drying wood

Your fine just cut it as fast as you can and start the boards drying with space between them

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Thanks. As soon as the paint dries.

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

I have a client that works for one of the companies that cut down tre es around power lines. Almost every week, he brings me some logs to cut up. I now have some cypress, cedar, cherry and pecan in front of my shop. Recently a couple of the woodworking magazines showed some plans for jigs to cut these logs on the band saw but I can’t find those particular magazines. I need to start making lumber.

Xavier
My favorite passtime – cutting up trees to make lumber. I do not bother with painting the ends of my lumber -The best time of year to cut lumber is in the autumn (fall) and winter, it is not too hot and the freezing conditions dries out the wood slowly.

Important points to remember. If this is for a single limb or log or for an entire forest the same rules apply.

Perfectly flat base – at least 6” above the ground (12” is better).

Use stickers (spacers 1” square” every 12 to 18”. Ensure that the ends of each plank are supported within 2” of the end.

When stacking the lumber ensure that the subsiquent layers and the stickers are directly on top of each other.

When its all stacked – lots and lots of weight on top to keep the top boards under pressure.

Cover the top of the stack to keep the rain off, but leave the sides and ends open to allow the wind to blow through (this what dries the wood)

Keep the sides and ends away from direct hot sunlight, this will dry the board too fast and the ends will crack and split (painted or not)

Leave it for 6 to 9 months then check the moisture content – at 20% or below you can move it inside to complete the drying process (again stickered and weighted)

the last job is start all over again on another stack. Have fun, I hope this was helpful

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Ditto on what Tony and Karson said. Get it cut and properly stacked. There’s always going to be some checking though. I haven’t tried painting the board ends yet, but 4-6” of checking doesn’t bother me. Fuel for the campfire, ya know? Wouldn’t painting the endgrain prevent the moisture from naturally flowing out?

I use what I refer to as a “poor mans kiln” by stacking my green boards in the garage attic. Even here in upstate NY it gets pretty hot up there. Be especially mindful about how many boards you stack as it depends on how heavy your attic joices are. Mine are 2×10’s and will take a little weight. It also depends on just how much tree you’ve accumulated. A few boards will fit the attic OK, but a large pile needs to go outdoors or in a unused area of the barn. I wouldn’t like a large pile of wet wood hanging over my head!

Let me give you a couple examples: My son dropped and milled a large Poplar log into 5/4 and 8/4 boards. We stacked the boards (with stickers in between) in the attic for about 6 months. There was 2 warped boards (they were milled about 3/4” thick) and no more than 5” of checking on any board after we removed them. The 2x lumber did the best. Thicker lumber drys slower and warps less. We used most of this to construct his workbench (he’s copying mine!) and to make new moulding for his house.

#2: Our neighbor dropped and milled a lot of Hemlock pine for his future garage. He stacked the boards properly in the yard (He has 2 piles that are 4’ high and 6’ wide, with all the boards appx. 8’ long) and even put on a tarp for rain protection. The pile has been sitting there for three years now. (He needs to get off his butt and build that garage!) Most of the boards are spalted or rotten and have green moss growing on them. Also…there is a skunk living under the pile! Three years might have been too long. The skunk has a family. You might want to purchase a moisture meter and move the dry boards as nessessary. Skunks do not like to be disturbed.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!