Slab wood - how to dry and how long.

[Auzzie Gumtree]

I had a few trees chopped last October and the tree guy chopped one of the 10 foot sections into slabs. I managed to get 8 slabs about 10 feet long and about 3" thick 'rough' cut. i have heard its about 1 year for every 1" thick - but this is a quick drying wood similar to pine. We kept a couple of pieces for legs - not sure if thewy will work out though.

I have stood them up and put them in a shaded area outside will they dry ok like this? How long will they take to dry? The wood is a blackwood - similar to walnut. I will probably be looking to make some kind of table and some some outdoor seating around a fire pit.

 

[bigbarf48]

Ill preface this post by saying I have no experience with drying slab wood, but here goes nothing:

It seems like you'd need to lay it flat and/or weight it down. Won't those boards warp as they dry if they're leaning like that?

I think a year would be plenty on wood that thin