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What to do with 2000 board feet of Ron Ron

2K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  EscapedArtist 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have just acquired a fallen Ron Ron tree that has about 2000 board feet. I have no immediate use for it, but will use it one day to make the furniture for house with all the same wood for the kitchen, stairs, tables and chairs, doors, and as much stuff as I can make for the one house.

So far, the tree has been de-limbed and cut into 5 pieces of 3 meters each (I had no choice in this treatment). The bottom of the tree is a bit over 1 meter diameter and the top piece is about 70cm. It is about as straight as it can be. All five pieces are currently on the ground, exposed to the rain and environment in Costa Rica.

My question is, what should I do with the wood right now to get it dry, keep the bugs off, and prepare it for use at least two years down the road? Should I leave it as round wood? Should I cut it into long thick planks? Should I prepare individual planks of set sizes? What can I do to keep the bugs off? I assume it needs to be under roof although I see a lot of wood here stored out in the open in the sun and rain.

I'm not a wood worker even though I've done some dabbling over the years. I understand the basics but don't tech out on me, because I'm a noob.
 
#4 ·
I have no immediate use for it, but will use it one day to make the furniture for house with all the same wood for the kitchen, stairs, tables and chairs, doors, and as much stuff as I can make for the one house.

I m not a wood worker even though I ve done some dabbling over the years.

- EscapedArtist
Estimated chance of completion 0.00000001%.

Love,
Gargey
 
#5 ·
I have never heard of Ron-Ron wood so I looked it up.
if it is within your budget, I would have it milled into boards
and sold "as is" green for as much as you could get for it….....
I agree with Gargey - it will take 5 to 8 years to air dry properly.
since you are not a skilled woodworker at this time, your interests and and skill "could" improve
in 5 years. if not - all that wood could go to waste in one year if not handled properly.
wishing you the best of luck in saving that beautiful wood !!
 
#9 ·
Commercial folks here in Phoenix sell Astronium graveolens as Goncalo Alves?
It is a beautiful hardwood. Kiln dried Goncalo Alves sells for $10 - $12 per board foot in USA.

Please do not waste it: Seal ends, get off ground, and get it milled into boards, and stored properly for drying: ASAP!

If you do not have time and space to properly store 2000 board feet of drying lumber; might be best to sell it wholesale? Those fresh cut logs should be worth decent money to local sawmill or timber buyer.

Enjoy your lucky fortune.
 
#10 ·
First, let me say thanks for all the advice!! What I have learned for sure is to get it off the ground, mill it, and seal the ends. That is a start. Three questions remain.

But first, as for the 0.0000000001% comment from Gargey, I think you might be misunderstanding my intent. It will not be me doing the furniture building. I just want all one wood type for an entire home that I'm planning. So, I will be sending some of it to a kitchen shop, some of it to a furniture shop, and probably doing something small myself if I get around to it. They have "good" (enough) furniture builders here to make some fine stuff. This is not a 0.00000 concept. I will get this done.

So one big question: When I bring it to the mill, what sizes do I tell them to create from it? What will be good sizes to have in two years? Doors, stairs, kitchen, chairs, and if there is enough, some big window sliders (they build those custom here)?

Second question: I've heard of quarter-sawn wood. Is that something I should be thinking about? Typically, they mill wood here as the most efficient for the mill, not for the yield or beauty of the wood. I see bar tops all the time that have been plain-sawn and have that rounded grain on the ends. It looks bad to me, but I'm not sure why. The mill will be a woodmiser type rig unless you guys convince me I should get it to a "real" mill.

Last question: How to store? Is it important to have each board stickered apart or can I just lay them on top of each other? What is the best sealant for the ends?

Now the question no one here can answer and yet I will need the best solution :) How do I keep someone from stealing it all before I use it?
 
#11 ·
since you are in Costa Rica, you may have to hire some Tuff Guns to guard your stash - - -
it is a shame that your lumber is not available to us here in the USA.
as for storage - you will have to search out a very secure place and don't advertise that
you have such a valuable commodity on hand - or else, it could very well be stolen from you.
as for your long term plans to have the commercial shops make the furniture and
and other home items for you is good planning. it should at least save you the price
of purchasing the finished wood for your projects.
there are many threads on this forum as well as the overall internet how to cut and store green lumber.
I personally like the look of QS oak and other hardwoods.
check with your lumber mill to see if they have any samples you can look at and also ask them
for the best cut sizes and patterns for your home projects.
wishing you the best of luck !!!
 
#13 ·
Anchorseal works well to seal the ends. You must sticker between each row of boards. I like 3/4" stickers spaced about 24"-30" apart. Be sure you start the bottom row perfectly flat or the material will dry with a twist. The bottom row should be at least 6" above from any soil or moisture source and you need to allow for good air circulation but protect from the sun- some folks use a roof or even just some corrugated roofing material on top of the stack.

Consider having it all milled to 8/4 (about 50 mm). This is heavy enough for entry doors and can be resawn for cabinetry. Lately I have had all of my custom sawn wood quartersawn and rift sawn to 8/4- I like to look and I think the thicker material is more versatile. I does take longer to dry however.

Costa Rica's humidity will make air drying this material a slow process, you may need to seek out a local kiln. Good luck!
 
#16 ·
Wow, TungOil, THANKS! That is exactly what I was looking for (well, except how I keep them from stealing it)!!! How much would you pay in your home country to quarter saw 2000 bd ft? Any idea?

Thanks again.

- EscapedArtist
Here in Pennsylvania (US east coast) I use a guy with a portable sawmill, a Woodmizer. He charges by the hour, about $125/hr if I recall correctly. Last time I used him, he was able to plain saw about 500 bf of 5/4 ash for me in under 2 hours including setup and tear own time. Quartersawn would take longer of course since the log needs to be repositioned for each cut, but if you saw 8/4 that will be less cuts so it will even out I suppose.

This, of course, will have no bearing on what you will pay in Costa Rica. Check around with some local cabinet makers, they might know of someone with a portable mill. Alternately you could contact Woodmizer to see if they have sold any machines in your area, you might connect with someone that way.

One thing I just noticed in you original post is the size of these logs. 1 m is about 3 ft. Which may be too large for a portable mill to handle quartersawn. You may have no choice but to take it to someone with a large stationary bandsaw mill or traditional circular saw mill. a large portable mill might be able to handle a log that size if the outside wood is plain sawn off the log first to reduce it to a manageable size square log. Once it has been reduced it may be possible to get quartered and rift material from the rest of the log.

Sorry, the theft problem is outside my experience!
 
#18 ·
Now the question no one here can answer and yet I will need the best solution :) How do I keep someone from stealing it all before I use it?

- EscapedArtist

Booby traps. A system of snares, flash bang grenades and 12 gauge shotguns should keep it safe.

- Rich
Ditto. A couple claymores wouldn't hurt if you're not squeemish.
 
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