How To Clean Wood Branches, Logs, Or Planks
To Clean wood for decor it is relatively easy as long as it has not deteriorated. When people send me questions some are worthy of blog posting and this one is important for many reasons.
Among those reasons is your health. The process for cleaning things like wood branches can be a little more tedious depending on how thick the branch may be.
I will go through some of the key factors to look out for. This is by no means the full range of possibilities you may encounter but you will get a very good idea of what to do or not do. Above all else once you know the basics common sense will take you a long way and trust your instincts.
Note that below steps are different from cleaning unfinished wood acquired from stores or furniture for general use from things like mold. Typically methods such as bleaching or sanding will remove and clean minor issues in unfinished wood. If mold is deeply set into the wood it may become part of the permanent character if it cannot be retooled, planed, or shaped.
Health Factors With Wood
Logs or planks are easier to process for decor than branches yet we need to deal with one critical issue first. This applies to any wood you wish to bring into your home. If you are picking up wood from outdoors to bring inside your home inspect it thoroughly. In other words you do not want to bring things such as termites or other nasty crawling creatures that could cause havoc.
Additionally you do not want to bring in fungi that is still living that may have caused deterioration. Let me put this simply. After wood is dried for carpentry or making wood art good indoor shops have air ventilation and wear masks for more than just the dust. Spalted wood is created by fungi which is what aids in creating beautiful grain in otherwise normal wood grains.
It is true that people have existed around these natural elements for thousands of years with no issues, or at least those who lived to tell the tale. If things such as fungi get into your lungs you have more problems than you bargained for. Generally this is only a problem when processing wood as blades throw it through the air. Nevertheless it is something to be aware of.
In practical terms the only time I personally would be concerned about this is when there is clear visible damage caused by fungi or other organisms to the wood. Being outdoors with elements such as this is a different world than an enclosed environment especially if you are cutting or manipulating the wood making decor. If there is obvious damage or deterioration I would leave the wood outside.
How To Remove Bark From Wood
If you want to remove the bark from a larger piece of wood the easiest way is with a draw knife. Note that I say this in respect to maintaining some of the character of the wood when compared to other methods. They can be had relatively cheap and there are different sizes. It is a two handled blade allowing you to pull with both hands as the blade is in the center of both handles.
If you do not care about any character aspects equipment such as pressure washers can remove bark with relative ease. This method I only advise if you are in a rush and do not care about the water pressure marring up the surface. To the other extreme if marred evenly with the pressure it could give a unique look to the wood.
For smaller branches the easiest way is with a hand scraper of some kind and then sanding. Some branches depending upon the species you may only need to sand. Likewise these branches can also be worked on after a boiling method of cleaning that I will mention later. The bark will soften and can peel away with little effort.
Another option for removing bark is called bark slipping which is a little tricky. This can require practice that the average person will not do well the first time around. In the old days bark slipping was a way to make shingles for crude roofs or shelters. It is normally done when one wishes to preserve the bark for a function rather than disposal.
To do this you cut three sides of a rectangle into the tree with a blade and then peel the bark off in the direction where the rectangle is not completed. This will give you a small sheet or slip of bark that you can then use on another project. It may be a natural and cheaper solution for small decorations if one gets the knack of slipping bark. If you are like me almost everything has a use even if it is not to be used right now.
Sanitizing Wood For Decor
Once the bark is cleaned off the question becomes whether or not to use it green. If you are using small branches you will most likely want to use it green while larger pieces would benefit from drying. It is at this stage that if you desire you can clean the exterior of the wood anyway you see fit. Soap and water is fine including a little mix of bleach. Once wood has been dried you never want to introduce water in volume to the wood if you can prevent it.
Though most people do not have a kiln around the house to dry wood it is not a complicated process. It needs time, heat, low humidity, and air flow. Create that environment and you can dry the wood in a storage building or even a garage for small hobby projects.
Plastic sheeting with a space heater and a fan can make a small indoor makeshift kiln. In the summer a heater would not be needed as a greenhouse effect from the sun will do the trick, just keep the air flowing and dry. The battle will typically be against humidity no matter where you place the wood. The goal is the removal of water from the wood. Dry air will not only work better but it is also faster. These methods are down and dirty diy which are not perfect nor ideal yet can work on the fly.
Know that the drying process will help sanitize the interior of the wood as best as it can. It is not 100% yet where there is no water there can be no life. Nevertheless some moisture will always remain. As you cut wood know that it can release fungi into the air especially for spalted woods and protect yourself with real masks of n95 or higher.
