# Drying cut boards??



## davvyd (Oct 2, 2006)

any suggestions? I am going to attempt to mill my first log this month to use the boards for a crib. However, I want to start the crib in December. I have never milled let alone dryed fresh boards. I have no kiln and really, no idea. Am I biting off more then I can chew?

Maybe someone could explain the drying process - thanks all!!


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## CaseyForrest (Oct 2, 2006)

Dave, you can take a look at how I stack and sticker my cut boards when you come. Im not sure the log we are going to slice up will be dry in time for you to use in Dec. You can do a little research and find someone in your area with a Kiln. They usually dont charge much.


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## dustytools (Oct 2, 2006)

Hi davvyd, You might try looking up some information on the net about dehumidification kilns. A co-worker of mine made one in his shop by covering the stack with a cheapo tarp and has a small one room 5000 BTU ac unit blowing under the tarp. Not sure how long that it takes to dry various types of wood but I dont think that the turnaround time is all that long. Good luck.


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## trimmmed (Oct 2, 2006)

davvyd said:


> any suggestions? Am I biting off more then I can chew?
> 
> !



Maybe or maybe not. Search for drying with a normal dehumidifier. There's an article or site out there somewhere where a guy set one up to do small batches in his garage. Pretty much a poly tent, some duct tape and a dehumidifier.


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## CaseyForrest (Oct 2, 2006)

Dusty and Trimmed are right. I had forgotten all about that!!


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## woodshop (Oct 2, 2006)

I've had pretty good success air drying, as long as you don't let it dry out too fast the first few weeks to a month by keeping a tarp over it, only letting some air exchange to take away the moisture. I use 1 x 3/4 x 14 stickers ripped from pine or poplar boards. After a month or so, I just keep rain/snow off the stack, but no tarp anymore... pretty much open to the elements but under "roof". I get about 300 bd ft in each 5 ft high stack (if 8 ft long and 14 inches width boards). 

4/4 oak dries to 15% MC in 3-6 months... poplar and pine only take 6-8 weeks, often less.


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## hautions11 (Oct 2, 2006)

*air drying*

Without any roof or structures here is my makeshift stack. I found some corregated fiberglass roofing at Lowes. 26" X 8' and it had some chips and cracks, so it was only $4. a couple of 80# bags of concrete that got wet last year for weight. It seems to work OK. I am hoping it is ready next spring. I may move it in the basement in a few months. This is about 180 bd ft.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Oct 3, 2006)

woodshop said:


> I've had pretty good success air drying, as long as you don't let it dry out too fast the first few weeks to a month by keeping a tarp over it, only letting some air exchange to take away the moisture. I use 1 x 3/4 x 14 stickers ripped from pine or poplar boards. After a month or so, I just keep rain/snow off the stack, but no tarp anymore... pretty much open to the elements but under "roof". I get about 300 bd ft in each 5 ft high stack (if 8 ft long and 14 inches width boards).
> 
> 4/4 oak dries to 15% MC in 3-6 months... poplar and pine only take 6-8 weeks, often less.




 :jawdrop: Nice stack! I'm jealous!


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## TedChristiansen (Oct 3, 2006)

David,

I have air dried all of my wood since May 2005 - some outside and some in my basement. I have had good success with both locations and have started using some of the wood already (ash and cherry). If you cut the log now, it is extremely unlikely it would be useable by December if air dried. Klin dried is the only way. The previous posts had it right - air dry for about 1 month, then cover the stack and a dehumidifer for the 2nd month. Might be ready to use in December this way.

I plan to build a dehumidifier kiln at some point. There is a good article in American Woodworker #94, June 2002 that describes the design in detail. It also has articles on how to use it. I have some improvements to the control system in mind.

You could air dry it in your basement, basically using your house as a kiln. The forced air heat and A/C provide a controlled dry environment that forces the moisture out of the wood and into the house/basement air.

Ted


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## davvyd (Oct 3, 2006)

Thanks everyone. I actually spent most of the day at work today reading about kiln drying vs. air drying on the internet. I only recently decided to build this crib so I have not had time to properly mill and dry the wood I need to use for it. I am going to mill oak (I believe) in the next week or two and wold like it dry by december. Does anyone know anyone locally (southern MIchigan) that has a kiln? what does it normally cost to have boards kiln dried?


