Help me get the best out of this log.

[twoclones]

This Caltalpa log is 32" at the small end and 12' long. The moisture content is reading 22%. No cracks, no rot, only 2 small limbs.

After considering how to carve this into a $25,000 sculpture, I decided that I don't have the marketing muscle to sell such a sculpture and my children would be stuck with it after I die. Making a half dozen bears from such a great log doesn't appeal to me either so I'm going to slab it and try to get the most profit for the least effort. I already have a buyer very interested in buying the slabs for his store.

Money
What is a reasonable board foot price for me to ask (wholesale) for 2" caltalpa slabs this big?

Technique
The heart is at center on the butt end and way off center on the small end.
Am I correct to think that if I mill it in this position (photo below), I will get more quarter-sawn figure giving more valuable slabs?

Stickers
I need to mill stickers for this project. The widest slab end will be 43" and I plan to air-dry it in a boule. How far apart would you recommend spacing the stickers? Is there any reason to make the stickers more than 1/2" thick for this wide of a slab?

Wrap it?
The potential customer said to 'slab and wrap it'. Other slabs he buys come wrapped in plastic but I've never heard of doing this to wet slabs. However, I live in the desert,,, I might cover it with a tarp to try keeping dust out and preventing sun damage. Comments?

All experienced input will be appreciated

 

[abbott295]

Experienced input" That would not be me, but I dont understand air-dry it in a boule"? Was that a spell-check çorrection' of something else you meant to say, or something I haven't heard of before? (and my quotation marks and apostrophe don't seem to work reliable all the time either.)

Stickers should be at least three fourths of an inch, maybe one inch, for air to circulate between those slabs. Drying too quickly will probably be your problem. Checking is likely. Others may have better advice.

 

[twoclones]

"Boule" is to stack the slabs in the same order and orientation as they came from the log. This allows matching slabs or grain patterns to easily be found after drying.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

IF you want to get the BEST out of your log, it should already have been ------------------> ANCHORSEALED "heavy" on both ends!

IF you already have the flitches sold, shouldn't the "buyer" be telling you exactly what HE/SHE wants??

SR

 

[twoclones]

The ends have been sealed and the "potential customer" specified the thickness they prefer. Beyond that, unless they are a very experienced sawyer, I wouldn't expect a customer to have an experienced answer for any of my above questions.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Hope you used Anchorseal, or a similar product...

Anyone asking for flitches from me, knows what they want, so I just mill the log to what they want...

IF you are just going to mill it through and through, it doesn't leave you with many options... Like for instance, you can't "grade saw" the log, and that's my preferred method to get the BEST lumber out of any log...

SR

 

[mdavlee]

Mill those slabs and keep them out of direct sun even tarped. That will cook them and dry it down too fast I think. If the ends are 22% already the center could still be 40%. I've had better luck stacked on the edge for less warping for cherry slabs 20-27" wide.

 

[twoclones]

If the ends are 22% already the center could still be 40%.

Bingo. I checked at the center of the log and it was 40%.

I'm milling with a Stihl 660 and a 066. Today the 066 was just not working well What I finally found is the screen in the carb' was completely clogged. So I took the fuel filter apart and it has what looks like a foam center. That 'foam' was eroded away at one end which allowed small debris to pass. I'm afraid it was ethanol damage.

Carb' is clean and reinstalled. Gas tank has been dumped and flushed. Tomorrow will bring new new fuel filters for both saws.

 

[twoclones]

Here is a slab from the catalpa log

 

[john taliaferro]

Looks good , how thick are the slabs ?

 

[twoclones]

Looks good , how thick are the slabs ?

Slabs are 2" thick. The owner at Windsor Plywood said that's what he would be interested in. Still need to come up with a board foot price for him but I guess that's not urgent since the slabs are 40% moisture.

 

[rarefish383]

Slab looks even bigger now that you've taken it off! Nice. Good to see you over here. I check out the carving forum now and again, just to see what you've been up to. I enjoy all of the pictures of your work. Thanks, Joe.

 

[groundup]

Sell them bad boys to him green and let him figure out how to dry them. $2 a board ft cash money in your pocket.

If you try to get $6/bft dry and half of it cracks and warps plus you went through all the trouble of stacking, stickering and covering it, then the guy has no money or just isn't interested.

I try to sell all of mine green and cheap