Official Luthiers Forum!

We have a fairly good sized Holly tree that needs to come down.
In the past I have had wildly varying results trying to keep blue stain out of the white wood.
So here we are in winter now, and it seems the best time to cut the tree.
Any experienced "vets" here that can suggest sure-fire methods?
Cut into planks immediately?
Put in oven?
Spray with bleach?

TIA,

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Have only seasoned one batch of holly abt 27 yrs ago in the humid BC environment, it went wonky on me , and turned blue , as I didn/t have a clue as to what to do then.I/m guessing that by cutting it up right away to your target thickness say 1in and stickering it in a dry space with a lot of air around the wood e.g leaving it on edge and sealing the end grain, you might check wood net forum were a lot of folks mill, process, and dry their own wood.

Thanks for the help, and the PM's guys.
I'll try to do this one right.

And...happy new year to all!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

The quicker you can cut it up and dry it, the better. I have heard that a vacuum kiln is the preferred method for holly.
It does shrink a lot, so expect some warpage and cut it accordingly.
In spruce, the rule of thumb is 12% MC or less to prevent blue staining. The higher the temperature, the faster it grows....the tipping point is around 60 degrees F.

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John

So John, are you saying to keep it cool while drying? That the blue stain takes greater strides at 60 degrees and up?

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com