Here's the deal.. I ran across an old unfinished pine dresser. Been sitting in an attic for about 15 years in Colorado. Now we have absolutely no humidity here, so being unfinished the wood has dried out. I would love to take this thing apart and use the boards for other projects. Thus the question.. can pine be rehydrated to a workable moisture content? I thought just soaking them for a time but waterlogging and warping seems likely.. steam? Appreciate any help!
LS
Move the dresser into the environment where it will reside for a few weeks before finishing. It will equalize to the humidity of the room.
On 15 Oct 2005 13:32:37 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com scribbled:
Why would you want to rehydrate??? The wood has reached what is called its "equilibrium moisture content" with the environment it's in, which is what you want. So, unless you will be putting it in a considerably higher humidity environment, it is just fine as it is, just use it. If not, do what Jack suggested.
If you want more details on wood and humidity, you could consult either Bruce Hoadley's book on "Understanding Wood" or the US Forest product Laboratory's "Wood Handbook, available online at
Chapter 3 deals with moisture and wood. The PDF is here:
Luigi Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address
no matter what pledge says wood does not dry out. it reaches a certain point and then stops forever. it does not need moisturized or treated. if it is cracked it is because of so much movement or unstable boards. Knight-Toolworks
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