I came into three 8/4 walnut slabs today. Moisture meter reads 30%. How l ong can i expect it to take to get,to 10% or so if I stick stack them outdo ors? I am going to see if there is a local kiln service, but I suspect the y may want more than the $1.50/bf I paid for this. Like to work these befo re I forget why I bought them ?
long can i expect it to take to get,to 10% or so if I stick stack them out doors? I am going to see if there is a local kiln service, but I suspect t hey may want more than the $1.50/bf I paid for this. Like to work these be fore I forget why I bought them ?
It depends on the environment in which they are stored/stickered. If outsid e, to what environment will they be subject? To what temps and humidity wil l they be subject? You omitted those details.
ow long can i expect it to take to get,to 10% or so if I stick stack them o utdoors? I am going to see if there is a local kiln service, but I suspect they may want more than the $1.50/bf I paid for this. Like to work these before I forget why I bought them ?
ide, to what environment will they be subject? To what temps and humidity w ill they be subject? You omitted those details.
Second thought: What is today's value of the slabs? They may be worth payin g to kiln-dry. I've learned to not be stuck on what I paid for something; I value what it is worth today.
If you don't remember what you wanted to use them for, I could use a nice r amp from my back porch to my deck. ;-)
long can i expect it to take to get,to 10% or so if I stick stack them out doors? I am going to see if there is a local kiln service, but I suspect t hey may want more than the $1.50/bf I paid for this. Like to work these be fore I forget why I bought them ?
That's a tough question to answer without knowing the specific conditions u nder which the wood will be stored.
This table doesn't discuss time, but it does provide a table that shows the "Equilibrium wood moisture content (EMC) for a given relative humidity and temperature"
Bottom line, unless you control those two variables, you can't control the moisture content.
You might not ever get them to 10%, "drying" them in the open outdoors. Can you store them in your attic or in your shop's attic, where some heating/baking can occur? Your home's attic should have some ventilation tuit.
Sonny
a local kiln service,
Also, if your slabs have any significant burl, you may not want them kiln d ried. Burl needs to be air dried slowly, over a good long bit of time. Kiln drying burl will cause the wood to split, check too much and/or odd/u neven shrinkage and the like. Depending on what you use them for, milling "warped" burl slabs can be lots of work, unless you have good tools for som ething that size, that thick.
Sonny
is a local kiln service,
dried. Burl needs to be air dried slowly, over a good long bit of time. Kiln drying burl will cause the wood to split, check too much and/or odd /uneven shrinkage and the like. Depending on what you use them for, millin g "warped" burl slabs can be lots of work, unless you have good tools for s omething that size, that thick.
If you do have a reasonable $ kiln service, show them your lumber. They s hould be able to tell you whether your (burled?) lumber can be successfully kiln dried with no "warping" effects. They will/should know the degree o f burl that is not recommended for kiln drying.
Sonny
General rule of thumb is 1 year per 1" of thickness.
Outside, uncontrolled environment they'll probably never get to 10% unless you're in a very dry climate...average RH would have to be
long can i expect it to take to get,to 10% or so if I stick stack them out doors? I am going to see if there is a local kiln service, but I suspect t hey may want more than the $1.50/bf I paid for this. Like to work these be fore I forget why I bought them ?
TWO things:
It all depends on where you live as to how dry they will get. I live in th e southern half of Alabama and two stacks of oak (red and white) have been air drying for nearly a year. I just checked them with my moisture meter a couple of days ago - 14% I then checked a kiln dried 2x4 near them, -
14% As I said, "It all depends on where you live."The other is make sure, make doubly sure, you spray the slabs for powder po st beetles. You can get Tim-bor, or something similar. You can put it on with a hand spray bottle. If you do not, again depending on where you liv e, the beetles will riddle you slabs.
ow long can i expect it to take to get,to 10% or so if I stick stack them o utdoors? I am going to see if there is a local kiln service, but I suspect they may want more than the $1.50/bf I paid for this. Like to work these before I forget why I bought them ?
the southern half of Alabama and two stacks of oak (red and white) have bee n air drying for nearly a year. I just checked them with my moisture meter a couple of days ago - 14% I then checked a kiln dried 2x4 near them,
- 14% As I said, "It all depends on where you live."
re: "It all depends on where you live."
IIRC the number I got for my area (Western NY) was 17%. Meaning you'll neve r get wood stored outside below 17% no natter how long you let it sit.
If I used the average annual temp and humidity from the following document, ~14% is the best I could do. I know it doesn't work like that, but the poin t is, I'd never reach 10% - at least not on the way down. ;-)
It would seem to me, that were you to get boards down to 10%, and then use them in an environment with 14% humidity, you will be getting some swelling of the boards as they absorb atmospheric moisture. Add in that "average" can cover some extremes, and that "average" RH in a house is also very dependent upon the heating and cooling inside the house, as well as what's the RH outside. That old "bone dry, sparks when you touch anything" inside climate because the heat has "dried" the air, relatively.
tschus pyotr
Never use your thumb as a rule, you'll hit it with a hammer,
--Uncle Bob
(sorry 8^)
-BR
This might shed some light on the subject. This guy tends to be more correct than wrong.
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