Drying Wet Wood Without It Warping

Hi,

I have wet 1 x 12 wood to dry without warping. The wood is for shelving, purchased from a local lumberyard here in Costa Rica. It was rough and I thought I would work off a few pounds planing it down by hand. Bad idea. It is a hardwood, species unknown, and still wet. The wet fibers were clogging the plane so I put a couple on their sides to dry. Worse idea. They warped like nothing I have seen before. My neighbor says wet wood is typical at lumberyards here. How can I get them dried without warping?

Thanks, Gary

Reply to
Abby
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Gary, its really rather simple. Get enough 1x2x12" sticks and sticker the boards.

Stickering is when you place the 1x2x12 pieces about every 18 - 24" along the boards and stack them vertically, making sure the bottom board is up off the ground or concrete and the stack is under a roof of some kind. Also, it would not hurt to put some concrete blocks on the top of the stack, but not touching the boards (double up on the 1xx12's and put the blocks on top of them.)

DO NOT put a tarp or plastic over it, that merely keeps all the moisture in and rots the boards. It will take six months to a year for the wood to dry, to a point you can use it in furniture.

But if the shelves are just rough shelving you can put it up now and let it dry in place. Just make sure you have plenty of support under the shelves so you do not get a lot of sag.

One last thing, watch for termintes. If you are on a concrete floor, you will probably be okay. If you are over dirt, a 50/50 mix of diesel fuel and used motor oil will seriously discourage the little blighters.

Deb

Reply to
Dr. Deb

Adjust the blade so there is a larger gap/space between the blade and sole, ie., a larger opening, for the shavings to pass through, should help great ly.

hing I have seen before.

In direct sunlight? If so, they were air drying too fast, for one thing. You don't want them to be drying in direct sunlight. As someone has said, you need to sticker them properly, in the shade, out of direct sunlight. I f you have a place for the wind to blow through the stickering, that would be good, also.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

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