Alder wood - worth keeping?

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A client needs a couple of Alder trees taken down next to an extension I've designed.

They are around 20m high and up to half a meter in diameter. He's keen on burning the felled wood in his new log burner, but is it worth me grabbing a few bits to dry out for guitar bodies?
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Comments

  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    Yes. Cut them into thick planks with a chain saw. I cut mine between 2” and 3” thick. Rule of thumb is that wood dries at one year per inch of thickness. It also warps and cracks, especially if it dries too quickly or unevenly, particularly through the end grain. So paint the end grain with something which stops it drying. I use several coats of old paint.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Store in a ventilated, covered outside space once cut? 
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    @Roland is there a preference for which part of the tree is better, low down or up high?
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    edited September 2018
    Use the trunk of the tree, away from the root, and from any branches because it is less likely to warp or crack as it dries. Store in an unheated area where there is airflow. It’s normal to separate the planks with 1” runners to allow air in between. If outside it has to be off the ground, and protected from the rain. 

    You can the white ends of the planks in my seasoning pile in the background of this picture:



    The smaller sections are in the roof of my unheated workshop.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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