A bit of backstory first. My dad lives in the family homestead and he just had a huge maple tree taken down that his grandpa planted. I got some of the firewood and I was thinking of taking some of the Y pieces and slabbing them then burning an M onto them. Just wondering what the best way to dry the wood is and also if any of youns have done something similar
The best way to dry a 2” thick x 20” long slab of hard maple without it splitting terribly is what I’m after. After talking with my blacksmith buddy we might just make a branding iron as opposed to trying to burn the wood with gunpowder.
Every piece of wood is different and I don't think you can do much more than sealing the ends and put them somewhere it will dry slowly and hope one of those crotch slabs drys flat. I've put heavy weight (and I mean with the tractor) on drying wood before, not sure on its effectiveness as I'm no experienced expert on this. Good luck
Shallow tub that can contain the entire slab, filled with denatured alcohol. Weigh slab down. Don’t know the exact timeline, but the DA will replace the water.
Eric, we used to do some crazy chit with everclear, but the WV boys I know would call that alcohol abuse.
I know some people that have used gunpowder to burn, etch, pictures into wood. I'll have to see if I can get some pics and details.
The best way to dry something like that would be a vacuum kiln search around and see if anyone in your area has one it reduces drying time and drying in a vacuum kiln really cuts down on drying defects JB
