Stock blank question

[jafo20]

Hello,

A freind has a few canyon maple trees on his property and he said i can cut some of the large sections off the trees. My question is how long will it take to dry a blank till it can be worked? I will be drying it in my garage wich stays at about 30% or less humidity. Also does anyone know of a link for info on blank measurements. Any tips on cutting your own blanks would be helpful.

Thanks

[Dave B]

I believe that the rate for drying a stock is one year for every inch of plank thickness. So a three inch blank is going to sit for three years before you ready to do something with it. Make sure to seal the ends of the wood against too quick a drying that causes checks in the ends. I have used laytex paint others use wax.

[billd]

What's a canyon maple?

Bill

[Flinter]

Canyon Maple - Acer grandidentatum

Canyon maple is a native of moist, mountainous sites from southeastern Idaho, throughout Utah, western Colorado, portions of Arizona and New Mexico, and scattered locations in northern Mexico, southwestern Texas, and western Oklahoma. It is especially common in Utah's Wasatch mountains, where it grows at elevations from 4,500 to 7,500 feet. It tends to grow on lower slopes and canyon bottoms in the mountains in association with Douglas-fir and junipers, but below aspen and subalpine fir.

This is a western Maple, and the Sugar Maple is an eastern Maple. I don't know about the hardness of the Canyon Maple, but I know it is used for floor wood.

Sorry that I cannot help you in the drying or cutting.