Yew logs.

[crosslandkelly]

Managed to get hold of a couple of Yew logs today. Should keep me busy in a few years. Question, is the best way to keep them, to seal the ends and dry store outside?

 

[Fraxinus]

Sealing the ends reduces the rate it dries out and helps reduce splitting (radial shakes) but you will still get some. Outside storage under cover but so the air can get around them.
What are you planning on using them for? That may throw up a better way to reduce wastage.

Rob.

 

[HillBill]

I wouldn't seal the ends on logs that big. It'll be 8 to 10 years before you can use them. About 4 to 5 without.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Sealing the ends reduces the rate it dries out and helps reduce splitting (radial shakes) but you will still get some. Outside storage under cover but so the air can get around them.
What are you planning on using them for? That may throw up a better way to reduce wastage.

Rob.

Only small projects, handles, scales, boxes and the like.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I wouldn't seal the ends on logs that big. It'll be 8 to 10 years before you can use them. About 4 to 5 without.

Thanks for that Mark, I'll leave them unsealed.

 

[Fraxinus]

Only small projects, handles, scales, boxes and the like.

In that case I would reduce them down to more manageable sizes, as tree trunks would be planked up to make boards for joinery work.
Leave them larger than your intended size as they will shrink and warp as they dry, (timber shrinks in width and thickness, lengthwise is so small as to be discounted but ends are still prone to shakes) stack them with spacer sticks so they get plenty of airflow to prevent mould. Still seal the ends though. The rule of thumb for air drying is one year per inch of thickness.

Rob.

 

[Paulm]

Definitely seal the ends, what ever else you might or might not do !

If you don't you are very likely to get radial cracking from the pith outwards, at each end, and could easily lose most of the usable length as a result.

As a minimum after that, cut or split lengthwise through the pith, or better still, two cuts either side of the pith, and this will also make a big difference in reducing splits.

If you can cut down in size further, towards likely usable sizes but leaving a lot of extra for shrinkage, distortion and waste, then better still.

In all cases leave somewhere cool, with plenty of gentle airflow over the pieces, sticked if appropriate, and be patient.

It's a lovely timber and worth taking time and effort over

Cheers, Paul

 

[dwardo]

Less mass less stress. Get it cut up and sealed asap.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Thanks guys, apparently the tree was taken down on Friday, so it is still very fresh. Going by what has been said I will halve them again then try to split them into more manageable pieces before sealing them. Thanks for your input, much appreciated.

 

[HillBill]

Splitting a big yew log like that is not easy. If you're gonna do it, do it now. Once they have seasoned a bit, they are like stone. I needed 3 wedges and a sledge hammer to split one of mine that was about 16" across.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I'll have a go tomorrow, and post pics of the results.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Well I got them split this afternoon, the first one was alright, but the second one was a bugger. Got some nice pieces ready to stack.

 

[petrochemicals]

I have seem logs, big logs, stored outside, off the ground, in the shade, for a year plus, in as long a length as possible. My theory on this is that they are getting rid of the moisture down to a point. Then the logs are carted off to be dried inside i think, or kiln dried, before any mold fungus sets in. The outside enviroinment seems to slow the drying and keep the outsides moist, whilst the inside dries. I have also seen trunks sawn into boards and then stacked outside one ontop of another with spacers inbetween the boards, but again it seems to be a case of slowing the drying out to stop warping or cracking. Be sure the fungus dooesnt get in though, i think this is when the wood begins to rehydrate!

Edit:

Thats undercover from the sun though, id let them get some form of moisture to the outside. The full lengths i have seen probably loose as much as yours from either end i must add through radial splitting.