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## woodshop (Oct 3, 2006)

TedChristiansen said:


> You could air dry it in your basement, basically using your house as a kiln. The forced air heat and A/C provide a controlled dry environment that forces the moisture out of the wood and into the house/basement air.
> Ted


I respectfully disagree with the above advice in most situations. After the wood has had a chance to dry down to say 20% MC, THEN maybe you could get away with this. But, as Hoadly's "Understanding Wood" in his chapter about water in wood explains, winter air because it is colder, holds less moisture, and thus is dry already to begin with compared to warmer summer air. Then when you pull that dry air inside and heat it up, since it now COULD hold more water, it's RELATIVE humidity becomes even less, and it gets even dryer. Thats why the moisture content in wood in most heated houses in winter doesn't equalize till its down to around 8%. This is the very reason that you pull wood from your shed outside and let it sit in your shop for a week or so till it equalizes with the dry inside of your house before you start to machine it. If you don't you will be sorry, because it will move for sure going from 12-15% outside to 6-8% inside. Now, if you put wet fresh milled lumber in that dry environment in your heated house in winter, it is likely going to dry way too fast. Ends will check and split more than they otherwise would, and there will likely be internal pressures in the boards as the outside surface dries (and thus shrinks) way too fast. I'm not pretending to be an expert on drying wood, but if you read up on this, you will find that drying too fast is one of the main reasons of lumber degrade when drying. You are basically starting with a big hard sponge. Stick a piece of fresh milled wood in your vise and crank it down and you will see water dripping out of the wood.


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## Husky137 (Oct 3, 2006)

I'll second everything woodshop just said. Inside with green oak will dry too fast offering poor results.


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## TedChristiansen (Oct 4, 2006)

Woodshop might be right about green oak drying too fast in a heated basement. However, I have dried green cherry, ash and walnut this way with no issues. The wood doesnt move while drying more than air dried outside, and the wood doesnt move while ripping - a clear sign that stresses due to drying didnt build up.

Since all woods are different, the heated/cooled basement approach works for some but not all species.

Ted


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## woodshop (Oct 4, 2006)

TedChristiansen said:


> Woodshop might be right about green oak drying too fast in a heated basement. However, I have dried green cherry, ash and walnut this way with no issues.


Again... I'm no expert on drying wood, far from it. I think the key here is still how fast you initially let wet "right off the mill" wood dry, regardless of where it is. Even if it was a very dry heated basement in winter, if you stacked the wood such that it didn't have tremendous airflow at first, like maybe in a corner, or against a wall with boxes or other obstructions at least partially blocking the ends of the stack, then you might be OK. Even more so if you had radiant heat as opposed to forced air heat. With forced air, you are constantly exchanging the air in a room. (read constantly exchanging the moist air in that stack as it releases moisture with with more dry air). 

Ted whatever works for you... works.  I have used the upstairs attic portion of my garage, which gets VERY hot in the summer, as a kindof kiln. But only after I've let the wet wood dry down to say 25%MC outside first. Then I've put it up there, and have gotten it down to 10-12% that way.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Oct 5, 2006)

I got my new moisture meter in today so I thought I'd share some data from my stacks just to give an idea of how thing are drying.

Pecan- milled in Jan '06 4/4= 10-12%, 8/4 15-18% (including the 50" wide slabs)

SYP- milled in June '06 4/4= 8-11%, 8/4 12-15%

Water Oak milled June '06 8/4= 16-19%, 16/4= 20-24%

Water Oak milled July '06 12/4 wide slabs 23%+

All this has been air drying in a large enclosed barn with plenty of airflow provided buy a fan that runs 24/7.

davvyd, in my opinion you will need a full blown kiln to get your lumber where you need it in such short time. These guys might be able to direct you to someone in your area that opperates their equipment.

http://www.nyle.com/
http://www.woodmizer.com/en/secondary/index.aspx

I'm sure there are more.


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## woodshop (Oct 6, 2006)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> Water Oak milled June '06 8/4= 16-19%, 16/4= 20-24%
> Water Oak milled July '06 12/4 wide slabs 23%+


I got my Wagner pinless years ago and it turned out to be one of those things in the shop that after I started using it, don't know how I did without if for so many years. Interesting aggie how your 2 and 4 inch oak is still pretty wet after 4 months. The thinner stuff like my 4/4 hardwoods, as you might imagine, dry pretty quick, matter of months, and with white pine and also poplar, only weeks to loose most of its moisture and get down to 15-20%.


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## Pacific (Oct 8, 2006)

I learned how to sticker wood years ago and have stacked enough wood more than I could remember or want to remember.

Couple things to remember when stickering.

Make the piles 48" wide
The stickers must line up all the way from the bottom of the pile to the top.

Where ever a row of stickers are the they must be supported on the bottom or the wood is going to sag.

When ever stacking wood make sure you have good air circulation don't tarp any wood.

When I first started at the one mill man I got screamed at because I didn't stack a pile right. Allot of the wood was kiln dried so if it wasn't stickered right or you loose a whole stack of lumber. Air drying is a little more forgiving but kiln drying you need to make the piles right.

I work the odd time for a guy with a woodmizer mill I haul allot of wood and I sticker allot of wood. Some days I have stickered 5 ton worth of lumber or stickering beams that are 20' long weigh 300lbs or more all by hand.


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