Steve Wolfe wrote:

Oh, I'll worry about the sap alright - just handling the sections gets my
hands covered. I'm worried about it flipping in my face while I turn! : )

steve

If you don't crystalize the sap it'll ruin any oil based finishes you put on it
later. Well, maybe not danish oil, but any varnish type finishes anyway. I had
a pine burl that gave me fits that way. Never tried it, but I got some advice
on how to handle it (ran out of the pine before I could). Basically you need to
kiln dry it.

The flash point of wood is circa 1250 Degrees F. Most kiln drying for wood is
between 110 F and about 145 F. I'd get the moisture content down, then "cook"
it to crystalize the sap.

To get the wood dried out well (if it's not already, try a portable electric
heater in a partially enclosed space like an EMPTY!! closet or a metal cabinet.
All you need is about 90 F for a few weeks. It should be down to around 8% to
10% moisture content.

The rest is quoting from an email I got from a knowledgeble guy who will remain
nameless. Actually, a bunch of the above was too.

I disavow any responsibility if you try this and it goes awry. There. Now the
pesky lawyers should be happy.

The discussion was pertaining to a pine burl I had.

===========
Don't do this unless you are sure the MC is 12% or less!

Home recipe (without wife present):
1. Place burl in oven at VERY close to 165 degrees F for 24- 28 hours.
Interior of piece must get to 160 - 165. Don't go above
185, or you may get staining.
Place slab in throwaway cookie sheet to catch any ooze.
Use an oven thermometer to get the temp right; good oven
thermostat display/knobs are accurate +/- 20 degrees.
2. When done turn oven off and let it coast for six hours.
Leave the hot slab in the closed oven until it's at
least below body temp.
3. If you got cracking or other problems, the MC was too
high to start with.
4. Clean oven immediately with Dow oven cleaner if any ooze
go past the cookie tray. The burning ooze can flavor cooking
later on, which you may want or not. This step prevents
divorce proceedings.
I'm also assuming:
1. you've sliced the burls into slabs
2. you've air dried the stickered slabs in a heated (80 degrees
min) space for at least two weeks per inch of slab thickness.
3. you used a moisture meter to get the slab to 12% MC
4. slabs are not more than about 4-6" thick. Thicker means
longer at 165 to get to 160 internally. Thermal conductivity
in wood is low.
This is what commercial lumber companies all are supposed to do.
You can still buy commercial D select sappy pine - means they don't
follow standards.
===========

So there you have it. Good luck. Let us know how you get on. And if your wife
catches you, you've never heard of me...

....Kevin
--
Kevin & Theresa Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb