A big slice of redwood

[ScottyM]

Hi everyone,

 

My sister-in-law just gave me a slice of the redwood tree she had to remove from her yard.  It's almost exactly 3 ft. by 4 ft.  It had been 2 trunks grown together, so there's 2 piths.  The tree was in Pasadena CA, and I'm in Simi Valley, so the climate is similar.  Dry & warm, but not as extreme as Marc in Phoenix.

 

Here's the photo:

 

 

Here's a link to the full sized photo: http://mcclaury.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Forum-Photos/i-kXsTpxK/0/O/IMG_1394.jpg

 

The thickness is 2 1/2 inches at its thinnest point, and 6 inches at the thickest.  Because the guy with the chainsaw was not too clean on the back side, that 6 inches will need to come down to 3-4 i expect.

 

I'm worried about cracking/checking.  It's been about a month, but so far there are only 2-3 very small cracks in the sapwood.  It's living right now in the covered bed of my Avalanche.  Otherwise it's very clean.

 

I've been reading online that there's almost no way to avoid the checking, given the size of this slab and how the drying will occur (radial vs. lateral).  It appears my choices are:

 

1. let it crack, and deal with the cracks once it's dried (expoy, butterflys, and just love the rustic look)
2. seal the end grain (which is most of the front & back faces) with paint, shellac, or a wood sealant, and let the moisture very slowly (over years) escape thru the edges (bark/live edge)
3. soak it in PEG 1000 (Polyethylene Glycol) for a few months to replace the water and stabilize the cell walls, then let it air dry for a few years.

Anyone have any experience or advise?

 

If I try to stabilize it (PEG or sealant), should I cut it thinner first, or is it better to let it dry out before working it?  Should I remove all the bark and get to the live edge before drying?

 

Any recommendations on the drying method?

 

I recognize it will be years before this becomes something beautiful, and if it blows-up on me, it won't be a family crisis.  Unfortunately I don't have any other material from this tree to experiment with.

 

Thanks!

Scott

[Just Bob]

Scott cool slab. I have used PEG to stabilize small pieces wood and it works as advertized. If you google polyethylene glycol for wood one of the first results should be a pdf from Oregon state edu, it will tell you exactly what you need to do. I think I would cut the slab to an even thickness before stabilizing. Good luck.

[wdwerker]

If you are going to use PEG do it soon, don't let it dry and crack.

[Brendon_t]

Scott, you and I live in the same city. With the heat we've been having recently, whatever your going to do, I'd do it quickly. A neighbor of mind does a lot of work with redwood slats much like this one. He normally goes with option 1, he leaves it out in the sun, let's it crack and warp as it will. When he's ready for it, he Dutchman keys and epoxy fills it

[ScottyM]

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I quickly borrowed a chiansaw from my neighbor and brought it to an even thickness, then have been soaking it in a plastic kiddie pool (not easy to find a water-tight container to hold something 4ft in diameter).  I was able to find PEG and am giving it a try.  It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, and I'll share the experience here as it goes along.