Ash staves

[Maine20]

I split some Ash staves today and am wondering if I should remove the bark or not.

I feel like it should be removed, and the ends sealed to prevent checking, but am definitely open to other ideas.

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

You should do something to the ends for sure as for the bark it is not so straightforward and depends on your conditions. Mine are that ash gets almost immediately infested by a bug that eats away at the cambium and the bark comes off soon of its own accord. My response is I want to eliminate the possible breeding conditions for these insects and so I take the bark off at the same time I split out the billets. I would also then submerge the wood in water for some months taking it out no later than mid-winter so it can dry further at a slow rate. In case you do water no need to treat the ends.

 

[Yankee Josh]

I split some Ash staves today and am wondering if I should remove the bark or not.

I feel like it should be removed, and the ends sealed to prevent checking, but am definitely open to other ideas.

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I leave the bark on and just paint the ends. (Split into quarters usually). None of mine have split excessively. Just the normal small amount of checking at the ends. I put mine on rafter racks in my garage. My thought was the always damp concrete would slow the drying and it worked just great! Where do you put yours to dry?

 

[Maine20]

T

I leave the bark on and just paint the ends. (Split into quarters usually). None of mine have split excessively. Just the normal small amount of checking at the ends. I put mine on rafter racks in my garage. My thought was the always damp concrete would slow the drying and it worked just great! Where do you put yours to dry?

In my garage on a rack, about 5.5 feet off the floor. It’s typically fairly damp in there this time of year. I will be sealing the ends tomorrow. Anything special I should use? I was thinking a primer/sealer like Kilz or BIN

 

[Yankee Josh]

That sounds perfect! I use water based kilz. Only because the oil based would seep in deep(er) which i didn't want. Even latex house paint will do. That's great you are making handles! I find it super rewarding.

 

[Square_peg]

I'd peel the bark. I think you'll get less warping.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

It's a risky business if you have the wood inside at the initial drying stage. The moisture vapors coming from the interior will accumulate and condense on the surface and this is a favorable condition for the mold and fungi drifting around in the air to settle and then work its way into the wood and at the very least cause a discoloration and at worst begin the process of decay in other words weakening the wood, depending on which of those invaders takes hold, and when the handle breaks you will have to wonder why. It could be that the wood was weakened in those early stages of drying. The wood should have exposure to wind in the beginning when the free water inside is evaporating then that wind can wick that moisture off and away when it reaches the surface and more and more moisture vapors can come out.

 

[Yankee Josh]

I thought I'd add some photos for what it's worth.
This is some white ash and white birch (birch for wedges and hatchet handles) up on the racks. The ash were smaller and were just halved.

Here they are after drying for almost a year up there. I milled them last week and will be making something out of them soon. You can see the 3/8" strips of birch leaning up against the rip fence. I just make em all 3" wide and cut em down from there.

And the blanks themselves.

I need to refine my finished handles but here's one of them i hung a Mann "True American" Michigan on;

I've made some other i can post if you're interested in seeing them? I look forward to seeing yours! And everybodys for that matter!

 

[Maine20]

I thought I'd add some photos for what it's worth.
This is some white ash and white birch (birch for wedges and hatchet handles) up on the racks. The ash were smaller and were just halved.

Here they are after drying for almost a year up there. I milled them last week and will be making something out of them soon. You can see the 3/8" strips of birch leaning up against the rip fence. I just make em all 3" wide and cut em down from there.

And the blanks themselves.

I need to refine my finished handles but here's one of them i hung a Mann "True American" Michigan on;

I've made some other i can post if you're interested in seeing them? I look forward to seeing yours! And everybodys for that matter!

Good stuff! I love the look of ash handles. I have done 3 hatchet handles out of chunks of fire wood. The staves I am making now will be my first full-sized handles from a log. I’m thinking a few months drying time should do it?

I did remove the bark.

 

[Yankee Josh]

Good stuff! I love the look of ash handles. I have done 3 hatchet handles out of chunks of fire wood. The staves I am making now will be my first full-sized handles from a log. I’m thinking a few months drying time should do it?

I did remove the bark.

I let mine dry for 10 months. They are nice and dry now so i suppose they were ready prior. But i don't know a minimum? I would guess 6 months? The last thing you want is to do all that work making a haft just to have the eye shrink and your axe head come loose!

 

[garry3]

I am really a proponent of cutting staves in the fall or winter. I know it can be done at anytime but I think it is just so much easier to prevent warping when the sap is down. OP you probably already knew that..

 

[Maine20]

I am really a proponent of cutting staves in the fall or winter. I know it can be done at anytime but I think it is just so much easier to prevent warping when the sap is down. OP you probably already knew that..

