drying and preping wood

[chuckb]

this is my first attempt to finish rough cut wood for interior use.

i was given about a thousand bf of big leaf maple rough cut full dimension 2 x. it has been stacked in an open shed and now has a moisture content around 16%. it has been down and covered for several years and some pieces have a little spald in them. i will need to resaw most of this. would it be better to resaw now or later and then stack to dry? same for thickness planing. any advice will be appreciated. thanks!

chuck b:-)

[dadiOH]

I really don't know but I'd wait...if you resaw now the pieces will start curling toward the drier outside. Planing shouldn't be a problem if you plane more or less equally from each side.

[cselby]

Saw now. Restack (and sticker) and maybe clamp down with heavy weights preferably indoors. The stuff may warp with tensions released after the resaw. Let the stuff air dry for a few months and check the moisture every so often. Resaw only what you can easily store and dry and there are those projects that will want a 2" thickness. Plane and size as needed when you are doing the project.

Pete

[chuckb]

chuck b:-)

[chuckb]

thanks chuck b:-)

[Lew Hodgett]

IMHO. leave wood in raw form.

Machine on a project by project basis.

Once machined, get it installed, don't leave it laying around.

Lew

[chuckb]

i was hoping the resawn wood would dry faster but i think i just need to be patient!

thanks. chuck b:-)

[Lew Hodgett]

Remember the cartoon of a vulture sitting in a dead tree looking down at the road below?

The caption below read:,

"Patience my ass, I want to kill something".

Lew