How do I dry lumber?

kaynyne · Post by **kaynyne** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 7:36 am

I have a small problem that most guys here would love, there is a sawmill in my (neighbor's) backyard. He said I can have whatever lumber I want, Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Oak, Etc. My problem is it's not kiln dried. How can I dry it without a kiln?

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 8:42 am

kaynyne wrote:I have a small problem that most guys here would love, there is a sawmill in my (neighbor's) backyard. He said I can have whatever lumber I want, Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Oak, Etc. My problem is it's not kiln dried. How can I dry it without a kiln?

First of all - go get what you have room to store and worry about drying it later.

Properly stored, it will dry with the passing of time.

I believe this link will help.

If not, this one.

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 9:08 am

Here's a link where you can buy plans for a DIY kiln that can go in your basement. I haven't bought the plans due to lack of space for a kiln, but I believe that they are based on a small dehumidifier.

I just saw in the blog that some people have integrated their basement kiln into a functional workbench. That might even work for me.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 10:40 am

Get.
Sticker.
Stack.
Seal(end grain).
Press(add weight to top).
Cover(top).
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.

Have you asked your neighbor this question?

What terrible problem to have!:D

All a kiln does is speed things up(not always a good thing).

kaynyne · Post by **kaynyne** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 10:56 am

Yes, I asked him, and he just has 2 old window vans that he uses. He says he stacks and spaces the lumber in the vans an it gets up to 120 degrees in the summer. Like you said, wait, wait, wait. Perfection takes time. Thanks

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 11:36 am

JPG40504 wrote:Get.
Sticker.
Stack.
Seal(end grain).
Cover(top).
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.

Have you asked your neighbor this question?

What terrible problem to have!:D

All a kiln does is speed things up(not always a good thing).

You left out putting weight on the stack (above the stickers) because the upper boards will not have enough weight on them to keep them flat. It is also a good idea to restack it in a few months to put the top boards on the bottom.
Near ideal air drying can be done if you will build a big barn and half fill it with dry hay or straw.

I have always had buildings to stack wood in and as a result I have little stacks of wood all over the place.

A tight room with a ceiling fan and either a dehumidifier or a very small window AC will do a good job well. You do not want a large AC, it will not run enough of the time. Warm air will pick up much more moisture than cold (that is why we often use heated air to dry grain) but you don't really want to pull the moisture out that fast on lumber.

I have seen plans where a stack of fresh cut lumber is placed on 4"x4"s and a pup-tent of clear poly is built over it. The sun causes the moisture in the stack to condense on the bottom of the poly and then run down into small trenches at the bottom on each side to drain away. I have not tried this one but have read good reports on it for quickly removing the heavy moisture out the the very green lumber and making it ready for added slower drying on down to the desired level. I have also read that it works better on a bit of a hillside (one end higher) so that the removed moisture can drain better.

.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 12:34 pm

robinson46176 wrote:You left out putting weight on the stack (above the stickers) because the upper boards will not have enough weight on them to keep them flat. It is also a good idea to restack it in a few months to put the top boards on the bottom.
Near ideal air drying can be done if you will build a big barn and half fill it with dry hay or straw.

I have always had buildings to stack wood in and as a result I have little stacks of wood all over the place.

A tight room with a ceiling fan and either a dehumidifier or a very small window AC will do a good job well. You do not want a large AC, it will not run enough of the time. Warm air will pick up much more moisture than cold (that is why we often use heated air to dry grain) but you don't really want to pull the moisture out that fast on lumber.

I have seen plans where a stack of fresh cut lumber is placed on 4"x4"s and a pup-tent of clear poly is built over it. The sun causes the moisture in the stack to condense on the bottom of the poly and then run down into small trenches at the bottom on each side to drain away. I have not tried this one but have read good reports on it for quickly removing the heavy moisture out the the very green lumber and making it ready for added slower drying on down to the desired level. I have also read that it works better on a bit of a hillside (one end higher) so that the removed moisture can drain better.

.

Oversight corrected!(I knew that! I was even thinking that! I just did not say that!:o) Gads old age is a funk!

edflorence · Post by **edflorence** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:23 pm

I agree...these are the steps to take...you might do some searching on the US Forest Service site or the Forestry Products Laboratory site...I recall seeing some really good detailed air-drying info on one of those sites...Unless you are in a big hurry, air drying is a safer way to go...will avoid case hardening and "brashness"...which, from reading the old time books I understand to be an excessively fibrous condition...case hardening is when the outside cooks dry before the inside and sets up stresses internally that may reveal themselves later in the form of kickbacks at the saw or weird warpings. Put as much weight as you can find on top of the stack...I have used rounds of green logs to weight stacks, but many others use cinder blocks, bags of rocks etc. Then wait approx a full year per inch of wood thickness.

JPG40504 wrote:Get.
Sticker.
Stack.
Seal(end grain).
Press(add weight to top).
Cover(top).
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.

Have you asked your neighbor this question?

What terrible problem to have!:D

All a kiln does is speed things up(not always a good thing).

paul269 · Post by **paul269** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:37 pm

You don't need much. A box made from plywood, a heater and a fan to circulate and vent the moist warm air. It only has to be big enough to fit your wood. My friend built one in his garage to go along with his saw mill. Heat the wood to 140 degrees for several days and test with a moister meter.

or if you are too cheap to buy a heater and pay the electric, then google search the solar kilns. They use the sun for heat but you still need a fan to vent the air.