macadamia

[gater]

I am trying to make coasters out of macadamia. I cut them and sand them flat and seal them with oil. They all split.

I am cutting them with a band saw about 3/8" thick.

Any help with this problem would awesome. The grain is so beautiful, but it sure does provide a nice path for the wood to split.

[RufflyRustic]

hi gator,

when you cut the slices, is the timber still green? One problem with slices is that yes, they will go and split. Is there any way you could cut them and then glue back together?

Another option is to slice or cut the timber, rack it with weights and let it stabilise for while.

are you oiling both sides of the coaster?
cheers
Wendy

[gater]

The wood is green. It has now been drying for about three months. After the wood was cut and sanded to size, I dropped it into a bucket of oil. The oil was thined out with denatured alcohol. I let the pieces soak for about a week. But they still split.

I will try cutting them and gluing them back together. I will also try putting some weight on them.

How long should it take to dry out the wood. The wood pieces are 4-5" in diameter and cut into 6-7" length.

Thank you for you suggestions
Jeff