DaveH
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Sawing and seasoning
Dear all
I have been wanting to start and oudmaking project for some time, partly inspired by others on this forum. It's not going to happen immediately, but
in the mean time I have to do some clearing and pruning and am going to end up with some potentially useful logs. I'll have some nice straight
sections of ash (a nice, straight trunk tapering from ca 18-12" diameter), cherry and plum (large branches around 6"). I'm planning on cutting the ash
into 1m lengths as it's the only way I'll be able to move it. The other sections are more portable. I figure if I plank it and lay it down for 5 years
I'll be ready to start on my first or second oud. I particularly like the idea of using plumwood.
I have a sawmill nearby which can plank it for me. I have a few questions though:
- Can anyone give me an idea of how I should tell them to do this? I presume I need it quartersawn, but how thick should the planks be? If i
eventually cut rib fillets from this wood, am I going to cut these along the plank section (ie radially with respect to the original log section) or
across the plank section (ie tangentially)?
- Then, how should I store it (spacing, binding etc) to get the best chance of good quality wood at the end?
- Any other tips and big dos and don'ts?
Many thanks
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jdowning
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You will likely find a great deal of detailed information in woodworking forums on-line about how to cut and season wood. As a woodlot owner and with
no mechanical skidders (or horses) to transport heavy logs from the bush, I resorted to using a portable chainsaw mill to slab cut the freshly felled
trees into boards about 8 ft long that I could readily handle and transport. (if you do not own you might be able to rent a mill for the day or employ
the owner of a portable bandsaw mill to slab cut the logs if there is good access). It is quite strenuous work when operating single handed but I
could easily cut around 600 board feet a day by this method). I cut Ash into 1.5 to 2 inch thick boards and Elm up to 2.5 inch thick (Elm will warp
and twist badly during seasoning if cut too thin). Cutting any wood too thin (or too short) prior to seasoning should be avoided to minimise losses.
With thick, slab cut, boards you will always have the option, after seasoning, of either cutting oud ribs slab cut, quarter sawn or in between,
depending on the grain figuring you want to expose (as the rib blanks are thin and narrow, quarter sawn ribs can be cut from areas of slab sawn boards
- sketch to follow to show what I mean).
The cut ends of the boards - particularly for species like Ash - should be coated with paint, wax or paper glued in place to minimise too rapid drying
leading to end checks or splitting (another reason not to cut boards too short). Small diameter logs should be cut in half and end coated for
seasoning. All boards should be stacked on a level foundation clear of the ground, 'stickered' with thin wooden strips to allow air circulation and
covered with a 'roof' to protect the stack from the elements. Rule of thumb for air drying in this manner is about a year per inch of board thickness.
Kiln drying is a much quicker alternative.
To cut rib blanks you should invest in a bandsaw for the re-saw operation and do-it-yourself.
Rarely, Ash trees grow with a dramatic quilted or fiddleback figure and the wood is hard due to the twisted grain (the type used by early lute makers
in Europe) otherwise it is usually rather plain and fairly soft. If you are very lucky, your ash tree may be figured and should be cut accordingly.
Plum is supposed to be a good wood for pegs and bridges as it is close grained and quite stable when seasoned.
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jdowning
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This sketch shows how to cut full or partially quarter sawn ribs from a thick, slab cut board. Rib blanks cut from a fully seasoned air dried board
will require a further period of drying so should be stickered, weighed down (or clamped in a drying frame) and left to dry slowly indoors. The drying
process will be relatively quicker due to the thinness of the rib blanks.
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patheslip
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Ash seasons quite quickly as long as it's an ordinary straight grained sample. Here in the West Midlands it'll do nearer two inches a year from both
sides if the air can get to it. You won't have to wait five years to start. Fruit wood is much slower and could be less than an inch a year.
jdowning has it right about the length of slabs as well as lots of other things; don't cut them too short as the ends tend to dry out far too fast.