If you want to use the wood right away without a drying process most likely it is smaller pieces for a small decor design. Branches for things like wreaths or similar, or a small board for some artsy wall decor, can be cleaned easily. The best method I have found for cleaning and killing any organisms may sound odd to some but it works.
If you plan on using the wood while it is green there is no better way to sanitize the wood than the way people do for driftwood in aquariums. Find an old pot that you do not mind ruining. I use an old pressure cooker that is nice and deep. Fill with water and then boil the wood.
Boiling the wood will accomplish several things. It will kill anything that is living within the wood but there is an added benefit especially with branches. It will soften the wood making it easier to manipulate for shaping and also remove stubborn bark.
Additionally it will remove tannins and the water will turn dark. This process will also alter the color of the wood. Yes the wood will want to float at first. It may need to soak a while. Yet continue boiling until satisfied with the results.
People who caught onto this boiling technique found they could boil their wooden spoons to remove food fat. While cooking this fat gets into any wood utensil used. It is effective to say the least.
Anything that was difficult to clean off before this should come off easily once boiling is finished. Just be aware that the wood will still split rather easily when bent too far. The temptation is to just bend it as one wishes without patience. As you manipulate the branches take your time and know that it may need points to rest to accept the next bend.
Can You Use Green Wood For Decor?
To answer simply, yes you can use green wood for decor but it is not always advisable. For me it really depends on what I am making or how thick the wood is. Just know it is bad on equipment and a pain to deal with. Smaller items matter less especially when it concerns using branches that will have no real structure to them.
If making items such as a box or anything where edges will join you will run into problems down the road. As the wood dries it will lose mass and shrink. This may pull away corners or joined edges and at worst split the board. Another major drawback to green wood is that is does not like to be sealed or finished. Whatever you put on it will not look right and it will not hold. It is a little like trying to mix oil and water. The moisture in the wood will want to get out pushing past whatever sealer you applied.
Earlier I mentioned green wood being a problem with equipment. For those who may own a SawStop make sure you disengage the brake system before your blade ever touches the wood. Note you will need to disengage this brake for each cut. As for regular saws of various kinds you will want to use an older blade that you do not mind gunking up or ruining. Expect the wood to split more than normal and the wood will be less compliant to manipulation or fastening.
Branches are the easiest to use when green. It is a bit of the opposite for these as compared to planks or logs. When a branch is green they can be more easily manipulated into a shape that you desire. Dried branches are of little use unless they have real meat to them. The larger they are the more likely it is that you may want to dry them.
Burning Green Wood For Decor and Sanitation
I will toss this in here as it was a question one had and I may elaborate more on this later in another post. Yet a question came concerning whether or not green wood should be burned for decoration and sanitation essentially doing both at the same time. Let me just say from a safety standpoint I would say no do not do it.
Why is it dangerous? Depending on the species there are naturally potential toxic gases which dry wood will expel but with stove systems air draft pulls these smaller amounts away from us. With green wood the gas that is expelled is exponentially higher. Normally when one does wood burning for decor or art it is outside anyway. Yet the point to the matter is that the smoke you see is not all the gas which the wood is emitting.
Even outside with you being as close to the wood as you will have to be is a problem. This is different from lets say a campfire. The temperatures which a blow torch will emit is far greater than a campfire and you are standing right over the wood you are burning. It just is not a good idea.
Additional problems you will run into with safer species is that the wood will want to do unnatural things in warping and splitting. Its like flash boiling water introducing a lot of heat very quickly. This is not something I would suggest for the average diy person yet there are artists who specialize in wood burning that could do this safely. There are things to be aware of such as the species and temperature to use that need consideration.
As the heat is introduced to wood the oils and water both will heat. The oils will burn and bind while the water will try to escape. Too much heat will cause even a small board to split and excessive heat could cause something worse.
Alternatives To Sourcing Wood
For small home decor projects around the house there is definitely a unique allure to using the wood you find outside your home or on a hike. There is nothing wrong with that. Yet for many who may not have the necessary tools for some processes it may be easier to obtain cheaper lumber from stores. Clearly you lose a lot of the character with what stores offer.
While natural wood can be found in the wild and in stores each has its place. Much will depend on now much you wish to invest in time or money. Your design may dictate one or the other.
The advantage to buying from a box store is that you can use more common tools that you may already have at home. The lumber will already have a dimensional cut and require no processing. Yet if you are looking to have a new hobby it may also be time to begin exploring more tools that will help you along your path.