Drying wet wood

[enaz]

I cut some slabs of wood for mounting skulls and horns off the beach today. They are pretty wet and I was wondering if they needed to be really dry before I sand and shine them. And if they do, about how long does it take? I have them on a board in a heated room inside right now, hopin it doesn't take too long! They are all around 1.5'x1.5' and 2" to 2.5" thick. Not sure what kind of wood they are but I'll post pics onced I get some sanded.

[sirmissalot]

Usually when I cut my own wood like that I set it in my shop and let it dry slowly. Too fast it will crack, probably will crack anyways but the slower the better. The last slab I did was aspen and I let it dry in the shop for about a year before finishing. This was a dead aspen and i was able to save the bark and not get much crackig at all if you have green lumber it will probably crack pretty bad.

[ICEMAN]

 A wet slab of wood will cup and warp as one side dries faster than the other...

You may wish to stack it with sticks between....allows air to move out... keep some weght on it to try to avoid cupping, yet enough gap to allow drying...

[Goldeneye]

Yes, they need to have the moisture out of them.  I think my friend let's his dry for about 6 months.

You should use some sort of sealer on the cut ends while drying.  A buddy of mine does that so the slabs will not develop cracks while drying.  The stuff he uses is black in color.  Do not know the name.  Never done it myself, I just know that's why he seals them for drying.

[enaz]

Dang I thought since they were sliced they would dry a little faster than that! Well I'll stack them in my garage and check them every now and again. The wood is solid but some of them have rotted edges. I think it gives them character, and figured after it dried and shrank up a little I could make sure to knock off any rotted area. And I cut them pretty thick to make up for the warp by running them through a little planer when dried. Thanks for the advice!

[bare.hunter]

If it is drift wood then it would be ok to just slowly dry it in a shop but if it is green wood put it in water like a barrel or if small enough in a bucket.We age many oak logs in ponds and let them sit in the water for a year or more then take them out and let them air dry that way they wont check and all the color will be great