Curing, Hanging Fresh Cut Tree's

CrossBone Cue

CrossBone Cue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello,
I know there has to be a thread on here about this, but not having any luck finding it.

I have access to walnut, hickory and some cherry. Before we cut it I was trying to have everything in place. I have a mill that will cut the wood do for me. He wants 8'6" logs. I was going to do 2 1/4 thick then look for the figured pieces, cut those into 36" Pieces. I can have them kiln dried at his shop or not.
If someone could send me a link or make suggestions it would be helpful.
Thank you for your time,
Steve
 
Cut them 1.75". Not only will they dry faster & more evenly, but you'll have more wood. Kiln drying would really only be beneficial to the hickory because bugs love it and it's not the most stable wood to dry. Walnut is very easy to dry, and cherry isn't tough, either. There's no special treatment the wood needs because it may get used in cues. The only thing I would do different is quarter sawing. I'd quarter saw every log for two reasons. Quarter sawn lumber dries faster, stays much more stable as it dries, and shows off any figure that may be present. You could have the most beautifully figured curly boards & not know it because the wood was plain sawed, which would only show the curl on the edge of the boards. By quartering, the figure will be shown on the faces of the boards. And for certain if you can get access to a kiln, do it.
 
I would kiln dry it for sure. I'm not sure I would use the cherry (without coring). It is more prone to splitting than the other two. After sealing the end grain, I would let them air dry for at least a month. Google it.
I don't see the benefit to quarter sawing when you consider it's final form, a dowel. Once turned, they all look the same if they are from the same growth period.
 
Last edited:
Lexicologist71 said:
I would kiln dry it for sure. I'm not sure I would use the cherry (without coring). It is more prone to splitting than the other two. After sealing the end grain, I would let them air dry for at least a month. Google it.
I don't see the benefit to quarter sawing when you consider it's final form, a dowel. Once turned, they all look the same if they are from the same growth period.
Click to expand...

I agree with Lex here. quarter sawing is best for flat boards especially when used in furniture applications as it does "show" the best side up. And also to help in drying wood, drilling or boring a small 1/4 inch hole completely through the piece after cutting your final desired pieces aids in the drying also as it allows the wood to dry not only from the top, but also evenly from the center.(helps on checking also) And after some time, depending on wood, times vary, increasing the center hole larger in small increments helps considerably also.
 
The benefit to quarter sawing is for drying. It eliminates most of the causes of drying stress, which in the end are the causes of warping and cracking & other instabilities. All it takes is one glance at a load of lumber stacked for drying. Pain sawed lumber has to be strapped and/or weighted down to hold it flat & straight as it dries, because the nature of the material (wood) is to curl up. However, a stack of quarter sawed wood requires nothing. It dries flat and with minimal stress.

In the final product (cue), you will not know if the wood was quarter sawed or not. The difference will be that with quarter sawing, you have a lot more yield of useable wood. Back in the day it was the standard and was called "grade sawing". They only plain sawed to get cathedral grain. The only negative to quarter sawing is the effort. It requires a little more work and time. So if you aren't lazy or in a hurry, there's nothing but good that can come from doing it. I learned the technique I use from an Amish miller, and it's the only method he uses for anything because it produces the most stable wood.
 
Sorry, I was under the impression you were cutting them down to billet size before kiln drying. Not sure why.
 
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