calling wood workers!

[DerekP Houston]

Aged outside will beat you. NOT good. Rain and sun. Make wood stable and dry. I don't even trust wood stored in the barn. A rifle stock will sit in my basement for months before I work it.
Yeah you can make a table with rough sawn but it will split. There is a solution made from anti freeze that will stabilize green wood. Ethylene Glycol.

Darn I didn't think of that. It was in a covered patio up against the brick. I've already cut the log lenthwise to make a 9" seat for my son. I'm just going to finish it out for the practice at this point. Basically a small backless stool with some dowels to keep the legs together. I can always turn it back into firewood later .

Don't have basements here so garage would be the only other covered place out of the elements. That is where all the new cut wood is aging now. Better go buy something shiny doesn't sound like my plans are gonna work out.

[beezapilot]

Primitive woodworking is fun, I've done some stuff with a froe, shave-horse, hewing axes and all... this guy makes it look pretty easy- FINDING some of those tools is a challenge, but doing things by hand is very satisfying-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv2kGmdENl8

[Garyshome]

Maybe you could get them sawn up into something you can use, maybe at a local mill?

[OnHoPr]

Oh, I suppose you could do a bunch of things with it, depending on the diameters. Got a chainsaw, drill, circular saw,a few other things or possibly pick up a few simple tools maybe?

-Trivets are good and simple.
-Rip some boards with the chainsaw and make a porch/deck table for your lemonade, sweet tea, or BEER.
-Get a draw knife, hatchet and take a couple of the smaller dia 18"ers and whittle them down to make Longhorns, then take a thick 12"er and make a bull cow head then put together for a little Texas decor.
- Rip a couple of boards, get a forstner bit drill 3 or 4 holes in one of them then whittle down a few small round sticks long enough to hold a coat, stick in holes, then butt joint the other board to make a 90 degree, hit with a can of lacquer and mount it to the wall
- Get a hole saw or forstner bit for the drill big enough for a beer can and a wood chisel and drill a few of the 4" dia sticks about 3/4 of a beer can to holds beers in as insulated beer holders
- Make a pic frame with a couple of chainsaw ripped boards and put one of the wedding fotos in it.
- Rip a few boards and make a simple rustic box for the kitchen counter for a fruit basket
- Make a toilet paper holder
- Maybe a paper towel holder

The list goes on and on. Think of something useful and where she might appreciate the rustic wood look

[DerekP Houston]

Oh, I suppose you could do a bunch of things with it, depending on the diameters. Got a chainsaw, drill, circular saw,a few other things or possibly pick up a few simple tools maybe?

-Trivets are good and simple.
-Rip some boards with the chainsaw and make a porch/deck table for your lemonade, sweet tea, or BEER.
-Get a draw knife, hatchet and take a couple of the smaller dia 18"ers and whittle them down to make Longhorns, then take a thick 12"er and make a bull cow head then put together for a little Texas decor.
- Rip a couple of boards, get a forstner bit drill 3 or 4 holes in one of them then whittle down a few small round sticks long enough to hold a coat, stick in holes, then butt joint the other board to make a 90 degree, hit with a can of lacquer and mount it to the wall
- Get a hole saw or forstner bit for the drill big enough for a beer can and a wood chisel and drill a few of the 4" dia sticks about 3/4 of a beer can to holds beers in as insulated beer holders
- Make a pic frame with a couple of chainsaw ripped boards and put one of the wedding fotos in it.
- Rip a few boards and make a simple rustic box for the kitchen counter for a fruit basket
- Make a toilet paper holder
- Maybe a paper towel holder

The list goes on and on. Think of something useful and where she might appreciate the rustic wood look

Dang thanks man. The pic frame with a wedding photo was my original gift idea.

[Sur-shot]

Houston is way too humid, just like NW FL, you need kiln dried wood and it ain't going to happen in 5 days. If you just gotta have something out of oak, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy the oak there in boards ready to use. But you have really waited to long, unless you want to make napkin holder rings out of limbs. Cut them off, drill them out, clean them up, sand, then a coat of poly....... goes with the dinner. But do not be surprised if they split later. But you can do the same thing with the oak board and a hole saw.
Ed

[JWT]

Do you have room in the kitchen for a butcher block type table? Three legs under it and finish the sides leaving the top sanded smooth.

Don't use oak or ash for butcher blocks or cutting boards. They are ring porous woods so they have tube like structures that will allow for bacteria to grow. Maple is a good choice for a butcher block. A knife block would work.

[JWT]

Table saw is also on my list of things to buy so I can rip cut them in to useful pieces.

Don't do this. Only run wood with a straight edge through a table saw. Attempting to run a log through a table saw will at best result in having it thrown at you HARD. Sawing logs is bandsaw work.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Ice sculptures lend themselves to a more flamboyant and creative style, because they go away before you get fed up with them. If a chainsaw sculpture is to be indoors, who do you plan to dust it? I am led to believe the Siamese kinds didn't actually give people white elephants as a cruel jest, but a chainsaw sculpture might work out that way.

I have got to be older than some fair to middling oak trees, but if yours go back far enough, how about a transversely cut tabletop or wall plaque with the important events in your family's life marked with pins or plates at the appropriate tree-rings? I hear a lot of men forget anniversaries, so it might help get you off the hook that way for evermore.

I know someone who cut a 14 inch Oregon yew for bowmaking and found it to be, by a small margin, pre-Columbian. He also located the oldest known American yew, which the US Forest Service dated by taking a core sample to about 2510 years old. A medium-sized oak won't be anywhere near that old, but it might surprise you.

