Did Yakisugi or Shou Sugi Ban actually protect my wood from rot or deterioration? How effectively?

This video shows me pulling logs from the ground that had previously been protected with Yakisugi, also known as Shou Sugi Ban. I place the logs on my Wood Mizer LT15 START sawmill and mill them to see if there is any rot or deterioration. These logs were from my original sawmill shed and have been in the ground for about a year and a half. The logs making up the back of the shed were only treated about 4 to 5 feet up. The logs were debarked using a chainsaw debarking tool and then charred with a propane torch. The charred section was then treated with a 50/50 mixture of diesel fuel and used motor oil - much like the old timers did for their pole barns and fence posts. The logs that formed the base for the mill were entirely debarked, charred and coated with the oil/fuel mixture. Upon cutting into the wood, no rot or deterioration was found in the treated wood. As a matter of fact, the wood protected by Yakisuga was almost as good as the day it was cut down. Thin slices of wood could be bent without breaking. At the top of the untreated end of the poles forming the back side of the shed, I could see that the wood was drying out. Had I not put a roof on the shed, I'm sure those ends would have rotted out.

[@marcelorios3251]

Carbon is an inert and indigestible material for fungi and insects that feed on wood. The outer layer of carbon works as a protective shield for the wood, since to reach the wood the fungi and insects must first feed on the carbon, which is something they can't do

[@nathansmith22]

As well as charring the sugars in the wood. 😊

[@v.w.]

Much appreciation for this test!! I've been rackin my brain on methods to build some raised garden beds and fence posts using a culled patch of stunted pine with a few oak here and there. The burner is about to get ordered. And for a pyro like me... it'll be better than Christmas. Thanks good sir, and that has got to be the coolest name for any farm I've ever seen. I would totally buy a shirt.

[@davidmorin7939]

Thanks for a great explanation!

[@etchediniron4249]

Outstanding!!!

[@davidpatrick1813]

Groovy… thanks. ..

[@jameswilliams8372]

Thanks for doing this. I've been doing shou sugi ban for some time along with some tests. But I've never sunk one in the ground. Getting ready to put in some fencing and planned to use this method but wasn't 100% sure how well it would work. This gives me more confidence.

[@terryevans1715]

this was a great video. thank you.

[@tinker-tinker]

Thankyou, I've been hoping to find a way to make some of my own fence posts that would last more than a few years. I had heard of this method, but had never seen a real test done on it.

[@PimpolloMorales]

As a scientist, I commend your curiosity and your methodology :) you were conscious of your scope of study like a true explorer of the laws of nature should be 🤠

[@fizzguts]

? So the complete lack of a control sample in the ground doesn't worry you?

[@l00kns33]

@@fizzguts Thankfully I fast scanned this video. Amateur hour.

[@davidpeightal4918]

Awesome. Thank you for the efforts to make this for us. Bless you. Looks like it is worth the extra effort and expense.

[@qwazy01]

Thanks this was exactly whatbIbwas looking for!!!

[@xmasfolly]

awesome sharing for those of us looking into this.... so my sugi ban experiment was with red cedar decking boards, we are 2 years in, i used boiled linseed oil with turpentine and was looking at them today and they look great. these have been on the ground facing the open sun for 2 years and they still look very good. I am encouraged to hear that sugi ban protects against being buried in the ground. i might have missed this, but what kind of wood were you using?

[@marcocostacurta1074]

🇧🇷👏👏👏Thanks!

[@elpatrondelpaisaje]

Great video! Do you know of any more natural options for coating with different substances? I'm looking into using this method for vertical supports in my greenhouse where I grow food crops.

[@LawrenceLarson-ln8yy]

It's gotta be 1000's of years old

[@jameswilliams8372]

Oh! One question... How long did you let the logs dry out after peeling them and before burning?

[@GriffenNaif]

Thank you for doing the science. I don't see any reason to brush the char off? I wonder if you had thoughts. My plan is to use it on fence posts. And Wood siding. On fence posts, I had thoughts of using old timer 'diesel / used oil' mixture over the top of the charred wood.

[@xmasfolly]

the only reason to brush the char off is if you want to 'create a look'

[@emptysonofdoubt]

what species of wood? looks like southern yellow pine?

[@otrotland5377]

should the oil be added first and then burned?

[@rogercunningham9987]

It would be great if you had one that wasn't treated to compare

[@robertwoelk26]

Well let's come back in 30 years, see if its still good to go.

[@alb9472]

The old vikings used it, so we have around 1000 years r&d :)

[@xmasfolly]

pretty sure some of the temples in Japan are clocking it at over 800 years... this is next level protection... of course since nobody can commercialize something so simple, we'd never hear about this as a viable solution, but I am on my 5th year of sugi banning all my outdoor stuff and it works... zero maintenance... oak, cedar, pine (not as much though)

[@LawrenceLarson-ln8yy]

Probably should've done the bottom of the log

[@smcm8467]

I'm not sure 11/2 years is much of a test. Nothing much would rot in that time. But I do think this procedure is a good alternative to chemicals.

[@v.w.]

I've tested debarked pine and oak here in MS, and I'm lucky to get a year out the pine and two out of the oak. This is natural, not with this method, and in direct contact with the ground. Humidity and rain chews everything up here. But I wouldn't live anywhere else.