How long lumber dry

Thank you so much — anything you might be able to offer … Read more ». I recently pick up a heavy log from the beach on the east cost of South Africa. Hallo Eric We cut down an English Oak we think a year ago. The tree trunk was cut in a log mmxmmxmm and a plank mxmmxmm. There is no treatment applied to date.

All sides have been sanded. See photos attached. We live in South Africa Pretoria fairly dry not a lot of humidity here. At this point, it is pretty heavily checked throughout. I would just embrace those flaws, and once more thoroughly dried, you could filled the gaps in with epoxy, possibly with a contrasting color if so desired.

So thankful I stumbled across this! Been looking into drying these cuban mahogany logs I have. My plan for these logs is to make display benches for Bonsai trees. The logs are halved. An idea I had was a type of drying box, you are the first indeed to mention this. So I have 4, half logs. Then add a small space … Read more ». Yes, I use the incandescent bulb method all the time. I have several thick slabs ranging from in thick, 8 feet long in wide. It might shorten the dry time a little bit to reduce the width, but generally thickness is the limiting factor.

The only reason to cut width-wise would be if you had initially included the pith, which might be helpful to cut out. I live in Turkiye … I have a two questions… 1-Is it necessary to peel the bark after cutting the tree in correct drying?

Or is it necessary to slice immediately? Not necessary to strip the bark off for drying if sawing the log up into boards , though this can help with some species, and is generally more sanitary as it can get rid of some pests that may be present in the bark. Thank you very much for your interest … I have read in some sources that trees such as eucalyptus should be watered after cutting and placed in the pool for months.

Is this true? If so, how should the irrigation process be done? Merhaba serkan. Kullanacak oldu? I live in Oklahoma, and recently had a pin oak sawn into slabs that had come down in a storm last summer.

We are planning to store in the garage for even drying and keeping as flat as possible. My concern is am I attracting termites by doing so? We will remove all bark prior to stacking and storing. Any suggestions would be welcome.

We are using Queensland cypress for our gates. We have trouble with weight over 8 foot long hanging from hinges and gudgeons as our glue seems to be failing. Can you recommend an extremely strong glue for this purpose. Our timber comes from our local sawmill so it does seem a little wet and heavy whilst working with it, maybe this is the problem?

We have rails and bracing and now having to screw at the stiles for added support. Resorcinol resin is 2-part glue often used by shipwrights for waterproof permanent bond. Requires tight fit and strong clamping. Very strong bonds! Can he purchased in Oz via ebay. I am making signs with live edges.

These are rough sawn pieces. Only thing really heat would be needed for is to kill insects or other pests, but in terms of drying, should be sufficient. Generally, most heat used in wood drying would be in a large commercial kiln, so not really something that most people would do at home.

Question is alright to move white oak inside after siting Outside for a year? It has cupped a bit. Making stuff with recently fallen trees. Red Cedar, Black Walnut. Any info or advice on using dehumidification equipment to dry out chainsaw milled lumber. Hello — just wondering if you received an answer to your question? Any information you have would be appreciated. Thanks, John. Lots more details to learn. I have a Holly tree that has a 24 inch circumference and an almost clear trunk of 6 feet high.

It needs to come down as it is too close to the house. I would like to make a solid body electric guitar out of it. What thickness planks would I need to start with if the finished product is to be 1. Length x Width of body: Hi, came across your question. Twists and pockets forming around knots is common with holly. The grain of holly is nothing … Read more ». Thanks Ian, I expect to do just that, strips instead of planks in about 3 years time.

Thanks for the drying info. Well , I have cut it down and milled it into 5 foot, 2 usable 2. I have a concrete room I can seal off with plastic on one side. Will then cut and seal the ends. Sticker and stack with 1 dehumidifier and 2 box fans to move air. I am getting a pin type humidity probe and wireless temperature and humidity sensor. We are in … Read more ». Hello, I inherited a garage full of miscellaneous wood from a fellow who had a custom furniture shop.

There are a lot of ash strips that he used for the edges of plywood shelves. Using the data you present for wood species, how do I determine if a particular wood is open grained and unsuitable for cutting boards?

The benchmark cutting board wood … Read more ». But really the best metric for finding suitability is found in pore size. Maple has pores that are just small enough to cause them to become plugged up with sawdust during the building phase. So when a finish is applied, the surface of the wood seems smooth it is smooth, but only because the small pores have been jammed with sawdust.

With woods like ash, oak, … Read more ». We asked to keep some pieces for future furniture project-Tree stump side tables. Please advice to treat humidity, drying, and stacking. Much of what I see on-line are air-drying directions for traditionally-sized boards in order to use the walnut for fine furniture. For what I need—just a rectangle hanging on the wall—how short an air-dry time can I get away with?

Are you going to do a more refined finish, like a glossy, pore filled finish? Or are you going for a more rustic or rough-sawn look? Thanks Eric. Very helpful. In the sun? Definitely keep it out of the sun. I just cut a lot of cherry. I very rough cut the logs with my chainsaw. Thickness is very uneven throughout the boards, and frankly, some have bulges and some are wedge shaped. Should I plane the boards for uniform thickness before stacking? Yes definitely.