[Hardcast416taylor]

About the most simple and easiest wood project would be a box of chainsaw chip sawdust!Robert

[fryboy]

AKA flux ( to be fair pine type woods work best for that but... Oak will still work )

[OnHoPr]

I might know why you have had a little blockage on the issue. Being only the 5th, you probably been thinking about something sweet, loving, and maybe just a touch nasty, ah, you know that gift that just keeps on givin. Oh, and to see how soon you could get your son to sleep.lol

[DerekP Houston]

Houston is way too humid, just like NW FL, you need kiln dried wood and it ain't going to happen in 5 days. If you just gotta have something out of oak, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy the oak there in boards ready to use. But you have really waited to long, unless you want to make napkin holder rings out of limbs. Cut them off, drill them out, clean them up, sand, then a coat of poly....... goes with the dinner. But do not be surprised if they split later. But you can do the same thing with the oak board and a hole saw.
Ed

Lol yeah I noticed even after sitting for 2 years it was still damn. Oh well I'll find something else. Didn't think of it honestly until she was asking about a babysitter on friday...and I gave her the confused look. The sawdust will mix in great in the compost with all the dang grass trimmings from the past week. I've gotta visit my knife guy to pickup my equipment anyways maybe he'll have a small scrap laying around I could do something with.

Maybe if I get started now it'll be ready for christmas at my rate.

[starmac]

Several things here.
If I understand it, you have already cut it to lengths of 12 to 18 inches, if that is right it will have checked from both ends so virtually useless to make boards out of.
I know of no mill that would cut such short pieces anyway, 4 footers are a challenge on most mills, even hobby mills. It can be done but is labor intensive.
It is basically impossible to air dry wood in the round, especially with the bark on.
It sounds as if much of this was limbs, which makes good firewood, but too much stress for wood working projects, as even cut, stickered and properly dried it will curl, bend and twist on you.
Many types of wood especially if left for any length of time with the bark on, will get beetles in it that you do not want to keep in your house, furniture wood is generally dried down to around 8% percent moisture, then heated enough for a day to kill any eggs before using for interior use.
When cut green and not going to be milled right away, you need to seal the log ends, anchor seal is the proper sealant, but even cheap paint reduces the checking tremendously. The problem is the fresh cut ends will dry and shrink quicker in the first few inches causing it to check badly.
For future reference, if you want someone to mill lumber out of your tree, cut them at least 4 foot, and there is probably someone within a few miles of you that does custom milling with a bandmill.

[starmac]

I do not know about oak, but our spruce sawdust has to be composted before you can use it in a garden, I do not know the reason, but was told not to spread it fresh.

[DerekP Houston]

Several things here.
If I understand it, you have already cut it to lengths of 12 to 18 inches, if that is right it will have checked from both ends so virtually useless to make boards out of.
I know of no mill that would cut such short pieces anyway, 4 footers are a challenge on most mills, even hobby mills. It can be done but is labor intensive.
It is basically impossible to air dry wood in the round, especially with the bark on.
It sounds as if much of this was limbs, which makes good firewood, but too much stress for wood working projects, as even cut, stickered and properly dried it will curl, bend and twist on you.
Many types of wood especially if left for any length of time with the bark on, will get beetles in it that you do not want to keep in your house, furniture wood is generally dried down to around 8% percent moisture, then heated enough for a day to kill any eggs before using for interior use.
When cut green and not going to be milled right away, you need to seal the log ends, anchor seal is the proper sealant, but even cheap paint reduces the checking tremendously. The problem is the fresh cut ends will dry and shrink quicker in the first few inches causing it to check badly.
For future reference, if you want someone to mill lumber out of your tree, cut them at least 4 foot, and there is probably someone within a few miles of you that does custom milling with a bandmill.

Hmm well now I know at least! I'll just purchase some lumber for my uses. It was more for the 'sentimental' value of it being our first house I thought I'd make something with it. Obviously didn't know what I was getting myself into. oh well, still makes delicious bbq so I'll save it for that.

[jsizemore]

If it's 12-18" long, I'd split it and dimension it and make bird houses and feeders.

[MaryB]

Buy a new smoker then make her a nice dinner!

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Aged outside will beat you. NOT good. Rain and sun. Make wood stable and dry. I don't even trust wood stored in the barn. A rifle stock will sit in my basement for months before I work it.
Yeah you can make a table with rough sawn but it will split. There is a solution made from anti freeze that will stabilize green wood. Ethylene Glycol.

Ethylene glycol has been used for treating rot in wood, so it isn't impossible that it might have some beneficial effect in seasoning. But the main substance used for this is polyethylene glycol (PEG). The first time I saw the Tudor warship Mary Rose, she was under a non-stop spray of it. While ethylene glycol is used in its preparation, I believe its preparation is outwith the scope of the amateur.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_glycol

A very humid climate will indeed slow down seasoning, but won't prevent it, and may perhaps be an advantage. Wood is more likely to crack when the outside dries faster than the inside. In the days when oak was a vital war material they used to weight logs down underwater for much of their seasoning. Those were the days when Lord Nelson's Admiral Collingwood used to carry a pocketful of acorns when he was invited to country houses, and used to walk around planting them. They are probably about ready to fight the French by now.

[Wayne Smith]

You say your smoker rusted out? Did you keep the smoke chamber? I did, and turned it into a cool smoker with the AMAZIN smoker - google it. Uses sawdust and provides recipes as well. I like the smoked nuts.