sycamore slab

[HowardH]

A guy I know is an arborist and he often takes the trees he cuts down and slices the logs with his mill.  I was up there last week and came home with this.

[attachimg=1]

He cut it from the center of the log when I was there.  It's about 5 cm thick.  How long should I let it sit to dry before attempting to do something with it?  I think it would make a great coffee table.  Just have to figure out some legs.

 

[rvieceli]

The general rule for air drying is one year per inch. So you're looking at two years.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

A inch a year is what I do for air drying.  So at 5cm it would dry for 2 years.

 

[bkharman]

Just put it in the microwave!  ;^)

Nice slab, not sure of your style Howard... But maybe waterfall the legs on each side, could look slick.

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[Bohdan]

Wax or paint the ends heavily to prevent the slab ends from drying faster than the middle and splitting.

 

[rvieceli]

In addition to sealing the ends, you will need to sticker it up off the bottom so that air can get to the surface.

 

[HowardH]

thanks for all the great ideas.  I have some sanding sealer (shellac) that I an use on the ends.  What are waterfall legs?

 

[copcarcollector]

What are waterfall legs?

 

[rvieceli]

[member=396]HowardH[/member]

Here's a link you may find useful
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/drying-wood-at-home/

When sealing the ends you'll want a thick coat of stuff.

 

[bkharman]

Use some rubberized paint. You are just going to cut it off at the time you start prepping and milling it.

 

[bkharman]

What are waterfall legs?

Yep. Pretty close there. Here is one with an I beam on the other side. Pretty cool!

Cheers. Bryan.