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Michigan Chocolate Slab

Vaughn McMillan said:
Or make one..
I wanted to protect the bark edges in storage, and try (perhaps futilely) to keep it from cupping to much. I don't have a place to store it flat, so it's standing upright in a cool, dark storage locker.
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Now that is quite unique Vaughn. I purchased a slab of chocolate from Larry also, that is one neat idea for a storage solution.

Chuck Thoits said:
I like the shrink wrap around the out side.:thumb: Should help force the water out the faces. And the bunking to help it stay flat should help keep it flat. Did you seal the ends before you wrapped it?
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I didn't even notice the shrink wrap I was so enthralled with the bunk idea. Dang you got good eyes!

Larry Edgerton said:
The cats out of the bag now, but when I get a fresh slab the first thing I do is band it with metal banding, treating the ends with Anchorseal. If you keep it banded until it is dry, about 80% of the time it stays together when unbanded. I stand mine up, mostly for space reasons, but it works fine.
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Do metal bands cause rust lines on the wood and does this stain the wood requiring a lot of sanding??
 
Larry Edgerton said:
No, the bands I use have a finish on them. They are black, not sure what the finish is. If you take it to your lumberyard they will do it for you N/C if they want to keep your business.;)
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If you or I or someone that goes to the yard daily. Takes it to them yes most would. But some one that buys 100 BF a year should not be expecting them to do it for free. :thumb:
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
Or make one...

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I wanted to protect the bark edges in storage, and try (perhaps futilely) to keep it from cupping to much. I don't have a place to store it flat, so it's standing upright in a cool, dark storage locker.
Click to expand...

Now that looks like a solution I can get behind...

I'll need to do something. Right now the humidity is up, but only because it's spring. It will start getting dry as a bone pretty soon, and I think that solution looks like the best one for me for now Vaughn.

Thanks!
 
The crack in that slab is most likely entirely due to internal stress because it is a limb coming off the main trunk. I'm no expert on kiln drying, but my guess would be that that might be the only way to minimize the crack. I think the speed of moisture loss in the controlled environment of a kiln helps keep tension cracks to a minimum. This is just a thumbnail observation and not in any way an authoritative opinion. I think one kiln operator told me that there is a misconception out there that kiln drying changes the color of walnut. He claimed that it is the conditioning process, where the walnut is steamed to change the white sapwood to dark color that causes the muddy brown uniformity. Most mills kiln dry walnut with conditioning to maximize salable lumber.

I was at my friends mill yesterday and spotted a nice wide board that I thought was elm because of the color. Nope, it was walnut and curious because most of the log was the usual color. It had a light brown color to the heart wood.
 
I have been giving this a lot of thought since Toni pointed me in the right path. I have it figured out. That would make a killer work bench top. Huh, what do you think? One of a kind for sure.
 
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