Lumber Making #11: Gettin' It Stacked

Neat that Erika doesn’t mind helping you with this. On top of getting you the lathe. You’re a lucky duck, Podna!
Of course Pam (my missus) never gets to put her car in the garage, got me a bandsaw for Xmas one year, shares her Blick art supplies discount card with me and knows all of my LJ buds by name (and never complains about the endless wood blather). Hat’s off to our LJ spouses!

Thanks again, Dorje for a wonderful blog.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Great blog Dorje and like Douglas said – Hats off to the spouses for being so understanding. I am anxious to see what your lovely stack of wood becomes in the future. You are one lucky man.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Very handswome stack of wood there Dorje. It’s a whole lot of work to get to that stage. I have my fingers crossed for you the the air drying is kind to you and you have workable lumber soon.

Cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

There was a lot of heavy lifting in getting to this place. What an adventure for Mike and you. I am looking forward to seeing projects made from this lumber.

Congratulations

Dalec

Great blog Dorje, and handsome wood to boot! Can’t wait to see what projects you have in store for us come next summer.

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com

It must be very gratifying to mill your own lumber! Are you planning to make periodic measurements of the moisture content with a meter? I would be curious to see a chart of monthly readings to see how moisture changes over time.

-- Roger - Havertown, Pennsylvania

Pretty work, Dorje. I agree about understanding wives. It will be interesting to see how this drys in Seattle.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Nice stacking, sorry I wasn’t there to help. I can’t wait to see some it milled up and put to use. Speaking of supporting wives, I have a great one too :). Lucking for me she also had a hobby she is passionate about, so she understands.

-- Mike - "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." (Scott Adams)

Can’t wait to see what you make from it Dorje. Thanks for a great blog.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Cool blog…next time I take a tree down in my yard I’m going to look in the phone book for a person to mill me some lumber on site! So you dont cover that stack with anything? You must live in a warm climate..I could never do that here in Connecticut..I would have to find a barn or something to store it in.

-- Women love me.....trees fear me

Great job Dorje!

Very good job of stacking the wood. I been told by my buddy Rick Hearne, (Hearne Hardwoods), one year per one inch in thickness.

Have you checked the moisture content of the wood yet. It would be inteeresting to see a chart on the staring numbers, and then a mionthly check on it to see how quickly it dries. (or slowly)

Again nice post. Beautiful wood stash.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I like Lee’s idea about a running tab on the moisture content. After all, waiting for wood to dry is just as boring as waiting for glue to dry but taking a lot longer.
This way, every month we can ponder the next months moisture reading. And then check the Seattle weather and postulate what the next month’s reading will be. and then we can have a monthly lottery to see who will come the closest the next month.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

Great progress. I think I remember that you said that you cut it about 2.5” so It’s going to take a couple of years to dry unless you want to do some wet turnings. get a moisture meter because with that kind of thickness you’ll need to get the correct moisture before you start working it.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

I agree with Sawdust2. the closest guess get a plank of your wood. After 24 months, you might have the stickers left.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

It’s been a nice process to follow, Dorje. Like others have said, you’re a lucky man.

I’m kinda with Karson on the time line. I’ve never done it but what I’ve read makes me think a year might not be enough time to come to a workable moisture content. What is the average humidity in your area?

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

I’m enjoying everyone’s feedback…the wood was cut to 2 and 3/8ths (good memory Karson!), so it is on the thicker side, but much of the wood was relatively ‘dry’ (not really dry though) because it was already dead. Fortunately, it still has good density. It is still holding more water than what the outdoor equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is right now (i.e, about 15-16% in these parts of the pacific northwest – down to 12%ish in the summer). So…there are just bands of living wood that are totally green throughout each of the slabs. It may very well take longer than through next summer…we’ll have to wait and see. Though I like the idea of charting it, I realistically won’t do it with this batch. Also, I’m not in any hurry. Whatever it takes is fine. I’ll probably want to invest in a good moisture meter (been on the list a looooong time) come summer to get a better read on things. For now…it’s wet, and will stay that way until things dry up a bit around here – spring. When the wood gets to EMC or there abouts I’ll bring it indoors, where it may take another year to stabilize to indoor EMC which is typically around 9-10% around here.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Dorje, A great blog. just watched it today for the first time. I really enjoyed your journey from start to finish. I am looking forward to seeing what you turn this stack into.
God bless

-- Gene, a Christian in Virginia

Thanks for taking the time to check it out Gene!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Great update.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

What a process. I, too, am looking forward to the projects that start coming in a year or so.

-- Maplewood, MN