That’s a good point. Unfortunately the trees needed to come down ASAP. Couple more to do, is there any advantage or disadvantage to waiting a while to split the staves? Or is it best to do it soon after the tree is cut?

 

[Yankee Josh]

That’s a good point. Unfortunately the trees needed to come down ASAP. Couple more to do, is there any advantage or disadvantage to waiting a while to split the staves? Or is it best to do it soon after the tree is cut?

I'm really not an expert, only sharing my limited experience, but i split/rip mine right after cutting.

 

[garry3]

That’s a good point. Unfortunately the trees needed to come down ASAP. Couple more to do, is there any advantage or disadvantage to waiting a while to split the staves? Or is it best to do it soon after the tree is cut?

Kept in the round they are going to split either way. Might as well do it yourself so you can control some things. It might go side ways no matter what you do or maybe everything will be good with little effort on your part. Just lots of variables. I will tell you what I do but are climate is different and so are the tree species.
I try to control the escape of moisture with the summer cut stuff. Ends get sealed, it gets split and the staves are wired together just as they laid in the log(usually with small chunks of wood in between them for air flow) and then stored in my cool damp basement until spring. I go ahead and remove bark from elm, some other species I leave it on. Some species treated any other way will look like a pile of spaghetti if I don't do this.
Maybe you have none of these issues with ash and your climate?

 

[Agent_H]

I've only harvested Maple, Birch, and Cherry of some sort and recently asked questions.

That is a pretty piece of wood.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

Yes, cutting trees in winter, it's the best. I even have an old chart indicating which moon and in which month it is best to cut trees for tool handles specifying to the very day and hour when the old-timers would cut that chosen tree. That said, we take it when we can get it don't we.

My storage for the first year after coming out of the water: under the trees, halved or quartered, standing - more or less - and lengths as long as possible/practical.Someone mentioned when to split, and someone else gave their answer. What's left is, why, and it is to eliminate stress building up in the wood as it seasons. These stresses or tensions along the annual rings can tear your wood apart, by halving or better yet quartering the forces are mostly eliminated and the wood can season in peace.

 

[Maine20]

Yes, cutting trees in winter, it's the best. I even have an old chart indicating which moon and in which month it is best to cut trees for tool handles specifying to the very day and hour when the old-timers would cut that chosen tree. That said, we take it when we can get it don't we.

My storage for the first year after coming out of the water: under the trees, halved or quartered, standing - more or less - and lengths as long as possible/practical.Someone mentioned when to split, and someone else gave their answer. What's left is, why, and it is to eliminate stress building up in the wood as it seasons. These stresses or tensions along the annual rings can tear your wood apart, by halving or better yet quartering the forces are mostly eliminated and the wood can season in peace.

It’s amazing the detail and thought the old timers put in to this stuff. For alot of us these tools are more of a hobby. Back in the day they were a necessary part of life. Producing quality tools and not wasting time and resources really mattered.

Thanks for all the info from everyone so far!

 

[Maine20]

Some species treated any other way will look like a pile of spaghetti if I don't do this.
Maybe you have none of these issues with ash and your climate?

Hopefully I don’t end up with spaghetti! We will see, this is my first go round drying anything other then firewood. It’s not overly dry here in Maine so I think it will be ok.

 

[Yankee Josh]

Hopefully I don’t end up with spaghetti! We will see, this is my first go round drying anything other then firewood. It’s not overly dry here in Maine so I think it will be ok.

Its been so humid lately in our state! I actually brought my blanks inside to benefit from the drier, air conditioned air for a few weeks before I do anything with them. I am currently figuring out a way to dry the eyes further once i shape the hafts and also for ones i purchased or have found. I would love to get that moisture content down to +/-10% if possible. Also from now on i am going to fire harden the eye right before i set the head(s). I've been experimenting and (especially) ash benefits quite a bit from being torched a bit. It makes the outer wood tougher by a factor of 2 in my experiments! I think that will be especially helpful in the longevity of the shoulder after prolonged use. Any else have experience doing this??

 

[Ernest DuBois]

For alot of us these tools are more of a hobby. Back in the day they were a necessary part of life.

I guess what you are implying, I don't know, is how much of an investment on return the effort requires. The answer is not much once we are equipped with the knowledge. So for instance in my case I really don't make a lot of extra effort supplying myself with handle materials, certainly no more than it would take for me to go into town and buy it. I say "materials" which is a different matter all together than actually making the handles which does take time and so in that regard the route you choose is more subjective. All the more reason for taking the utmost care from the beginning if you choose the route that takes you on that way.