… Most lumber is in the 1” to 2” thickness and the time above applies to thicknesses. Air drying the logs allows them to dry out naturally over a long period of time. AIR DRYING LUMBER : First I will make a mention here that this is a very simple, easy way and only applies to drying lumber for the 1 man sawmill or homeowner sawmill, it will not include all the formula’s etc, just the basics for you.The water or moisture content (MC) in lumber or logs is significant and can be in the lumber or log.
Reeb and T.D. Controls are much less when air-drying lumber. By Dave Munkittrick . Remember, you don’t have to bring in the whole stack at once. And lumber is not stabilized until the moisture content reaches equilibrium with the air in your shop which, here in Minnesota is about 10%. Gen. Tech. Keywords: drying lumber, air dry, wood structure, wood shrinkage, drying rate, wood defects October 1999 Forest Products Laboratory. I have been milling and drying lumber for a decade or two.
I’ve had small stacks of wood drying in the attic, the basement and the garage. Hardwoods like Maple, Oak and Walnut will dry in 6 -12 months. Air drying of lumber. They eventually fade with exposure to light, but they're pretty while they last. Winter would be better. As I stated earlier, air-drying lumber is not difficult. Just bring in enough to satisfy your needs for the coming year. Wood drying (also seasoning lumber or wood seasoning) reduces the moisture content of wood before its use. A simple roach to drying lumber control the wind 2 a slanted roof helps the pile shed water you can do this in number of ways here we are using stickers on top that vary height to slant how i air dry lumber outdoors. In particular, there's a chart on page 24 which shows the approximate time to air … Air Drying Lumber Indoors. (See “Defects and Preventions”, page 47.) Video Feature. The length of time that it takes for logs to dry out depends on the species and their age. It’s the most economical method for removing water from wood, and when done properly, you’ll end up with perfect lumber. You can air-dry 4/4 lumber indoors from 15 percent to 8 percent in a single heating season. 5) If you dry your green lumber outside, then you should build it off of the ground by at least 4 inches anyway, so shimming that area flat should not be a big issue Don't forget to use even sized stickers about 18 inches apart. Oak has to dry slow, so using a fan to increase airflow could cause checking and case hardening. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. Controls are much less when air-drying lumber. Air drying peserves some of the wood's very attractive red and purple highlights. Also don't forget to put some weight on top of your stack. AIR DRYING LUMBER : First I will make a mention here that this is a very simple, easy way and only applies to drying lumber for the 1 man sawmill or homeowner sawmill, it will not include all the formula’s etc, just the basics for you.The water or moisture content (MC) in lumber or logs is significant and can be in the lumber or log. Air drying hardwood indoors. Air- and Shed-drying Lumber J.E. Brown EM 8612-E • Reprinted October 2007 The process of drying wood is the same for air- and kiln-drying, but in kiln-drying you have much greater control over air velocity, temperature, and humidity.
In the Midwest that means wood intended for indoor use should be dried to 6->8% and for outdoor use 10->14% moisture content. Air Drying Lumber Indoors. It’s the most economical method for removing water from wood, and when done properly, you’ll end up with perfect… Feb 19, 2017 - By Dave Munkittrick Want a truly cheap and easy way to dry lumber? Not once, but twice. Forum topic by RussellAP: posted 03-03-2012 06:09 PM: ... You can’t get 8% without kiln drying at some point, you can only air dry to ambient humidity levels, which this summer would be high. TOOL DEMO: Click above to watch and see what happens when I drive over this tape measure with my truck. Stress also forms while the tree grows. « back to Wood & Lumber forum. To help you avoid the mistakes that result in firewood, we contacted an experienced, hands-on expert. Air-drying Air-drying means stacking lumber and exposing it to the outdoors. It slowly loses or absorbs moisture from its surroundings. This is not so much the case with kiln-dried stock where commercial kilns must dry lumber as quickly as possible. Whether you are air drying or kiln drying your lumber, the moisture content should be stabilized to be desired location before use. Here’s how to do it right. Air Drying Lumber : Depending on the thickness of the lumber and where you live, weather and time of the year, it will take anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months. Reeb and T.D. Air-Drying Lumber It’s the low-cost, low-tech way to dry lumber. Rep. FPL–GTR–117. However, correctly building the pile is essential to producing good lumber, and a poor pile will absolutely haunt you through the life of that lumber.
Re: Air Drying green lumber indoors 10-27-2007, 06:04 PM Hi Stephen, that is great info, so I can roughly plan on 3000lbs, which is well within the capacity of the van/trailer combo. Consider air drying. of Agriculture aimed at large commercial operations, but it still has a lot of useful information for the rest of us.