# drying hickory



## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

I'm having hickory cut into 2 1/2 in slabs.Would stacking and drying these be any different than 5/4 oak or maple.Will it move alot?Should I let it air dry or put it right in the kiln?I plan on making a butcher block counter top and work bench from it and never worked with hickory before. Thanks, Rick


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

What kind of hickory? 

The only hickory I have worked with is Pecan. It likes to move A LOT. Consider qtr sawing it and weighing it down as much as you can. It is prone to sticker stain if the stickers are of a different MC% than the wood. The faster you dry it the better. Bugs love the wood and especially the sap. 

Hickory is beautiful. I have heard that shagbark hickory has a dark heartwood and light sapwood compared to other hickories. 

About drying 10/4 flitches in a kiln, I have never dried anything that thick except turning blocks, and since they are as short as they are, that's a different ballgame than what you're aiming for. Daren may have experience with stuff that thick. If you're planning on drying them in a the DH kiln you're gonna build (or have built) i doubt you can ruin them, but do not know how long something that thick would take. 

I cut my Pecan logs on 5/4 for the most part, and when I see good crotch figure which is usually, I cut some 3" thick flitches too. 5/4 because most will warp and twist a lot, and 3" because most will war and twist a lot. 

I don't know how relevant my Pecan experience is to one of the four true hickories, but I would guess pretty close. the 4 true hickories and the 4 Pecan hickories are two seperate species, but in the same genus. I think I have that right.


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

Make sure the ends are sealed REAL good. For some reason the hickory I have dried liked to check real bad on the endswhen not sealed good, almost to the point of splitting the board in two.


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

T.T.,I don't know for sure which hickory it is,I do it isn't pecan,shag bark or pignut.The wood is very light almost all the way through.Logs are +-24in.I do have a dh kiln.Pecan sure is perty wood tho.Jeffrey three,I did seal the ends .If the board splits I shouldn't have to rip it riiightThanks Rick


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

If you're sure it isn't one of those then it has to be Mockernut or Shellbark Hickory. Bitternut Hickory is the most common species of hickory especially in your area but it is a Pecan Hickory and you're sure it isn't Pecan. The book says that Shellbark Hickory has the largest nuts. Did you get to see any?

If it's important to you (it is to us because inquiring minds *haff *to know!) send me an end grain shaving about 1/8" thick and I'll put the loupe to it and try to determine which exact species you have.


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

T.T.,You're right, bitter nut and pig nut are common here.Fortunately I got this from a couple hundred miles north east from here.The nuts around this tree were larger than I see down here.Aren't pecan nuts all oblong?Never heard of mockernut,That doesn't mean anything though.Could be shellbark.I'll send a chunk when it gets cut. Thanks again,  Rick


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Rick C. said:


> Aren't pecan nuts all oblong?


Not all of them. We have 2 species down here that are more orbish than 
oblong. But they are both small nuts.

Mockernut








Mockernut










Bitternut










Shellbark











Rick C. said:


> I'll send a chunk when it gets cut.


You don't have to wait to get it cut. I just need a very small end grain sample. You can use a utility razor or something razor sharp and slice off a shaving of at least a square inch or two and that's all I need. Something you could slip into an envelope even. I have collected hundreds of different species. I have samples of all the hickories and pecan hickories. Then I look at your sample through a 16x loupe and compare it to my samples. It's harder than it sounds to identify wood this way but I'm getting better at it, and I could use the practice. My wife is better at it than me but I always try first. If I can't decide i hand it over to her and between us we usually "crack the case". Elementary my dear Watson.


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

T.T.,Once again I learn something every day.Never heard of this,too cool.I'll get a slice to you asap.Is a little end wax on it ok?By the way do you have any sealer yet? When you get some let us know!!!I'm thinking shellbark by the pics of nuts.Thanks, Rick


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Rick, no wax! I won't be able to see the grain. Or I should say Mrs. TT won't be able to see the grain pattern. haha. 

Man I have to confess You wax is still sitting here. I totally forgot about it. It is boxed up though so it'll go out tomorrow. I'll print your label right this minute . . . . . . .


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

T.T.,do you just want a piece off the side of the trunk,will a slice from where a limb was work?I wasn't sweatin the wax I wanted to know about gallon or so.No rush I'm covered for right now.Did you start this method of id.on your own?Do you use your own pics or a book.The mrs. and I have started a file of different woods w/ different stains to help people choose what they want.Being able to tell what kind of tree their piece came from may intrest some.Thanks,Rick


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Rick, 

No I am not smart enough to have come up with this. :blink:

End grain I.D. has been around a while. The wood cells of end grain all form different characteristics in each specie. It's like a fingerprint, no two species are alike. It is very difficult to become adept at.

What makes it easier is having a pretty good idea what the specie may be, such as in our case. Using bark, leaves, and other such info can help a great deal, but you don't always have a leaf, or a fruit, etc. 

The sample is easiest collected from the end of the log. Whatever the method you use to get it, the sample must have, or must be able to produce, a "slice" of end grain, like a piece of glass. Not as in the end grain fibers were "torn" apart as with a chainsaw cut.

You don't have to worry about collecting it so finicky though. Just get me a thin chunk and I can extract a shaving that'll have cleanly sliced cells. 

I do use photos from various university websites etc. when i do not have an actual piece of sample wood. Over the past 3ish years we have purchased wood sample kits from various sources which are assembled for this very purpose. Of course we have also made our own from our on local species and also wood we have traded for. 

Rick, you should get your hands on a book called Understanding Wood, by Bruce Hoadley. Make sure it's the latest edition I believe there are two. Mine says volume II. We use his Wood Identification book as part of our I.D. library, but everyone who is first becoming interested in using wood at any level or phase of processing, will benefit greatly from reading it, and going back to it again and again for reference. 

It will open your eyes to the complexities of understanding the biology of trees, and how and why wood acts and reacts the way it does. If you can also get his Wodd Identification book do so, but if the budget is only set for one right now, get Understanding Wood first. 

I can gather a list of sources for you where you can purchase end grain samples whenver you get to that point. Warning: it is not cheap nor easy.


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