Apple wood and then a strange fever

I have heard that you want to cut it to the size you want, and then stack them with stickers to dry.
If you want to keep some for turning, wax the ends.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Glad your illness subsided. Looking forward to projects from the harvest.

-- Maplewood, MN

I don’t have any experience with apple wood, but I would think that sealing the ends, bandsawing it slightly oversized while green, then sticker and stacking oughta do the trick. Mucho trabajo.
Be careful of the local cuisine. “Mad buffalo” meat might be next on the CDC’s list.

-- http://dustynewt.webs.com/

illness: scary! Glad you are better.

nice wood

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi Barry;
—-apple wood, what a woodworking treat//feast!

I will sometimes seal the ends of the wood with leftover latex//acrylic paint and then often I just let it go it’s own way. Apple wood is a very hard-wood and so pay attention to your tools, but is also some nice wood to work with. This wood also sands up by machine and then hand real good with plenty of smoothness in it’s sheen….and looks great when finished out in tung oil and #0000 steel wool.

I have made tool handles, mallet heads, sculptures and such also, along with small boards for boxs. I save the wood chips and use for an added smoke flavoring on the grill along with also using in potpourri.

Most of what I get is large trunks and so the wood has become infested with disease or forms of critters and ants….and so I’m wondering if maybe in your sawing there, you might have come into contact with ‘spalted apple wood’? A lot of what I get in apple wood has the bacteria and fungus of spalting all ready working in the wood….bad stuff. So did you in your cutting happen to be breathing these fungus spalts? When working with apple wood or any wood where there is the suspect of spalting I all-ways wear a a mask that covers my face.

As too cutting//sawing on the bandsaw, my experience is to wait until I’m ready to use the piece….and yes, this does give me checking in the wood, but then thats the kind of character I like. If you are wanting to use the wood sooner, you might pay attention to what the other’s have said up above….

Enjoy your day and….,

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank

-- --frank, NH, http://frank.wordpress.com/

I think Frank may be right about the spalted fungus, you can get it from any species of wood.

( I noticed in the picture that there’s some light colored spalting on one of the logs)

My favorite end sealer is waterproof carpenters glue, I cut it to the size block I want then give it a couple of coats of

the glue, or more, until it leaves a shiny finish. Then store it in a dry place, for a few years.

You can also turn it when it’s green but watch out for the spalted pieces.

I made custom handles on all of my carving tools with apple.

It’s real hard, but I like it for carving things that have fine detail.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1