How to Season a Green Birch Stump

A preparation for a graft will make you save time and achieve a bigger tree. What temperatures you have there now? Is on the root stomp still a little bit of bast? Check for Birch grafting. I have seen people do grafts with high trees.

My friend was planning to carve a bird feeder out of the top of the stump, which is about four feet high and maybe a foot or foot and a half in diameter. It's fully rooted in the ground and the bark is on it, undamaged.

The temperature this week is around 13 or 14 degrees in the daytime and 5-10 C at night, but that won't last for long. Temps will drop to freezing at night in November.

The roots may still be alive. If so, the tree may re-sprout next spring, sending out new branches from the base. Your friend ought to remove the bark down as low on the tree as possible to ensure that the section below the carving remains free of branches, and to be sure that insects don't burrow under the bark to nest and/or chew the wood.

The sap you can use for sweet syrup. Once he cuts the stomp straight and nails the bottom of his feeder flat on top, the tree stomp will stop producing new sprouts on that spot. Probably next spring, you will get some new side- sprouts, that you can cut away. I think carving a bird feeder will be pretty unpractical to clean and with a pan in it, will cause the top to start dry rot.

A friend of mine makes some extra money doing 'Chainsaw Sculptures', and I have watched him do it many many times.

He has been commissioned to do sculptures in the stumps of damaged trees, and he has a technique for split prevention: He paints them with anti-freeze.

I am not kidding you, plain old automobile anti-freeze. Two or three heavy coatings. And, it does seem to minimize (at least reduce) the cracks.

I have no idea why it works, but it seems to. Can anyone substantiate or rebuke this? I guess I would be curious why it works.

Very interesting! I've never heard of this.

Nothing dries firewood so fast as cold windy weather. The ends of the logs become cracked and then you know they are dry enough to burn. It makes sense that the antifreeze would keep the wood from drying out too quickly, thus preventing the cracks from forming. That seems to be the basic principle behind other sealing techniques, that it slows the rate of moisture loss.

regarding anti-freeze or ethylene-glycol i think - i have used it quite a bit now and again in preventing rot from spreading in wood after you have cleaned out all the rot in a wooden plank or rib in a boat and think you have stopped it - well probably you haven't stopped it yet and you need to paint the area with antifreeze 3 or 4 times - letting it soak in each time. then coat it with glue or finish as is fit. antifreeze has really good penetrating properties and you shouldn't dip your skin in it at all. it penetrates wood or fiberglass quite well and will inhibit the spread of micro-organisims wherever to spreads to.

Typical antifreeze is Ethylene Glycol,which is hydroscopic(has an affinity for water)and will prevent rapid drying of the wood,but there are some environmental concerns.Propylene glycol is a better solution, and is not harmful to the environment.Look for it where antifreeze is sold,it should state ingredients on label.It is primarily used for anti freeze in campers,etc.

Apply several coats, and allow to soak in, especially the end grain.Cover with plastic to prevent rapid air drying.

Propylene glycol is used in restoring artifacts that have been submerged,as it eventually replaces the water over time, and is very stable.

Good luck.

When a log is seasoned, (dries out) this creates stress in the wood, resulting in cracks.

Sawmill operators when logs are brought to the mill and they can't saw them into lumber right away. they have sprinkler systems to keep the logs moist, so they will not dry out too much on the ends.

If they do dry out, depending on the variety of wood this can create so much stress in the log, it can raise quite a bit of havoc and difficulties when sawing.

p911

the stump may still be alive which is why it is still full of sap. give it time and it may come back.

Thanks - these are all good answers. As it turned out, my friend decided to go with Rorschach's advice, to wait over winter and see if the tree sprouts again. There is so much sap flowing out of it right now, it seems to be making its own seal and may be strong enough to regrow.