Just cut down a large pine tree, would like to cut discs to make clocks with.

 

What is the best way to dry and prep without the proverbial pie shape cracking I assume comes from it drying to quickly?

 

Should I dry whole or cut into the discs then dry?

 

Thanks!

Edited February 11, 20206 yr by nevinc

Hate to tell you this but it is almost impossible. Yes it has been done but is mostly miss with very few hits. There are several wood stabilization products but not a one that works very well in this situation. For one thing when the wood hits the ground there is already a crack at the heart. The pith is what causes logs to crack so a possible approach is to drill out the center and seal the grain on both sides. Also a thicker slice may work better.

I have had some success with the liquid soap/water soak. However I have never tried it on pine. 

Here’s some information- https://www.ronkent.com/techniques.php

I did some Cedar log slices.  I cut them into these discs while they were still wet.  The moisture was visible so I let them go until the wet look disappeared and then soaked them down with wipe on poly until they looked shiny wet and let them go a couple days and soaked them again.  Might have been luck but not a one cracked.  Routed the numbers into them a few weeks later and then brushed poly into the numbers.

 

9 hours ago, lew said:

I have had some success with the liquid soap/water soak. However I have never tried it on pine. 

Here’s some information- https://www.ronkent.com/techniques.php

I have seen where a colored resin is used in irregular wood to fill cracks and voids. It is quite unique and beautiful.

31 minutes ago, nevinc said:

I have seen where a colored resin is used in irregular wood to fill cracks and voids. It is quite unique and beautiful.

I've had good success with Alumilite 

Inlace may be what you are talking about. It is a resin and uses drops of activator to harden. Comes in several colors and clear which can be colored to desired shade. Kinda costly but I keep mine in the fridge and lasts 2-3 years. I have filled some 3/4 inch voids with it. When using any fill the wood must be dry or the changes will cause the patch to fall out and DAMHIKT.

Working with mesquite offers plenty of opportunity for resin fills. Cracks and voids are commonplace.  For color, I use tubes of cheap acrylic artist's paints from Walmart. Or, crushed turquoise. For small jobs like most of mine, I use pint sized Clearcast from nearly any hobby store. As with any process, proper prep of the wood is paramount for a good result. But, it ain't rocket science. If I can do it, anyone can.

Cut them into slices then dry them . Too hard to get the center of a large log dried in the middle. Sticker the slices with real small stick size pieces of wood and put a heavy weight on top but you won't get too much warping from the round stuff and leave the bark on for it looks good . Turn them every few days and if some have warped changing position will help keep them flat....pine is hell on sandpaper but a hand held sander in not too hard to change the paper compared to an enclosed sanding machine.

I've had my best luck cutting cookies from logs that has fallen down

years ago in the woods and forgotten about.