# How to cure pecan.



## Huero (Aug 12, 2013)

I grew up on a farm in Oklahoma. My mom had to sell the farm last year to pay for my fathers care. Before it was sold, I was able to cut down the pecan tree that we played in as children. My question is how to best cure the wood. In particular, I cut one logs into 3" slabs and stickered them for the last 10 months in oklahoma. I want to use one of the slabs for a bar in my house. There is a fella down the way with a kiln that he uses for "reclaimed lumber." But, he said that the reclaimed wood starts at about 12% moisture and ends up at 6%. After a year of being air dried, should I put it in a kiln?

Thanks for any info/insight,
Huero


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## TCCcabinetmaker (Dec 14, 2011)

Get a moisture meter and see where you are at already, 10 months is a good seasoning period, and well, you may not have to kiln dry it.

(curing is not the correct term) you want to say dry or season in order to get responses.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Not sure really need to send your slab to a kiln to finish drying or bring moisture content down. You want your slab to reach plus or minus 1 or 2 percent EMC for indoor use. If know average annual relative humidity for your area calculators like this fun to play with.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

Just bring slab into house or climate controlled shop and find a place where can lean against a wall where can get air circulation should bring down MC to EMC in a few more months.

An inexpensive moisture meter will provide you ball park MC readings. I use a General pin type bought at Lowes.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

Yes, logs and lumber often air dried before going into a kiln. Kiln drying is not any better than air drying because certain amount of wood degrade is exceptable. Normally kiln operators like to do single species because less degrade than drying mixed species unless mixed species similar.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

I, too, would bring it into the house for a few months. Store it so that air can circulate on all sides.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

For something that thick, 3", I'd definitely kiln dry it. A couple months stickered will get it down but the center of the wood is still going to shift on you if you don't dry it properly. If you can find a local saw mill, they'll do it for you cheap.


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## mporter (May 5, 2011)

+1 for wildwood

It is amazing to me how many people I hear say something like "This board has been air drying for 4 years now, it must be down to 6 or so percent." That is impossible. Like wildwood said wood will never fall below EMC without energy being put into the wood.

Also as a side note if wood is kiln dried then stored in a non-temp controlled environment-it will go back to EMC. Kiln dry the board to 6% then leave it in a shed somewhere and 3 years later it's back to 12%.

By the way the average EMC for your area is around 12.5%


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

One thing missing is that pecan wood is a great home for bugs; kiln drying may not be necessary (tho I would recommend it after letting the slab set inside for a year) for drying, but it would be an excellent idea for pest control.


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## mporter (May 5, 2011)

Nomad62 bring up another great point. There is no way I wouldn't pay a guy to kiln dry that piece. Why take the chance? 
The wood is probably around 30% right now. What nobody has told you yet is if you bring this in your house and try to air dry it-it's going to take another 2 years or so to get it workable. Have it kiln dried then start making the bar.

Going to make a hell of a good looking bar by the way.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

I stand by my post for drying couple of slabs. Drying wood more art than science whether you air or kiln dry. No, cannot tell you how many BF of lumber defect free dried in kiln, air dried or combination of both each year. Just know from experience expect some defects with whatever method used.

We do not know if Huero, end seal slabs before stickering and stacking to air dry. Now would be too late! Continued air drying might just be gentlest method of achieving success. Would think MC way less than 30% now.

Chapter 8 Drying Defects

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah188/chapter08.pdf

Drying Hardwood Lumber

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr118.pdf

Drying wood nothing more of a water removal process, and wood dries from outside in. Air circulation and time will cause evaporation of water weight, allow cell to shrink and wood to harden. Of course like already stated wood will regain moisture content with changes in relative humidity.


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## mporter (May 5, 2011)

Wildwood,
It might be below 30% but just by a couple of percent. You think that storing a 3 inch slab inside will bring its moisture content down EMC in just a couple of months?


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

If you kiln dry it you're sure. An average is an inch a year, so there is a chance you're not a third of the way there. Even with a moisture meter you are going to have to cut it to get a good reading. If it was mine, and I had a kiln that close, that's were it would go.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

MPorter, looking at the picture do not see a constant 3" slab, assume we are not looking at all the slabs though.

Yes, certainly do!

Carvers & woodturners often dry thicker blanks of wood. Know several carvers that store their carving blanks, in basements, garages, and shops.

When harvest bowl blanks often above FSP (MC more than 28-30%) end seal, store in my wood shed until can rough turn. After six months, those 6+ inches thick by 18 to 24 inches long blanks stored in my wood shed often below 20%. Shoot for longer lengths if possible learned to anticipate wood degrade in storage. Some species more forgiven than others.

MC drops as rough turn, and sit at back of my un-air/heated for up to a year or two. Most ready to finish turn in as little as two, three, to six months.

Before getting a moisture meter worked by feel and weight, my meter gives me a better picture to what is going on with wood's MC if remember to use it.


