Post #318793 by Bay Park Buzzy on Sun, Jul 15, 2007 2:54 PM

Hola Tiki Den:
Are you trying to debark those with the machete? Aside from taking forever, watch out that the blade does not bounce off the loose fronds and deflect back into you. I used to try and debark that way, but one time, in fact, the last time I did it that way, it hit a little higher on the frond than I wanted to, the blade bounced off the frond like on a trampoline, and it hit my knee cap with full force. Oh man, that hurt!

This might save you some time:
Debarking mexican Fan Palms

I wouldn't bother sealing either of those. Just clean it and let it sit on end for a while. If you feel the need to be more proactive during the drying process, you could rotate them 90 degrees every couple days so each quarter section gets the same amount of sun, and you could flip them on the ends every week or so, so that they can drain from both ends. Usually the higher on the tree the piece came from, the more likely it will crack. That big piece looks to be from the bottom of the tree and you can just let it dry without doing anything to it.

Lastly, you should cut that irregular angle cut off the end of that big log and make it flat. Leaving it like that will increase the likelyhood that it will crack or split at that spot. Just chainsaw yourself a nice flat bottom for it before it starts to really lose it moisture.
Good luck!

Buzzy Out!