ThCubed Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 I am somewhat new to woodworking, but not a beginner. However, I have never attempted this, and I haven't heard of anyone else doing it, so maybe there is a good reason for it. I recently had a very large oak tree fall in my yard. As my husband was cutting it up for firewood, I asked him to cut me a circle about an inch or so thick. I am thinking of making a table out of it. The circle is about 25" across. Would this be a mistake? Can a table be made from a circle of oak (white oak, I believe)? Is there going to be an issue of cracking? What other issues should I watch out for? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 As it shrinks, you'll get cracking. Best idea is to "pre-crack" it. Make a radial cut from the outside to the middle now. As it dries and shrinks, that cut will open up and cracking elsewhere will be minimized. Then you just need to figure out what you want to do artistically with the pie-shaped wedge that opened up. Since the circle is all end-grain, it'll dry quickly so you might want to slow it down a bit to help with the cracking. Could be a fun project; be sure to post it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 This is a very cool thing to do! The key is going to lay in the drying. If it hasn't already been cut I think I would probably go a little thicker (2-3") to allow for a good finished thickness. Either way, personally I would cover both sides with a sheet or two of newspaper (to allow breathing but slow drying) and clamp some other boards across the face (top and bottom) to help keep it flat. It will probably take a few months to dry enough to start working, but I've had good luck doing this in the past. For the first week or so I would put a fan gently blowing over it and rotate the piece each day so it dries uniformly (keeping it in the clamps). Then set it aside in a warmer area to finish doing it's thing. After a month smooth out the faces with a hand plane or REALLY coarse sandpaper and re-clamp for another few weeks. If all goes well it should be able to start the rough shaping after this time. Let it sit a little longer (another month) and do the final shaping and finishing. Would love to see some pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWC Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Another suggestion is to pack the slice (I agree with Boats in that it should be 2-3" so you have something to surface down later) in saw dust from the cutting of the tree on both faces. The saw dust will be the same moisture content of the slice to start with and help slow and control the drying of the slice. I also definitely agree with Paul to pre-crack the slice by cutting from the outside into the middle. My thought to fix the missing pie piece would be to have another slice cut adjacent to the slice you're keeping to infill when both pieces are dried. if you're able to align the growth rings fairly close, the infilled piece will tend to disappear due to the end grain being the primary display surface. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWC Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 OH...AND IT'S NOT A STUPID QUESTION!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Good idea with the sawdust. For replacing the missing wedge, I'd make the table support come up through the wedge in a nice way, but I have goofy ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 The idea is to slow the drying process in hopes that it wont crack. Soak it down with Dish washing detergent and water 1:4, Put in a burlap bag full of shavings or wrap in grocery brown paper bags. Dont lay flat. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWC Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 The idea is to slow the drying process in hopes that it wont crack. Soak it down with Dish washing detergent and water 1:4, Put in a burlap bag full of shavings or wrap in grocery brown paper bags. Dont lay flat. Don Yeah, it'd be nice if it didn't crack, but I think we all know with a high degree of certainty, it's going to. I say take control of where it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Yeah, it'd be nice if it didn't crack, but I think we all know with a high degree of certainty, it's going to. I say take control of where it does. I think thats more of a taste issue. Personally I think do the best you can and then take advantage of whatever happens. Here is a nice one, The cracks add quite abit of character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thcube@aol.com Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 You guys are the greatest!! Your suggestions have helped a lot!! I do have a piece cut already, however there is still quite a bit of tree left to cut so now I can get another piece that is thicker and have a few pieces to practice on. As for the pie piece cut, how big should the slice of pie be? As big as the crack in the picture above? Smaller? Bigger? I did think of clamping it to make sure it stayed straight. I can't wait to get started on it, and I will definitely post pictures when it's finished!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thcube@aol.com Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 OH, one more thing, would a vertical cut of the trunk be better to work with then a horizontal cut? As I said there is still quite a bit of tree left, so I can get it both ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 You don't want to cut out the pie shaped piece. You just want to make a single cut from the edge of the slab to the center. Then as it dries out, that cut will widen into a pie shaped gap. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 OH, one more thing, would a vertical cut of the trunk be better to work with then a horizontal cut? It would be much stronger, and you wouldn't have to worry as much about cracking as it dried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTC Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 As it shrinks, you'll get cracking. Best idea is to "pre-crack" it. cut two slices at the same time - and pre cut them both then you can slice one pie to fill the gaps in the other. I did this a while ago with a piece 15" across - I also painted bothe serfaces with latex paint placed them on a rubber mat in the garage and put a sheet of 3/4 ply on top with a bag of cement on top of that - took months to dry. Great project!! - good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWC Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 cut two slices at the same time - and pre cut them both then you can slice one pie to fill the gaps in the other. I did this a while ago with a piece 15" across - I also painted bothe serfaces with latex paint placed them on a rubber mat in the garage and put a sheet of 3/4 ply on top with a bag of cement on top of that - took months to dry. Great project!! - good luck That's what I suggested on the 13th. It's good to get a second opinion that agrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.