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## Huero (Aug 12, 2013)

Thanks for all the info fellas. I did seal the end grain when I cut down the tree. I brought this slab from Oklahoma to Idaho last week. That's when I took the pick of it in my garage. Problem is that it's only been here a week and it is really cracking. I will take some pics tomorrow. It makes me think that it's losing too much moisture too fast now. But, heck I don't know.
I will get by lowes and buy a moisture meter.

Thanks again for all your help. I will post a pic tomorrow.

Huero


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Yes, the lower humidity in Idaho has accelerated the drying and the shell is drying faster than the core. This sets up stress which leads to the checks to relieve it. It would be best to slow the drying rate down by reducing the air flow (wind if outside). If it is checking, i would take it out of a heated and cooled space. Maybe stand it up in a corner of the garage.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

WDHLT15, would standing the wood cause it to warp versus laying it flat? Just curious.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

No. It would not make any difference flat or standing as long as air can circulate on all sides. However, if you laid it flat on a floor where one side was getting air and one was not, the air side would dry faster than the floor side, and this could lead to cupping and warp.


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## TCCcabinetmaker (Dec 14, 2011)

Another thing to consider, having worked a good bit of pecan myself, Pecan is really hard to work… It's just a little denser than hickory, which it is in the same family as. But, my point is you may want to rough it a little more before letting it dry all the way…

1. Reducing the thickness may cause it to dry more quickly, and evenly at this point, especially with the "case hardening". , which would be the more correct description, not checking as some are referring to, checking is an overly used term used to blanket alot of other terms rather than a specific issue. Case hardening is when wood drys faster on the outside than the inside, this is more apt to occur when kiln drying than "seasoning" the proper term for air drying, as you are not drying the air…

2. Less wear and tear on your machines..

Now, there are some who seem to assume that there is one formula that blankets all species of woods when it comes to drying. There's not. Some species of wood will dry at an inch per year in some places and another will dry much faster. In some areas, wood will dry faster than an inch per year where others will not. I don't mean to be offensive, but honestly, guys if you are gonna come in acting like you know alot about seasoning wood, you need to know the actual terminology. But I digress, different species of woods have different growth patterns, life spans and living parts. 
Take for example the Bay oak, it isn't good for anything other than food seasonings, why you ask? Well because only the sap wood is alive, so in most cases these seeming strong trees are dead and wrotten on the inside, meaning they aren't even good as firewood. 
Now, look at the majority of other trees, they stay alive even into the heartwood unless something damages them. 
Now, pecan, well for the longest time I had the misconception that it wasn't good for much, like many in the area I live in believe. Why you ask? Well it falls into the category of the bay oak, it isn't fully alive into the heart, and alot of times when you see a pecan tree felled, it's because it's unhealthy, and bugs have eaten all the way into the heart. But why is this significant for seasoning wood? Well, because the high moisture content in a tree comes from living cells and moisture from them, not dead cells, which will contain some moisture content, but are no longer storing it. This means that there is less moisture in the lumber that needs to evaporate, which is why I said, get a moisture meter and see where you are at.

I can not say one way of drying wood is better than another anyways, I have seen kiln dried lumber do alot of bizarre things, because the outside dried faster, and actually trapped moisture on the inside, I've seen kiln dried lumber stay true as well. I've seen seasoned lumber do bizarre things, and then I've seen it stay true as well. It just depends on the board to tell you the truth. (I've worked a lot of different species of wood, and a lot of them as well)


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

Huero, the wood will check because it is very stressed, as all crotchwood is. It will check, or lightly crack, along the center mostly but at the ends too. It will do what it is going to do, just let it; once it's finished you will have a fine piece of wood. TCC, your post is hilarious; thanx for the laugh!


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## Huero (Aug 12, 2013)

I appreciate all of the wisdom and insight you fellas have. I took a pic last night. I draped over the slab yesterday.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

+1 for RussellAP

If you have a sawyer you can trust go talk to him. The average rule of thumb is a year an inch slabbed an sticked.
Personally I would lean toward kiln drying.


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## TCCcabinetmaker (Dec 14, 2011)

Says the automechanic to the full time woodworker… No offense, but you might not be the expert here nomad.


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

You were serious…? Really thought you were joking around, the way you wrote (I've read several of your posts and never saw you write that way), and the way almost everything you said was backward of what really is. Didn't mean to offend if I did, I apologize if that is the case.


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## Huero (Aug 12, 2013)

Hey fellas, 
I thought I would update this just for informations sake. I have just left this slab in my garage. At least at this point, I have not taken this slab to a kiln. Yesterday, I had a buddy measure the moisture content in this pecan slab. He is in the restoration business and had a pretty high tech looking moisture meter. He used a slide hammer to drive two spikes about 1 1/3" depth into the slab. The deeper he got, the higher the moisture content. It started about 15% on the surface. Ultimately, is showed about 22% when driven into the slab all the way.

Looks like I still need to wait a bit to work the wood.

Thanks again for all the knowledge and support. 
Huero


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

At 25% of less moisture content, you can speed up the drying without any adverse effects on the wood. Any drying defects that would occur already have while the wood was much wetter. Bringing it inside your heated and cooled house will speed up the drying,


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