cleats from osage orange

[Hugh M.]

I was able to get a cord or so of osage orange 9(also called ironwood?) that was already cut into rounds. Soemone cut down a mature street tree.
I read that the wood is good for cleats because it is hard and has "low shrinkage."
I split out a few "planks", about 18 inches long and roughly 3" X 6" - but some are not square. I tried to get the best looking grain and split them so they are quarter sawn.
They are now in my crawlspace to dry. Any idea how long it will take? Other suggestions?
Thanks!

[Bruce Hooke]

1. Paint the ends with something that will stop water from migrating out the ends of the boards. Do this right away if at all possible. The longer you wait the more you will have to cut off the ends to get rid of the checks that will form as the ends of the boards dry faster than the middle. Ideally I try to paint the ends within a few hours of when they are cut.

2. Weight either a few typical pieces, or all of the pieces if there are not that many and write down the weights. Repeat this every few months and when the weight stops dropping then they are as dry as they are going to get in the current location. Use a scale that will show, at a minimum, a 5% change in the weight of the board, and more accuracy would be better. For smallish boards a 25 lb scale is about right and such scales are not that expensive. For bigger boards a scale designed to weigh people can work.

3. Watch the boards for any signs of mold growth. If you see mold growth then move the boards to someplace with better air circulation. If you see cracks developing then cut down on the air circulation.

4. 3" thick boards are likely to take 2-3 years to dry fully.

[Hugh M.]

Thanks for the info, Bruce. 2-3 years? Even if they are only 18 inches long? My firewood dries outside in less than a year.

[paladin]

ya got the hardest wood available in north america...and it ain't cheeep...use it fer good projects..

[George Roberts]

Hugh M. ---

1 year per inch of thickness is the usual dry time for non-boat purposes. I expect 2 years might be long enough.

I hope your crawl space is dry and warm. Otherwise it may take longer.

[Bruce Hooke]

Originally posted by Hugh M.:
Thanks for the info, Bruce. 2-3 years? Even if they are only 18 inches long? My firewood dries outside in less than a year.The key is that if you let the wood dry via the ends it will dry very quickly, as you firewood does, but it will likely be so full of checks that it will only be good for firewood. That is why you need to paint the ends ASAP to keep it from checking. Having done that the drying process becomes much more uniform, but also a lot slower. You can speed the process along a bit by careful management. As the wood gets drier move it into warmer and drier locations, but try to keep it out of direct sun and definitely keep it out of direct rain.

For cleats it also may not be so critical to get the wood completely dry because if the wood continues to move a bit after the cleats are done it should not be a big deal.

Another option would be to rough shape the cleats now and coat the wood in paste wax and then let them dry until they stop loosing weight, and then do the final work of shaping the cleats. This way you can reduce the thickness of the wood and thus speed the drying process. I've done this with bowls on the lathe, but I don't see any reason why it would not work with other types of projects.

I should note that all of my advice on this topic is based on my general experience with drying wood. As far as I know there is nothing particular about Osage Orange that would change this, but there could be.

The drying time I listed is definitely VERY approximate because some woods dry faster than others and location also makes a big difference. In damp climates wood dries slower but checking is less of an issue. In dry climates the problem is to slow down the drying enough to prevent checking.

[bugeye]

Hi,
If its cleats that you want to make out of it, why do you need dry stock? I was in the building crew of Sultana, and we used ALOT of osage. It shirinks very little, and is really, really hard when its dry. Use it green whenever you can get away with it. We framed sultana out of fairly green osage, and it moved very little in drying. Enjoy your windfall.

[Donn]

Originally posted by paladin:
ya got the hardest wood available in north america...and it ain't cheeep...use it fer good projects..Y'all got me confused. In my mind, Ironwood is Hop-Hornbeam, AKA Ostrya virginiana, a Birch, and it's the hardest wood in North America.

Osage Orange, AKA Maclura pomifera, or Hedgeapple, is a Mulberry. Bugeye is right about working it green. I have pieces I carved green, many years ago, and they've hardly shrunk or checked at all. If your wood is Osage Orange, I'd cut the cleats, at least roughly, while green.

[ssor]

There are many minor wood species that are exceptional in their characteristics, shad bush comes to mind, osage Orange was once used as shafts on golf clubs as was hickory. But there many varities of hickory. I have never seen hop hornbeam large enough for framing a boat and you will be hard pressed to find wood more durable than osage orange. As for it being of the mulberry family, red mulberry is also listed as hard, durable and very strong. Use what you can find.

[paladin]

DONN..PERHAPS i MISSPOKE...I meant to say the most rot resistant......A 60 plus year old fence put up by my grandpappy is still standing...I used it for cleats and blocks primarily..