When you stack on stickers and have a lot of variance in thickness. Leaves room for movement and warping. Green would does not like to feed in a planer. Might have to live the bed with wd Thought I read somewhere that wood stickers should be of same species as wood being dried ….

How much shrinkage should I expect? Length does not shrink near as much. But most species would take years to dry that size. I would wait 1 year and hope for the best. I love in Oregon. They cut down my grandfathers old oak tree on Friday. They delivered five slabs cut from the trunk. They are approximately five feet in diameter and approximately six inches deep.

Too heavy to move them. We did stack them on wood to get them off the asphalt and between layers. How do I process these? I am interested in using the wood for projects nothing specific yet.

Get it cut, seal the cut ends, slab it with a chainsaw or split it into whatever size is manageable, raise it off the ground, and get it stacked and stickered in a windy, shaded spot with some kind of cover over the top. In Iran and the region Mulberry is exclusively saved and used to build string musical instruments: Taar, Setaar and Tanbur Tambur.

I found that while sanding then applying topcoat there is a faint line where the sticker was. I had to sand off finish and sand deeper than desired. Any ideas on an alternative choice of sticker material? The stack is dead flat. Im new to this all. Or should I just give it a shot and see what happens. Also, should I dry these babies out before putting on legs?

Here are some pictures. The arborist told me different … Read more ». These are sections and will dry with high stress. After time, say 6 months to a year, the wood will suddenly split from the edge to the center in one place, leaving what looks like a wedge defect.

This is due to the circumrferential shrinkage tangential being greater than the radial shrinkage. There are two fixes. You can saw the blank in half, then dry it down, then resaw the two pieces which will develop a convex angle of a degree or two along the cut surface. Alternatively, a chemical treatment to keep moisture in the wood can be used.

Steve thank you. Maybe I need to wipe off the wax and let the sun do its job. Any suggestions? I would keep it out of the weather, the sun will just bleach it. Put it in your garage or somewhere dry and put a fan on it to help discourage any more mold growth. Pour denatured alcohol onto the surface of the pieces and let it flow trough to the bottom side.

Wood is like a million tiny straws when cut into discs, this will force the moisture out. If you have a pan big enough you can catch the alcohol as it comes through an reuse. If you are opting for the air-drying method solely and not storing the wood correctly, it will take time. But if you are splitting the wood into smaller pieces, covering it well, and keeping it in a dry, hot place, it will dry quickly.

The reason why hardwood takes a lot of time to dry is it is deciduous and heavier than softwood. The best examples are maple, rosewood, pine , and cherry; they shed their leaves annually, and their wood can last for generations if you dry and store it well.

It has no covering and it is easier to cut and split it too. Therefore, it dries fast. If you store it well, it dries within months. If it is already seasoned wood, and you want to use it for your work pieces, as we have mentioned earlier, 72 hours is enough.

Surprisingly, the hardwood like ash and maple will be ready for woodworking projects in less than 72 hours, as their density plays a significant role in seeping out moisture. This is a good percentage, and it shows it is ready for burning and woodworking projects. However, with some air-dry methods and heating sessions, you can take 15 percent MC Moisture Content lumber down to just 8 percent MC within a day, which is an ideal MC percentage for dry wood.

There is a kiln-drying process too. It is one of the quickest methods to dry wood weeks , and it is associated with seasoning the wood only. Since the seasoning of the wood takes 6 months at least, but kiln drying method season the wood rather quickly that can be enjoyed for years. In the kiln drying process, the wood is dried in an oven for a set period of time so that you can have the desired moisture content in the wood. The only exception I know of is when you are drying crotches, burls or other highly figured wood with a lot of interwoven grain.

Because of the volatile nature of this type of wood, I like to dry it as slowly as possible to minimize the damage, but I only would put it inside in the fall or winter when mold won't form. Lumber stickered under an open shed roof is fine. This often is the best scenario for lumber if you have such a space available, since it allows good air movement and greater protection from the sun and other elements. You also can use portable buildings that have a metal frame and a plastic cover as long as the ends are open to the air and there is good flow across the pile.

Speaking of the wind, you have to consider it your friend, but you also have to respect its temper. And you need to keep those parameters in mind when choosing the site for your lumber stacks. I have seen entire piles of lumber dismantled by a severe storm and it is not a pretty sight, nor is it much fun to restack the wet and soiled lumber.

Air movement is the key to successful drying, and you need enough air to move the moisture. But too much wind can be detrimental to the lumber. Under the right conditions, like a very arid day with too much wind, you can ruin a freshly stickered pack of lumber in a very short time by drying the surface so fast it surface-checks and honeycombs the lumber at the same time.

It is hard to believe you can damage lumber outdoors, and while air drying lumber is pretty forgiving, there are limits you need to be aware of.

