treatment for a dead tree wood

[evan]

Hi

I get a dead tree wood after typhoon, what kind of wood is it ?
the center is hard, light color but the skin looks wet.

14cm diameter, 50 cm long

I would like to do some scuplture on it.
what kind of treatment need to work on it ? wood preservation ?

how to prevent it rot ? as it will twist and crack......
should I soak it with chemical ?

I believe that it have alot of water inside( 40% water as it is a fresh wood) destroy by typhoon.....
, someone tell me use microwave,
but I do not have one, is there any other way to dry it?


or let it air dry for 6 months? skin peel it ?


pls comment

[Claude]

Welcome to the forums! The general rule to dry wood is to leave the bark on, coat both ends of the log with old paint, wax, varnish, or even white glue. The coating on the ends will slow down the loss of moisture and will help prevent checking (cracking). It should be stored outside, in the shade, in a place protected from rain. It usually takes 1 year of drying for each 2.5cm of thickness.

You could carve it green, but it would depend on the wood type as to how much or little it will crack as it dries.

[mpounders]

You might also remove the bark, to prevent insects from harming the wood. And you might weigh the piece, the better to judge how much it dries out as time passes. After the weight remains unchanged for a month or two, you might assume that is has lost all the moisture it can. But Claude is correct that you allow about a year per inch. You can use Pentacryl or other stabilizers that can help reduce cracking, but generally it may just be something you have to live with. You can slice it up in blocks to reduce drying time and cracks. I carve kiln dried wood usually, to avoid those issues.

[woodburner807]

If you have a sawmill in the area, they might be able to kiln dry it?