Can I save this slab??

[leonv]

Hey guys,

Still learning about & working with wood.

I can pick up this trunk/slab fairly cheap but it's centre has been eaten by bugs, I can force a screw driver right thru at one point, and has extensive cracking.

What do you think? Worth a risk, cut out the centre and replace with another piece of wood?

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[Wood Collector]

just from looking at the photos i would say that as soon you start to smooth the slab out you will find borer holes in other parts of it but i could be wrong in thinking this.

[Scott]

What do you think? Worth a risk, cut out the centre and replace with another piece of wood?

No, not really worth doing anything with. With the extensive checking (cracking) all over the piece, it'll eventually fall apart or the checking will get worse.

[BobL]

Firstly it's not really a slab, a term usually used for cuts parallel to the grain, but what the Yanks call a "cookie".

Cookies are almost impossible to dry without cracking. To do this you need to cut a couple of dozen and immediately put them under water, or in a covered pit full of wet sawdust", for 12 months and then dry them very slowly in a cool dry place. Even then you will find most will crack badly and others less so. The chances of getting no cracks are very small.

The other way is to find a dry dense crack free log an cut some cookies out of that. Even these can still crack so they need to be stored covered in a cool dry place.

The photo's also show too much what the yanks call "pukey" wood as you say in the centre but also in the sapwood. This has undergone or is undergoing fungal decay. Even if sealed it will eventually will crumble and fray. Stabilising this is sometimes possible by soaking/injecting epoxy into this wood but in the case of your cookie I would say it's not worth it.

[dai sensei]

What do you want to save it for?

For a small table, yes, fill the cracks etc with casting resin after sealing reverse side with hot melt glue, then flip and remove glue and cast again. Then sand/finish as normal.

For wood turning, again it depends what for. You could make a big bowl by filling cracks with epoxy, t help hold it together. You could cut it down to smaller pieces for turning, even pen blanks etc..

For furniture, apart from slab table, nup.

Good luck with it.

[leonv]

Thanks for the replies! I was thinking a small table, but looks like too much work at the moment. I think I'll leave it. Cheers!!