# Prepairing branches - found wood



## gurnie

So we had a snow storm and of course a bunch of branches from some evergreen trees fall (no idea what type of evergreen). I thought "Perfect! Free wood for a wedding project i had in mind: Escort Card Holders!"

So i went out with my hand saw and sawed off 3 fallen branches that are between 1.5" - 3" in width, a total of about 130-150" long between the three branches.



















The idea is to cut about 120-130 1" tall cross section pieces. Then a small ridge will be saw into them (or routed with a dremel router). The escort card will fit into that ridge.

I know it's probably hard to imagine so here's some photos


















 
Rustic Woodland Place Card Holders made by MonkeysOnTheRoof

So this wood is green wood and i wanted suggestions on how to dry this. I am seeing my dad this weekend and he is OK with me using his chopsaw to cut this green wood - he knows his blade might get a bit sticky / yucky. We're going to try to get about 130 of these out of the wood I have.

So how do i dry these bad boys after they are cut? Am i going about it the right way - Do i cut them, and bake the pieces in the kitchen oven, or let them air dry? i've heard people doing this by setting their oven at 250F and bakign the pieces to get them to dry. I figure i need to cook any bugs that might be in the wood, but maybe there are issues with baking pieces like this (like what does it do to your oven and can we get sick from it?). Not to mention there's sap in the wood so i'm not sure how to deal with that. Otherwise i can let the pieces air dry but how long do they need to dry?

thanks for your help. As i progress through the stages i'll be sure to blog about it in my wedding DIY wood worker blog

Thanks for all of your help


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## HerbC

Christina,

Neat idea.

Hope you can get them to dry without checking (cracking)...

I'd say get some end seal product such as AnchorSeal to minimize the checking.

If you want to kill the bugs you'll need to heat to at least 160 degree F and hold for 24 hours….

Good Luck and

Be Careful!


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## gurnie

I should mention my wedding is in October so there is some level of a time constraint

How does one remove the anchor seal ( if I need to use it)?


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## MrsN

I have used similar pieces before. Most of mine have been cut much thinner, so I just let them air dry. I am not sure about putting them in the oven, hopefully someone will give you some advice. 
You will get some cracks as the pieces dry. They might be "cool", and make the pieces more unique. Since your finished project only puts a little slot into the wood, I don't think that the cracks will cause problems for the card holders.


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## MrsN

Also, be careful using the chop saw to cut them to length. the saw will like to move the branch, and they are wobbly and hard to hold. I have had better results using a bandsaw (carefully) because it was easier to control the wobble. A handsaw with the branch in a vise also works well.


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## jamesicus

I occasionally cut branch sections of Desert Ironwood (_Olneya tesota_) from dead trees that populate the land of a friend of mine. I prepare them as local interest coasters. I do not season them at all, accepting any checking or splitting as natural occurences-of course, Desert Ironwood is an exceptionally hard and heavy wood that does not retain much moisture.




























James


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## gurnie

I don't think the checking bothers me at all, i mean if it splits all the way through that's a bummer but i don't see them all doing that.

but i want to be sure that the pieces dry and no little bugs stay in the wood. i do want to finish these with shellac or a polyurethane and they need to be dry for that


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## DaddyZ

Why not try the alcohol Treatment they use on bowl turning.

Soak for 24 hrs, then put is paper sacks for a month.


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## gurnie

DaddyZ can you elaborate on the alcohol treatment? what kind of alcohol (Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol?) and should i go ahead and cut my little rounds before applying the rubbing alcohol?


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## racerglen

Here's another one..
The microwave..
Not joking.. you can take those rounds and heat them, I've done it with green wood for turning, etc..
Just watch through the window as it heats up. Youl'll see moisture cooking off, boiling out of the end grain.
There must be a formula for how long, but I just watch..AND I MEAN WATCH..
you can burn the wood if you leave it too long and.. that's not a pleasant thing to try getting the smell from a cooking apliance ! It realy does work for stuff that fits in the microwave..
However, as a dedicated woodworker, maybe you could have a microwave in the shop ?

;-)


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## gurnie

Come to think of it I actually have a toaster oven we're getting ready to throw out. Maybe i can use it as a mini kiln. does anyone know what temperature the wood has to be and for how long?

this article say 210F for four hours, does that sound right?


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## oleCB

There is another forum where you can get the info you need. http://www.forestryforum.com/ I do recall that there was an article there about a wood turner who BOILED his work. Seems the boiling helps it dry evenly. It is almost like vacume drying the wood.

It has been a year since I saw that article!! These guys are most all loggers and also have their own mills and kilns.


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## Nomad62

Whatever you do, be careful of the pitch that will leak out if you go that hot. Also, do you really need to dry them so quickly? If they are only an inch think I would think they would be dry enough to put a finish on after 3-4 months in a household environment. Bugs are less of a worry in fir, but if you start seeing sawdust piles then you would need to bake them out at 130 or above for a few hours.


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## gurnie

Heya,
It's one of those things where I would like to get all of my wedding DIY projects done before June or July since the last few months before the wedding I'm going to be busy. So March / April is perfectly fine for me to start working on them.

So are we at a consensus that I can let them air dry in a paper bag or lay them flat out? If theya re an 1" tall, how long do they need to dry? Do is till need to get Anchor Seal?


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## gurnie

So I went to my dad's house and used his chopsaw to get about 120 of these bad boys.










the on going joke in the family is only 120 guests are allowed because we only have 120 of these things 

So you can see they are pretty sappy. Do i just let them all sit in the box together or do i need to oven bake them or do i need to use the denatured alcohol?










I think they're totally cute. I'm going to wait a few months before I put the little slit in the middle to hold the place card


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## racerglen

ONLY 120 ?
Hmm.. At this point, cut, laid out and all I'd be inclined to
let 'em alone and see what happens..after all, if they do split you could put them on the lathe 
and make napkin rings for the guests ! ;-)
joking !
But where you're at now aren't they starting to dry ? It has been a while since the snow, the initial cuts and 
now the chop saw and they aren't THAT big or thick ..
You aren't planning to sand, polish and gloss them as I recall, just drying and a whiff of shelac with the card slot might be what you'rer after some cracks or not ?


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