I just received a nice chunk of wood and squared it off and trimmed up the sides somewhat tapered so the bottom of the stand is slightly larger then the top. My question is do I need to treat the wood with linseed oil, or is there another type of oil or substance I should use to prevent insect and decay issues? \

I'm currently working out of my garage so it's now on concrete, but I plan on moving out to my shed this fall which has dirt/gravel floor. It's generally a dry space so I don't really expect issues with water rotting away at the base.

I am kind of wondering the same thing. We had a tree fall last night that was about 2ft in diameter and I'm wondering what I need to do to it to make a stand.

Glycol antifreeze. Put the stump in a large trashcan and dump a gallon of antifreeze in there. The wood will wick it up. I don't know why it works, but it does prevent insects.

Of course, this doesn't mean you can let the wood sit on wet ground without worries. The wood will rot unless you keep it dry. If you're going to bury a portion of it, you want some gravel around it to help with drainage. I like to wrap subterranean wood with weed-barrier cloth from the garden center and then put at least 4" of gravel underneath it and on the sides so that water doesn't sit against the wood.

I don't know how it would react, but a discarded paper towel with LO on it can spontaneously combust...

Boiled linseed oil on wood is fine. It will soak it up. I hope you are planning on a real long term. Even with no treatment, a log in a dry shed, even on dirt will last a long time. And replacements are cheap(free) and readily available.

I have one in the historical society I use that is elm. It has been there for years and years w/o any treatment. It has powder post bettle and still not worried about it. It is solid and will be there for quite some time. A replacement from my local lumber yard is 10.00

you can use pine tar ... that works well
i put a mix of that and linseed oil on all my handles... even the shovels n garden hoes...

the antifreeze is poisonous to fungus and mold, it works aswell

I don't think that linseed oil helps at all against rot in contact with the ground---however borax does! (and helps against termites as well).

I dislike using antifreeze as it is an attractive poison to pets---tastes sweet---And then they die in agony! So I dislike having a pan of it around.

Creosote was the traditional material used as it lasts for a very long time being quite toxic as well. I use old mining timbers that were creosoted in the early 1900's for stumps and they are going strong---though what most folks consider "dry" around these part is considered a "flood"!

If you are sinking a stump in the ground it helps to put in a "drain"---use a post hole digger to put a deeper hole full of sand or gravel and put a pad of gravel under the stump so it stays "dryer".

Thanks for the tips! I figured I could just go ahead and use as is, but wasn't sure if there was a preferred method people used for tree stumps/chunks of wood before using them.

Here's a pic of what I ended up with.

Very nice woodwork!

The only thing I would do if you're going to be able to roll it in and out of the garage is to coat the bottom with Thompson's Water Seal. A good paint wouldn't hurt if you have that handy, though. Anything you can do to keep water from sitting under the stump will keep the stump going longer.

Unless you live in a really wet place untreated wood will last a long time. The block under my Sodorfors is untreated spruce and after about 25 years it's starting to get kind of punky on the bottom. Other than squaring up and tenoning a place for the anvil foot the only way I've treated it is by beating on it a LOT.

You can buy copper sulphate anti-rot wood treatment and it works well, just sop it on and let it dry. Sorry I don't recall what it's called but it's easy to find.

Frosty the Lucky.

Needs straps. A loose anvil, even contained, is annoying and takes more effort to use. (I might make exception for 300# + but I have yet to try one)

Looks good. If it is a "green" log then a coat of shellac, Linseed oil, or some other product will make it dry more evenly, and prevent splitting by slowing down the drying process. The ends need 2 coats and the sides 1 coat.

That said, my stump is split halfway through top to bottom based on a probe wire. Still works just fine and is solid for working.

Phil

Yeah, I am waiting on a piece of rubber to set under the anvil before I lock it down onto the stump. The stump is still pretty green so I think I'll probably at least toss a few coats of linseed oil on there, but I am itching to test drive the new setup :)

My old mining timbers have some quite large cracks in them. I forged a couple of "staples" to help hold them together and can hang a pair of tongs on the staple in the crack as a bonus.