drying briar??

sagiter · Post by **sagiter** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 3:40 pm

I would have given up allot to have had access to a PC and be on-line when my wife was in labor. Good for you Todd !!

Neil

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 3:48 pm

I remember with our first child, running to one of the nearby OSU libraries and posting the birth of our child the the world.

Anyone want to take bets on the sex of the child?

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 3:53 pm

I say it's going to be a little Todd Jr.

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 5:39 pm

First child, huh?

There go Todd's indoor smoking rights!!

HAHA...

from :pipe: to

to

(whenever his baby looks at him)

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:47 am

bscofield wrote:First child, huh?

There go Todd's indoor smoking rights!!

Tell me about it! I smoked like a chimney in front of my computer until my first daughter was born.

Congrats, Todd! Hope you've stored up on sleep.

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:57 pm

jeff wrote:
ToddJohnson wrote:
My wife is presently in labor.

Todd
Todd,

I would like to speak on behalf of myself and the rest of us here at the forums. We admire your uncompromised devotion to the pipemaking community. Even with your wife in labor with your first child you have the courage to stand for what is right, step towards that personal computer, and post your aid. My hat is off to you sir.

Jeff

P.S. What he hell are you doing posting with your wife in labor?!

P.P.S. I hope all goes well.

Well, labor is a long process, and the majority of it takes place at home. Some women have a tendency to "nest" just as labor hits, and that's what Rachel was doing. She was dusting and I was doing business. I took a break to post some nonsense about briar drying, that's all

I've posted a little baby announcement in another thread. In short, baby and mom are healthy, and Cooper is perfect!

Todd

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:21 pm

Come on Todd! You're supposed to be by her side, dusting, cleaning, performing unnecessary repairs, and providing constant support and companionship.

I'm glad that all is well. Congratulations!

Jeff

P.S. It's a shame that your son is going to be a barrel maker instead of a pipemaker. But, I'm sure he'll follow the grain and be attentive to all the details.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 8:18 pm

LOL, Jeff!!

Rad

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:11 am

jeff wrote:Come on Todd! You're supposed to be by her side, dusting, cleaning, performing unnecessary repairs, and providing constant support and companionship.

That was fine for the first 12 hrs. Then she aksed "How's our bank account lookin'?" So I went and sent some e-mails to a few doctor and lawyer types

Todd

Post by **Tyler** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:39 pm

Brendhain wrote: Did a little research on the aging process of wood, i.e. what happens to wood as it gets older, not how to determine the age of wood (tried to preempt the smart remarks but I am sure I will get some anyway). There are complex chemical compounds in wood that remain in the wood after it has died (beyond just the sap and resins). Most come out with boiling but all of these compounds cannot all be boiled out unless the blocks were to be boiled for weeks or months. These chemicals are acidic, hence the “sour” taste in improperly boiled blocks.

The process of drying breaks down these compounds. Plus, as time goes by, these compounds deteriorate naturally into more basic compounds with different characteristics then the original complex chemicals (like carbon 14 breaks down with time). The more time that goes by, the more of these compounds would be broken down. Hence, the “sour” taste is diminished as the wood gets older. Anyone who knows much about the aging processes of wine and/or the lagering process in beer will have a good idea as to what is going on. The heating and cooling, while smoking, also breaks these compounds down but in a different way to aging.

Now, I realize that I have just affirmed what half of you have experienced and offended half of your sensibilities. For those of you whom I have offended please realize that they didn’t believe chemistry really mattered in wine (because wine making is an art!!) until UC Davis came out with its studies and now nearly the entire wine making world has become scientist. At the same time, as Todd pointed out earlier, there is only a subtle difference between a well boiled reasonably aged block and a 40 year-old well boiled block…but there is a difference. This difference, I believe, is that last bit of complex compounds have been allowed to break down in the wood through the aging process.

This does not surprise me at all, and it certainly doesn't offend.

I will say this though, if the break down you speak of is anything like the breakdown of C14, then I stand firmly on my position that aging matters little unless we are talking 10's of thousands of years. 60 years would be a drop in the bucket for C14!

I look forward to doing a little experimenting of my own though.

Tyler

Post by **Tyler** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:41 pm

ToddJohnson wrote:
Tyler wrote:Who? What?

Moderator?!

I was sitting out by the mail box waiting for my 60+ years old test samples.

Tyler (who came in for coffe and is heading back out to the mailbox.)
My wife is presently in labor. If it's especially protracted I may be able to get them off to you tomorrow. Otherwise, early next week. BTW, at least you have weather conducive of waiting by the mailbox in January. It is currently 4 here.

Todd

You mean you are serious? Well...cool!

Tyler (who is really going to the mailbox this time...its about 65 F out.)

Brendhain · Post by **Brendhain** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 5:28 pm

Tyler

if the break down...is anything like the breakdown of C14

The carbon 14 example is an example of which most people are familiar whereby all of the material does not break down at the same time. Instead, some remain fine while other parts have already broken down.

So, it is somewhat like C14!

Luckily, the time scale is greatly accelerated.

Butch_Y · Post by **Butch_Y** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:00 am

This thread was great. I know its been awhile since anyone had posted but I thought this went along well with my practice burls.

Aged wood does not necessarily mean how long it has sat on a shelf curing. It simply means how long it has grown in the ground. Another question then how can you tell how old it really is? Briar grows incredibly slow. Only millimeters per year. The size of the burl will give you an approximate age.

I agree too where it was said there is more than just water, sap and resins in the wood but I will focus on just the water part for now. Moisture in wood is actually two part. Free water and bound water. (there was a technical article on this and damned if I can find it) Green wood will "spit" water on you as you machine it. You can feel this effect on your bare skin especially if you run a lathe. It's quite cooling on a hot day. The second type of moisture is actually locked in the wood cells and can take years to completely dry out. This is the moisture that causes checking and cracks in the wood if you get it too hot during machining.

I'm gonna go see if I can find that article again as it was very informative on what to expect from green woods.

Butch_Y · Post by **Butch_Y** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:25 am

An update if anyone is really interested in the study of wood and its properties.

http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/070490_tcpg.asp

this book is awesome.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:21 am

ToddJohnson wrote:
Tyler wrote:IMO, aging wood is mostly myth. I think the key is well boiled, not well dried.

Anyone?

Tyler
Don't agree. Sixty+ year old stummells are in the mail so that you can test your theory.

Todd

I agree with Tyler.