Beech help needed

[bowman]

I have aquired a freshly felled section of beech from a friend in forestry. It is about 5 inches in diameter and 4 feet long. The plan is to make several eating utensils from it so I would like to know:
Can it be carved green?
If not, how long should it season?
If seasoning is required, should I cut/split it down now to season or leave it whole?

Any help much appreciated.

 

[falcon]

I cut a few shanks for walking sticks and I've always been advised to let them season for a year before straightening....1 inch diameter per annum being the recommendation. That said a friend tries to accelerate drying by putting some in his airing cupboard not sure what his wife thinks (she's given up) and I don't think he's had problems with splitting. I don't know anything about the process in the timber industry with kiln drying or time periods etc...perhaps a google search might throw something up ?

 

[oetzi]

Leave it as it is and coat both cuts with woodglue to prevent the wood from splitting.

 

[themac]

My step father is in to wood turning in a big way, he often dries wood out in the microwave (though when my mum found out he weas forced in to getting his own microwave!) if he feels the need to use a bit before it has dried out naturally.

I would have to strongly recommend researching this a lot further before throwing a log in the micro, and can't be held responsible blah blah blah but it does work.

 

[pierre girard]

Much easier to carve green. Less likely to split if there is less wood surface to dry. This is the reason logs are cut into boards while still green.

If I am trying to dry a log and prevent checking (splitting) on the ends, I paint it with Prestone antifreeze. I don't suppose it is a brand available over there. For some reason, this brand works very well to prevent checking, while others do not.

PG

 

[warthog1981]

I always carve beech seasond I Split it all to rough dimentions but be sure to have them longer than you want the spoon to be. This allows for any little shakes in the ends to be cut off when yuo want to cave it

 

[Marts]

and just to complicate things further

I'd cut the log into oversize lengths for the things you want to make and then rough shape them while green and then let them air dry - less wood to dry and you might be able to get the heartwood out, which is where splits often originate from . In the stuff I use anyway

 

[bowman]

Thanks chaps
Marts - should I avoid using the heartwood within a piece then - just rough the shapes out in the sapwood?

 

[Marts]

I'm sure someone more experienced can give you a definitive answer, but I've always found it easier to work with the sapwood as far as avoiding splitting goes. You also get more interesting grain patterns in the finished piece. You could always try both ways and see what happens?