Beech Wood

[Bren H]

I had lucky find today and came across Tree Feller's cutting down a tree close to where I live, I stopped and asked the Guy what type of tree it was and he said beech so I took a car boot load of logs from Him. The question I have is that if the tree was dead is the wood still OK to use, there is no sign of any rot on the logs, also should I let them dry out for a few months? Can't wait to try some though and I'm wondering has anybody else ever used Beech before?.

 

[Doug D]

According to All About Smokewoods, beech is indeed a viable candidate for smoking. Never used it myself, but I would expect it to be similar to other nutwoods.

 

[K Kruger]

Bren-- It is much like pecan; a bit lighter, perhaps. You'll want to let it season. If you have the means and time now, cutting it to size will speed up the process considerably.

 

[Bren H]

The logs as they are now are 20 inches in diameter by about 10 inches thick, the only way I have of cutting them to size is to split them with an axe and then saw them with a small saw that I have .IF left as they are in my shed will they have seasoned by next summer or will it take longer? For now I think I will cut one up into small chunks and put it in a warm place to see if I can use some in the next month or so. Thanks for the replys
Bren.

 

[K Kruger]

They should be fine by next summer although if you can at least split them that would be very helpful. Dry conditions (more than ambient temp) is the key. Exposing more of the center of the log will allow more even drying.

 

[Bren H]

I split one log and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, Im going to put some in the airing closet in the house when the Wife not looking and hopfully be able to use some in a few weeks. I will split the rest of the logs during the week like you said, thanks for the advice.
Bren.