Lumber dries better in warmer conditions. The heat gets those water molecules up and dancing and easier to move off the wood, but direct sun can cause damage, especially in the height of summer. This is another reason for overhanging the tops. If I feel there is too much exposure to sun and wind, I might use a commercial screening like Shade-Dri attached to the sides of the pile to deflect some of the sun, wind and rain.

The time of year is another consideration. It is best to take your trees down after the sap is down in the fall and through the winter before it rises, and also to try to have your lumber sawn and on sticks for a while before the weather gets warm so the lumber isn't shocked by the extremes of summer heat. This is an ideal that isn't always possible to achieve, but it is worth striving for.

Some woods, especially white woods such as maple and pine, are very susceptible to staining, particularly when freshly cut in the warm weather. Pine suffers from blue stain when cut too late and can affect the whole pile, so I never cut pine after March. And maple, ash and other light woods can suffer from sticker stains when the lumber stickers trap moisture where they are set, which can result in shadow marks on the lumber.

Sticker stain isn't as much of a problem with wood stickered in the winter. In warmer weather, you can either use grooved sticks that allow some moisture to escape from under the sticks or you can sticker the lumber for a few weeks until the surface dries, then re-sticker the pile with the sticks in a slightly different location. This might sound like a lot of work, but the alternative is lumber that looks like someone laid railroad ties across it, ruining the appearance.

Darker woods such as cherry and walnut are not as susceptible to staining, but immediate exposure to warm weather will stress any wood and increase the degrade. There are other precautions you can take to minimize the damage to the lumber during the drying process. I like to seal the ends of the lumber with log paint to keep them from drying out faster than the rest of the board and checking in from the ends.

The best time to do this is when the log is freshly cut, or you can also seal the boards while the ends are fresh. The longer the ends are exposed, the less effective the sealer will be, so be prompt. If you are cutting crotches or burls, it is good to seal the flat surfaces with the same log and lumber sealer to prevent them from drying too quickly.

But only seal the figured area and not the whole board or the moisture will have difficulty escaping. I like to use clear sealer when doing this, so I can still read the grain without planing off the sealer. I have a real affinity for wider boards, which are more prone to splitting from the ends and can travel much further into the board in the course of drying, and I use a number of strategies to combat this.

I may drive heavy electrical staples into the ends to secure the split, but I mark them carefully with an arrow on both sides of the board to make sure I find them before my tools do.

You can also tack thin strips of wood across the end of the board, using several nails to keep the board from spreading. On particularly valuable wide boards I have occasionally used small nylon ratchet straps to hold the board together, taking up the slack as the board shrinks. I also have used steel banding like you see being used to band packs of lumber together for shipping, driving small wedges along the edge of the board as the lumber dries to keep tension on the board.

This may seem a little obsessive, but having a beautiful board split along a check will quickly drive you to find some solution to save such valuable lumber. Once the lumber is properly stickered and covered in a good location, all you have to do is let time and the elements work on your lumber, occasionally checking the piles for any sagging.

The traditional rule of thumb is to let the lumber air-dry for one year for each inch of thickness, but this is only a general rule and close monitoring of the lumber, especially with the help of a moisture meter, provides more flexibility. If your heavier lumber is cut into squares and can dry evenly from all sides, you can definitely speed up the process, but wide thick planks will pretty much take the required time, and your local climate also will have an effect. Then dismantle the piles after a spell of dry weather to minimize the moisture in the lumber.

When you decide that the lumber has air-dried enough and it is time to take the pile down, you then need to determine how to complete the drying process to remove the remaining moisture, which is usually only percent. If you are going to use any quantity of wood on a regular basis, you may want to consider building a very simple kiln.

Don't panic when you hear the word kiln, because it is easy and inexpensive to construct one. You just need to build a box, insulate it with something as basic as plastic foam sheeting, and hinge a door on the front that folds up and out of the way for loading. If you are going to stay with 4' piles, I would recommend a chamber that is 6' deep, because you need adequate airflow around the front and back of the pile, and whatever height you deem necessary for your operation.

A couple small fans are necessary to move the air, and they can be mounted in a piece of plywood extending the length of the chamber at the top and parallel with the pile, so the air will be pulled through the pile the way the sticks run. You want to be able to seal the space between the fans and the top of the pile with tarps, loose fiberglass insulation, pieces of insulation board or plywood, so the air has to move through the pile and not around it.

It is difficult to seal all the areas around the pile perfectly and it is not necessary to do so, but you do want to block the big open areas to get the best air movement. A heat source is necessary and can be as simple as a portable electric heater, but be sure to isolate the heater in a way that you aren't creating a fire hazard. The heat will be enough to dry the lumber, but you also can put a small dehumidifier in the kiln to speed the process. The conventional wisdom is you cannot use a home dehumidifier to dry wood, especially with acidic woods such as oak that will corrode the coils.

But at this stage of the drying, there is very little moisture to remove and the exposure is minimal. I would recommend bringing the drain hose out of the box and have it empty into a bucket so the water flow can be monitored.