width fencepost grade 2.10 bd ft . I know of another sawyer in my area making locust flooring Kiln dried and t&g and it is 8.90 bd ft if you take the time to kiln dry and surface you can pretty much double what I get for it green . One thing to remember it is what the market in your area is , as to the weight of the slabs most people have no idea what it weighs JB
Well that's good. Thought you might have been in trouble and needed to clear out part of your inventory. Glad you're safe.
