Taking off the bark

5/12/05, 1:32 AM #1

Ed Kelle
Guest

Taking off the bark

Ed Kelle

>Spent the past 2 days cutting up some black cherry logs. They were not big enough to really consider flattening the outsides before splitting down the pith, so I just halved them. The end grain has been sealed and I have just stored them down in my basement shop. Well tonight I started thinking that I do not want any unwanted guests in my shop or house so I started stripping off some of that rough bark. Just the major nooks and crannies which might have who knows what living in there. It's about 30 half logs, so it will be a while for me to work thru them all.

So does this sound like a reasonable thing to do or am I just being a bit paranoid? I"m thinking that bark might be harder on bandsaw blades as well as turning tools. And I was never too crazy about all the dust from turning off the bark either.

Re: Taking off the bark

5/12/05, 11:44 AM #2

Mike Schwing from Md.
Guest

Re: Taking off the bark

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Bark has more nasty stuff in it for sure - both dirt/dust/debris as well as bugs. But it also makes an excellent moisture barrier that helps keep the water in the log, and if you are removing it you can expect to see cracks form sooner than if you had left it on.

Paranoid? Dunno, but I do sometimes worry that I might be bringing termites into my home, as I work a lot with wood thats been sitting outside for a while, either dead in whole tree form or in cut logs.

Re: Taking off the bark

5/12/05, 1:24 PM #3

Ed Kelle
Guest

Re: Taking off the bark

Ed Kelle

>Yes I was also thinking of termites and such. The tree had been eaten away in the middle which is why a big part of it fell on its own. However with this in mind, I did not take anything that showed signs of any boring. I brought in a log last year that later hatched some very BIG boring beetles. Somehow one found its way under my shirt. Not a cool experinece. I'm not totaly stripping off the bark, just the outside large crevices, so we will see if cracks develop. I think I till leave the rest alone and see if there is a difference. Probably turn the debarked ones first.

Taking off the bark

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