How to Slab Smaller Dogwood Trunks

[rybo]

Hey all,

A neighbor left a big pile of dogwood trunks for pickup, so naturally I had to pick up a few just to see what the wood was like. I've never heard of woodworkers really using dogwood, but I thought it would be a good learning experience. Suprisingly, from what I see the wood has really nice pinkish rings to it and I think it would look pretty good for smaller projects. My immediate thought was to make a few shop stools to sit on while I'm doing finer chiseling work, and maybe to give one my grandfather who loves dogwoods. The 2 I picked up are only about 2.5 feet tall and around a foot in a diameter.

My question is, how would I go about "slabbing" a smaller trunk like this? I began cutting one crossgrain with a regular handsaw to get a 1 foot circular piece, but I think it would look really cool to get a few longer slabs from the other trunk - I think I could probably get 3-4 smaller slabs that might someday prove useful for little projects. I would think cutting end grain like this would be a little more difficult, but maybe I'm wrong. Has anyone ever done something like this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mark Gottesman]

I am sure someone who has done this will chime in, but here is my 0.02.

I have seen several youtube videos and read a few articles about using a bandsaw with a shopmade carriage to slab up firewood size chunks for reuse.

You need a blade that has a tooth pattern suitable for ripping.

You could try splitting the wood into rough slabs using a maul and wedges, but that can be frustrating if the grain is not straight.

Or, if you think you might want to go this route you could make up a large (4') frame saw using a large bandsaw blade and resaw it buy hand.

then you need figure out how to dry it flat without cracking.

 

[Gofor]

Dogwood is a very dense hard wood. It is great for mallets, chisel handles, along with many other uses. The hard part is drying a log without it splitting. Because of the denseness, it does not like to give up the center moisture easily, leading to radial cracking as the outside dries and shrinks in comparison to the heart. Drying in log form needs to be slowly done. Leaving the bark on and wrapping it in brown paper or the like for the first year will help regulate the loss of moisture in the outer portion, giving the wood a chance to equalize in moisture content. A 1 foot diameter log may take a couple years or more to dry thoroughly.

Otherwise, you may want to quarter the log. That lets the moisture escape more evenly from center to sap wood. I suggest a bandsaw as opposed to trying to split it with a wedge. Then "slab" the quarters.

The mallet in my avatar is from a 5" dogwood trunk that dried for over a year with the bark on. Part of the log split badly, but this section stayed firm.

If you can also get the root ball, that portion is said to be the optimum wood for mallets, etc. The tangled cross grain in the root mass is as close to indestructible as a wood gets.

Good luck

Go

 

[merrill77]

I've roughed out logs that size with a chainsaw and then cut into blocks on the bandsaw for faster drying.

 

[Flute Maker]

I picked up some last yr and found out powder post beetles love dogwood so watch for small piles of dust/sand near the wood...I had saved a piece for a flute and read that freezing for 72 hrs was a good way to kill them...Never have done that but I have a piece in the freezer now...They make tunnels in the wood....

 

[rybo]

Funny that you say that. I went to move one of the logs today and found a pile of dust/sand underneath it. Didn't know what it was. This whole process sounds like it's a little more trouble than it's worth...

 

[Steve Martin]

A couple of the traditional uses of dogwood were gears/screws for simple machines, cotton mills used dogwood for the shuttles that carry the thread across the loom in weaving of sheet goods. The traditional method of splitting dogwood, and most other greenwood, was to use a froe, striking it with a maul (sometimes made from dogwood, as noted in one message above) across the end grain. I agree with Mark's comments about drying and other uses as mallets, mauls, handles and even kitchen utensils. My experience is that de-barking the logs tends to reduce worm infestations because the offending "bugs" like to lay their eggs in the bark. You may also find that the pink ages to a brown as the moisture evaporates and/or is exposed to sunlight. Dried, the wood holds carved detail very well.

 

[Gofor]

Funny that you say that. I went to move one of the logs today and found a pile of dust/sand underneath it. Didn't know what it was. This whole process sounds like it's a little more trouble than it's worth...

That sounds like the work of bessy beetle larva. They love the soft inner bark/cambium layer of wood. Leaving the bark on will let them keep eating, allowing in more moisture to soften the inner wood, and they will keep going until they riddle the whole log. Getting the bark off and letting the wood dry some will stop most of them. The worm holes are about 1/8" diameter. if you see these http://bugguide.net/node/view/127 around the pile, then the larva are already having lunch.

Go

 

[CarvedTones]

Otherwise, you may want to quarter the log. That lets the moisture escape more evenly from center to sap wood. I suggest a bandsaw as opposed to trying to split it with a wedge.

Sounds like this one will not get done due to bugs, but I will add a little something for future reference...

I agree that a bandsaw is best, but if you were to have to split I find it works best to use a circular saw to cut deep kerfs to set the wedge in. It tends to split cleaner and more accurately when you do that.

 

[rybo]

Sounds like this one will not get done due to bugs, but I will add a little something for future reference...

I agree that a bandsaw is best, but if you were to have to split I find it works best to use a circular saw to cut deep kerfs to set the wedge in. It tends to split cleaner and more accurately when you do that.

Great advice. Planning to debark this weekend, set somewhere to dry and find a new project to focus on