# Fresh Cut Apple Wood



## DrSteve (Aug 7, 2010)

A friend cut down an apple tree in his yard. Luckily, the trunk was in good shape and solid.

I have never tried to cut my own lumber, but figured I would give it a try.

Cut 6/4 and 8/4 widths. and am really psyched. Some of the pieces have small amounts of spalting. Regardless the grain pattern is gorgeous. Here is from the first half of the trunk.










Cut the second half:










Did not take pictures as I was getting pretty tired at that point.

It is now stickered and stacked on my screen porch. Can't wait until it is dry.

Should I paint the ends with some old latex?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

That's going to be some good wood to work with when it's dry.


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

Yeah, painting the end grain is always a good idea. But don't be surprised if you get a bunch of cracks anyway, apple tends to be fragile as it dries. Best of luck with it.


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

Paint the ends for certain and unless you can apply a ton of weight I recommend using clamps to hold it down otherwise it will warp really badly.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Latex paint is a poor end sealing, but it is better than nothing. Some melted paraffin wax like you can buy at the grocery store for home canning would be cheap and do a much better job. I use a commercial end sealer called Anchorseal, but it would be too expensive to buy for just one log.


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## DrSteve (Aug 7, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate the information

I will try out the paraffin for sealing the ends.

It is a small enough stack where I could try to clamp it with some extra pipe clamps I have. Any details on how to do this.

I cut it 8/4 and 6/4 should I make it thinner? Would that affect the potential to warp and split?

Thanks again,
Steve


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

I took three sets of 2×4 (mine were longer, 2 would work for you) and laid one set upright on the bottom equally spaced apart and put the first set of stickers on these; before laying them down I drilled a hole into the ends towards the bottom that the fixed end of the clamp would fit through. I then stacked and stickered as normal and on the top stickers put on another set of 2×4s, the don't need to be drilled since the clamp pad can go right on the top of the board. My stack was 4 boards wide so I also had a set of clamps down thew middle, so I used 9 24" clamps which necessitated a HF purchase. 
Yours looks short enough to go 2 boards wide so you don't need a clamp in the middle and short enough to just need to clamp the ends, just give all the clamps a little tightening ever 4-5 days. I had initially tried just using a couple hundred lbs of weight and they were still warping badly after a few weeks, the clamps removed most of the warping after using them for the rest of the drying.


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## SteviePete (May 10, 2009)

Anchorseal for the ends. This lateafter sawing you should cut off a short end cut, then Anchorseal. This works well on apple and wild woods. I also use pressure. Don't have lots of space or clamps but put the stickered apple on solid floor then build square 4×4 veneer press or any strong square shape. Use clamping cauls, place apple inside and use car jack or hyd jack-cauls on top. Squeeze it when it start to look loose. 8/4 and 6/4 is good. All mine was thin and still I lost a lot. (Ends split like crazy). On wildwoods I now take off the bark, Rip through the center yields 2 pcs, heart facing out squeeze and I am waxing any small cracks. Fruit woods are very slow to dry (learned hard way). Still thinking about using it as a sawn veneer (1/8) glued to solid wood or birch ply. Solid wood split after 4yrs dry in shed. One guy said have someone else do it. Wise advise. Good luck P.S. Finishihing-Instead of sanding try a card scraper-I got much clearer and colorful figure.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Good haul of wood!

*Save the chips, shavings, and sanding dust as it make grilled/smoked pork chops taste scrumptious.*


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

The trouble with most fruit woods are they are very small trees this stuff looks nice though a bit like ewe. Alistair


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

While I didn't try anchorseal, for the logs I used interior/exterior grade white latex, I have no splits longer then 2 inches for the small stuff that could go in a pot I used parafin wax and had no splitting. Drying took about 5 months except for the 3" board. Basically I put they in the shop with a dehumidifier for the first month and kept a fan blowing over them for 2 months. After that it hit late spring which means my shop gets too hot. Over the summer it hit 120 for about 2 weeks straight, by the end of aug the 5/4 registered ass 7-8 percent moisture while the 8/4 was at 10 and the 12/4 13%. Previous to this summer I did some 3 years ago in my basement and just used a fan. Did it in the fall and by spring between the furnace and hot water heater the wood was more then dry enough. Just remember to move the wood as well after a month, mine has been wet enough to saturate the stickers.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

When you use your chainsaw to freehand cut the log lengthwise, lay the log down and have your bar cut WITH the length - you will be cutting with the gain, as opposed to cutting endgrain. You'll know you are doing it right because big long shavings will come out of the saw discharge instead of smaller chips. It will go quicker and not dull the saw as quickly or tire you out.


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## DrSteve (Aug 7, 2010)

Thank you everyone for the help.

I was able to pick up a quart of AnchorSeal 2 at a local hardware store and applied it to fresh cut ends. Tonight I will set up some clamps and 2×4's to help prevent twisting and wait to see what I get.

Hopefully some nice boxes in a couple of years.

Steve


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

just remember to put the stickers between the boards and 2×4s as the 1.5" surface is still a little much for good air flow.


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## ChainMiller (Jan 27, 2017)

I have 9 pcs of apple cut over 8 foot long 
It's 10-15 inches wide and cut 5/4 heavy. What you think this would sell for when dry? It's probably the prettiest wood I have but need to support the addiction and if it fetches a premium at this size I would sell.


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## DrSteve (Aug 7, 2010)

ChainMiller,
I do not have any idea what that lumber would sell for. I would think you might get an idea from ebay.

Good luck and be sure to seal the ends and weight it to keep from twisting.


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