Manzanita wood question

I freshcut an 8' long piece of manzanita that looked like it had a nice pattern(not the burl) and put some wood sealer on the ends. Overnight(it was outside and temps reached freezing) huge cracks appeared in both ends. What did I do wrong?
Any help greatly appreciated.
 
Jerry Hossom

Jerry Hossom

Joined
Aug 1, 1999
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Likely the wood wasn't dry yet, so you may have saved yourself some later heartbreak by not having it do that on a knife. With some careful cutting and maybe some filler you can probably salvage most of it.

I know many suppliers sell wood with the ends sealed (with wax normally). I would prefer they not do that, since it just hides problems that can bite you in the butt later.

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Jerry Hossom
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Jerry is correct!! (man that was hard to type) but the weather has a lot to do with it, as the colder it gets the lower the humidity. I have a knifemaker friend in Alaska that told me about a time a few years back when it got down to 30 BELOW for over three months.....after the first month he could hear his ivory cracking (loudly i might add) on a constant basis until it warmed up!!
frown.gif
 
:
Was this a fresh cut part of a manzanita tree or bush (haven't seen any much bigger than a bush when I lived in So Cal)?
If it was a fresh cut from a tree and the wood sealer didn't have time to dry that would explain it.

The best thing I have found when trying to take care of freshly cut wood is to trim the bark off and give it a good soaking in vegetable oil all over.
Put enough on so it's dripping off and if it soaks some in recoat it.
It's a pain in the butt when you go to cut it and finish it, loads up the sandpaper, but it usually saves it from cracking.
I did this with some Bois'D Arc last summer and it's curing nicely with no cracks at all.
Sorry if I misunderstood.


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I put up about 500 lbs of manzanita knot & burl almost 18 months ago.....used a crock pot full of parrafin & painted every open spot I could find, then placed it in the coolest, darkest spot in the barn. The first (thinnest) pieces I've pulled out seem to have cured OK.

I recently was given carte blanche to go thru a 20 year old walnut orchard where the trees had been pushed out by a cat. Got several good burl stumps, and decided to try Wayne Goddard's method of curing them (they have BEYOOOOTIFUL GRAIN!!!)
1. Slice into slabs approx. 2" thick, and place in plastic garbage bags...fold the ends over loosely.
2. Every couple days, remove the wood from the bag, turn the bag inside out to remove the water collected, and put the wood back in. Keep doing this every few days, slowing down to once a week, then maybe once every two weeks as the moisture loss slows.
3. At the point where no more moisture collects, place each piece in a couple layers of brown paper grocery sack, & duct tape shut. Store in a cool, dark place for at least 1 year per inch of thickness.
Harry Jensen
 
Harry is correct TOO! The standard time frame for drying wood (cabinet maker info) is one year for every inch thick... stickered and air dried. It must have air flowing all the way around it...not set on the floor or another piece of wood.

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Manzanita is very dense wood so it will air dry slowly. I've heard of people boiling ( yes boiling! ) wood to drive out the sap and
lessening the time it takes to air dry. Never tried it myself.

I've air dried apple wood , manzanita, dogwood burls, yew and laburnum, all of which are dense and prone to checking. As was mentioned seal the ends immediately after stumping - I use white glue, cut into oversize slabs to allow for warping and finishing, then store it in a cool (constant temperature if possible) dry place. The plastic bag trick is a good idea.
 
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