Wood Storage Question ?

Dan Mosley

Member
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1,169
Location
Palm Springs, Ca
I have a friend that is able to get me a decent amount of ironwood (picture below). My problem is that living in So. Calif the heat can quickly take its toll on any wood quickly, even sealed. I would need to figure out how to store it so it keeps as long as possible.

What i was thinking of doing is to put a Rubbermaid trash can in the back part of a room I have in the house (where its airconditioned and not in the heat) with the ends sealed with Anchorseal.

Other option would be to put the logs in whole form under a covered part of the front yard and just seal one end with anchorseal (top end) and let the bottom end sit into the soil of the yard which is damp. I would have to keep an eye on it so they dont start to rot out but was wondering if that would work better becuase of the exposure to the moisture in the ground.


I have some Mesquite that i cut into blanks along time back (9mo ago) and sealed them with anchorseal and put them on the shelf in the garage but with the heat reaching into the 110's thru the summer and the garage im sure is like a oven constantly baking them....some have cracked out and others are still ok but they are definitely dry out. I can tell when turning them the moisture content can't be much - and when im finished turning and sanding them I do not have to do anything with them to dry further - I actually have let them sit out in the open and they dont check or crack so I assume they are well dried. But, I still have lost quit a few blanks from the heat so I thought I would see how other people deal with the storage issue
Im aware of freezer and old iceboxes but this is not practicle for me to use,
So............anybody have a better idea or thoughts on stroage?


I posted this on AAW to and will see what others have to say.....thanks Dan
 

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I think Vaughn had some good advice on this on another thread a while back. At minimum, I would cut out the pith in anything you will not be getting to soon. That would at least eliminate the radial cracks and allow the wood to move some as it dries. Other than that, without better advice, I would leave the wood in largest pieces possible. Knowing there would be some checking or cracking but hoping for some relatively large pieces once the damage was removed. And yes the sealer will help. One last thing, if I didn't have room in my shop, I would store outside off the ground, but under a tarp to keep moving air and direct sunlight off the wood.
 
There is a little place up here that offers wood storage for a nominal cost...something like "you store 5 pieces...we keep 2". Oh yeah...it's my garage :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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