It's always easier to cut a bit off than glue a bit on.
Good luck with the project.
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DaveH
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Many thanks for the helpful diagram, John, that's exactly what I was after. Trees are coming down today and I've found someone with a portable
circular saw rig, so i'll leave it in longer sections (Good point there Patheslip 
). So with the Ash, according to Patheslip's experience I'll go for 2 inch planks and it sounds like it might be useable inside 3 years. I have space
in the garage, so it should have pretty good conditions.
Thanks again both. I'll be asking questions again when it comes to resawing.
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DaveH
Oud Junkie
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PS, I like the idea of using ash for a plain and simple look. Still, if it happens to be figured as John mentions, that would be a bonus. Sunday
evening I was at a lute consort concert by a group called cordophony, which is run by my sometime lute teacher, Lynda Sayce. They have five lutes,
four playing at any one time, ranging from a bass with a string length of 89cm to a very small soprano, all made as a set by Ivo Magherini (spp?) in
Bremen. I think the bowls are in sycamore, but they really look nice - plain but with a nice warm light brown colour. The sound is fantastic by the
way, and I'd recommend to anyone to catch them or their recording.
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jdowning
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It goes without saying DaveH that unless you have the necessary tools, equipment, resources and quantity market outlet - it is likely not an economic
proposition to process your own instrument wood from living tree to final product. If you are only planning to make one or two ouds, as an amateur,
you will be better off, in every way, by purchasing your requirements directly from an established luthier supplier.
I commend your efforts to start from the living tree, (as a fellow enthusiast with a love of wood who has done just what you are planning). So, I wish
you the best of luck in your endeavours. After all, financial profit is by no means everything in this world. Although, if you are not careful, you
might well end up, like me, with a stock of wood that you may ever be able to use in your lifetime!
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DaveH
Oud Junkie
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Thanks for your encouragement John. As you say, if economics was a consideration, I'd be better off forgetting it. When it comes to actually making an
instrument, I'm going to have to significantly upgrade my currently very limited workshop and toolrack. The ash trees were planted by my late father,
also an amateur woodworker, and the plum is probably over 50 years old and predates our residence here, so there's a degree of sentimental value to
the project. I like the idea of avoiding tropical hardwood and just buying blanks from a luthier supplier, and you can't get much more local than
grown here, down on the farm. Ash is a beautiful timber in furniture and I've seen it used in some guitars. I don't see why it shouldn't make a great
oud - it's strong, reasonably light and easy to work. At least given my limited woodworking skills and complete novice status as a luthier, the wood,
if properly seasoned, is unlikely to be the limiting factor in end quality.
This will be a long one, but I'll keep you posted!
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jdowning
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Good points DaveH.
Knowing the history of your wood is another valid reason for a do-it-yourself approach to processing timber - each piece of timber having its tale to
tell in the future. I can pretty well remember where each piece of wood came from that I have in stock - and the time and trouble taken to obtain it.
Any sentimental association with the wood is also important. I have a stock of pear wood peg and bridge blanks processed from a small diameter tree
given to me by a friend in Oxford who is, sadly, long deceased. Putting the wood to good use in future instruments will be a fitting memorial.
"By the woodsman's cruel axe I was felled - in death I sweetly sing" inscription by 16th C luthier (?)
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jdowning
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My memory has failed me over time! A nice epitaph for wood, the full verse is:-
I was alive in the forest
I was cut by the cruel axe
In life I was silent
In death I sweetly sing.
(said to have been originally found written, engraved, carved, scrawled in pencil inside a 15 C lute/16th C lute/Elizabethan lute/ Brescian violin -
take your pick!)
Popular today among guitar makers who like to write the verse inside their instruments.
Sorry for the diversion.
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DaveH
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 12-23-2005
Location: Birmingham, UK
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Indeed, or even:
Listen to the story told by the reed
of being separated.
'Since I was cut from the reedbed,
I have made this crying sound.'
Rumi
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