GLOAT: Now what do I do with it?

A friend had a large number of Maple trees come down in a bad storm and he told me to take all I wanted. Maple is not common in this area so needless to say I was quite excited. And I finally got to use that chainsaw I bought last October.

Unfortunately, LOML isn't nearly as excited about it and I don't have a lot of space for storing it. What you see in the picture is what I cut up today. They range from about 6" in diameter to 12" or 13".

The two near the back end of the truck have what I hope will be some nice burls. Of course, I have now idea what to do with burls but it's nice to have them.



Any suggestions as to how to preserve/prepare them would be appreciated.

Nice haul, Gord. We should be seeing some nice stuff soon

Congrats, Gord. Looks like a nice haul.

Here's a good pictorial from Bill Grumbine on how to cut up the blanks:

http://www.wonderfulwood.com/articles/logcutting.html

After the blanks are cut, it's best to seal them. The most common sealer is Anchorseal, which is a water-based wax emulsion. Rockler (and I'd guess Woodcraft) sell their own version of wax emulsion sealers. I've used a lot of the Rockler stuff and have had no problems with it. In a pinch, you can also use things like old leftover latex paint.

Some folks seal only the end grain, others (me included) like to seal all the cut faces.

Take some of that and stick on end into the ground and seal the top end. Let it "Spalt" and in 3-6 months you'll have some really nice maple.