new billets

[Pat B.]

A friend runs a dozer for a living and I told him to be on the lookout for osage trees..  He says they're few and far between in this area, I knew that !!  But about a month ago he called and had a small one spotted that was coming down and asked if I wanted it, I did .

The tree didn't have any stave length material in it, to my uneducated eye.. But it did have some billet length stuff.  I got 1/2 a dozen billets that look pretty clean, knot free and straight for the most part..  Even at billet length the best I could do was 36-38".

I have these billets split into appx. 2x2x 36" pieces. I have removed the bark and sap and chased them down to what looks like the best ring.. I've "painted" the back and ends with white glue..

Should I just put them away for a year or is there anything else I should or could do to move forward with these billets ??

Any info would be appreciated..
                                                                     The other Pat B.
                                                                                               Pat Byrne

[Pat B]

Pat, you could take the billets down to floor tiller stage and strap them to a form until they dry. I wouldn't try to splice them yet because the wood will shrink as it dries.

[Eric Krewson]

When I want to rush billets into a spliced stave I cut the splices but don't do a glue-up until my moisture meter says the wood is dry. The thin fingers of a splice dry in a couple weeks in my shop or a couple of days in my hot box.