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Treating ash logs for outdoor use |
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| message from Tony on 10 May 2004 |
The tree surgeon has just taken down an old ash in the garden. There are
some lovely large rounds and I have a mind to construct some sort of
rustic outdoor bench from them. What's my best option for preserving the
timber? Are there any ways of treating and preserving the bark on the logs?
thanks for any advice
tony
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| The Natural Philosopher replied to Tony on 11 May 2004 |
Essentially no.
There is a spcialsistt treatment that woodturners use to replace the
timber moisture with a stable wax - you soak the log for a year or two,
and then it wont crack split and lose its bark.
Apart from that, any log will split radially in a few months and thats
that. Bark will slough off as it does.
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| Paul Mc Cann replied to The Natural Philosopher on 11 May 2004 |
ISTR its called Peg
Paul Mc Cann
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| The Natural Philosopher replied to Paul Mc Cann on 11 May 2004 |
PEG rather - polyethylene glycol? Something like that.
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| Andy Dingley replied to Paul Mc Cann on 11 May 2004 |
PEG 1000
1000 is the average molecular weight. You'll probably only find this
as sold for timber use. Although there are many sources for PEG, most
of them are lightweight, a m.w. of 200 or so. These aren't much good
for displacing water in timber. They'll avoid some of the cracking,
but you'll still get warping.
_All_ timber rounds over 5" diameter are at significant (i.e.
basically guaranteed) risk of radially cracking when dried. Some
species, and end-coating, will simply delay the inevitable.
Proof on request (or Google it up from rec.woodworking). It's not a
question of stress, but of strain. Timber species are of varying
tensile strengths, but they all fail at much the same strain.
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| stuart noble replied to The Natural Philosopher on 11 May 2004 |
Paraffin wax is as good as anything. Put a candle in a jam jar with about
75% white spirit, well tighten the lid, and melt in a bucket of hot (but not
boiling) water. If you can apply it hot so much the better, but leave it at
least 24 hours before applying a 2nd lot.
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| Paul Mc Cann replied to The Natural Philosopher on 11 May 2004 |
Not all logs will split radially so easily. Some years back I stored 8
ft lengths of hefty oak logs for a period until I had time to convert
them and they didn't split overly.
I would be inclined to try and control the drying process, slow it down,
which should help ameliorate the worst effects.
Paul Mc Cann
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Archived message: Treating ash logs for outdoor use (UK DIY House Repairs)
