What to do with French oak staves?

[terroirdejeroir]

I need a little help. I managed to acquire some medium plus toast French oak staves that are 36" x 2" x 1/2" from a cooper friend. My only previous experience with oak is kit-type stuff: dust, shavings, and cubes. Can someone help me to figure out how much of this stuff would be appropriate to use at one time?

I figured I would cut them in half and then split them down the middle to get 18" x 1" x 1/2" pieces, but that exposes two untoasted surfaces. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ibglowin]

Cut it into smaller pieces that you can get into the mouth of a carboy. You will need ~3oz total for a big red wine (Cab Sauv, etc), less for something like a Pinot Noir of course. Don't worry about the un-toasted ends.

 

[terroirdejeroir]

So, it is just a weight thing? I don't need to worry about surface area compared to smaller pieces like cubes?

 

[ibglowin]

I am sure you could spend lots of time figuring out surface area equivalents between a stave and a cube if you want to. 3oz of cubes or beans is pretty standard for a big red, even more on some kits that include a package of shavings or small chips.

Always taste along the way but that should put you into the ball park.