# How to make a homemade wood kiln?



## 12point

I was wondering if anybody had any plans they would like to share on a home made wood kiln. It doesnt have to be too big because ill just be using it for some smaller blanks of wood for turkey calls. Thanks


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## ericblazek

I made one from a sheet of foil backed foam insulation board. Cut it into four pieces 4' by 2' and tape it up with foil tape (or duct tape) into a long square tube and stand it up on end with a pencil underneath one side to allow air in at the bottom. Stick a 100 w. light bulb in the bottom, and hang your blanks from a string at the top. Mostly cover the top, allowing hot air out. Check it in a few days. Worked great for me.


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## ericblazek

For that matter, you could try to microwave method. Stick the green blanks on a paper plate in the microwave for a couple minutes on high. Watch them close, as too long and the wood kind of chars. Make sure you do it with the windows open, or else your kitchen will smell like the inside of a hamster cage for a couple of days.


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## a1Jim

When microwaving add a little Cinnamon for flavour. LOL For small pieces I've seen in an article somewhere that they made what they called a hot box. Just a wooden box with a light bulb as a heat source and some vent holes.
Eric forgive the humor your suggestion is a good one


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## GaryC

Just send it to my x-wife. She can dry out anything in her oven…....turkey,chicken, beef, casarole, I'm sure a little wood would be no problem for her


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## Daren

The microwave method is 30-45 seconds on high…then remove 4-5 minutes to cool…repeat. Do this several cycles until the endgrain stops steaming during cool down. Long cycles in the nuker is going to case damage to the wood (splitting-checking-case hardening) Wood can also be boiled dry. That may sound impossible, but it works. Drop your blanks in boiling water (a pressure cooker works better) and depending on size, yours sound small, 20-30 minutes of boiling should do it. Take them out and let them air dry for a couple days. I see you live in Georgia, wood can be dried in your attic (assuming you have access) several months of the year up there, it's been done for centuries. In the summer in the attic a couple weeks it's dry (and free) If you are wanting to built a "hot box" halogen shop lights put out the most heat, I would use foil backed insulation. You should be able to get say a 4' square box 130+ degrees with one 500 watt light, then as was mentioned you need a vent to let the moisture out.


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## GFYS

a vacuum kiln would be faster.


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## dbhost

Daren at woodworkingtalk.com has some plans he sells. Rumor is that his kilns work pretty well. Might be bigger than what you want though. The thread is here.


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## jeffthewoodwacker

This month's edition of Woodturning Design has plans to make a wood kiln using an old non-operable refrigerator. I have made one of these and they work great. If you want something on a smaller sale an old dishwasher will work just as well. You can usually pick up junk appliances for free just by asking!


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## Greedo

i put my wet wood in my glass greenhouse in the garden, at least for the winter because now i kinda need the space to put some melons! but it's just like outdoor natural drying, only faster.


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## Dennisgrosen

here is the link were you can get all the info
about how to build a SOLAR KILN in the size you want

http://www.woodscience.vt.edu/about/extension/vtsolar_kiln/

and they work relativ effektiv

Dennis


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## Daren

The sun has not shined here for 10 days…and the weatherman predicts 3-4 more days without it. Solar has it's limitations…just saying.


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## BTKS

My sawyer uses a huge solar kiln. I've used the attic method mentioned above. I need to check the results a little closer. I'm sure the blanks are dry, I just don't know what percent. I think American Woodworker had a set of plans for a small solar kiln. I believe it held 300-400 board feet. Any set of plans could be scaled up or down for your needs. Good luck and let the drying begin.


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## uffitze

Even on a cloudy day, you can have a decent amount of solar gain. I'm don't pretend to be an expert or anything but, I've been told about houses in Wisconsin that are heated entirely through passive solar techniques. Hard to believe, I know, considering that WI can have some pretty harsh weeks in the dead of winter. So, maybe those folks are happy wearing their long johns and sweaters and having an ambient indoor temp in the lower 50's or something, but even if that's the case, it's pretty impressive considering that the outside temperature can head south of zero degrees Fahrenheit.


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## Knothead62

My attic gets pretty hot in the summer. I live in SE Tennessee. How long do you dry it? How can you tell when the moisture content is at its lowest without a moisture meter? Another forum topic recommended that some walnut logs I have should cut into rough boards ASAP. Thanks.


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## 12point

Knothead thats a good question. I live in South Ga , It stays around 95 degrees here in the summer and during the attic is so hot its just about unbearable to walk in there. Im guessing i could use it..


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## Daren

As long as your attics are vented well to let that moisture escape, go for it. Like I said in an earlier post it's been done for centuries. Stacked and stickered properly. And bear in mind the load you are adding to the framing, space your piles out. A moisture meter is a good investment, even a cheap one is better than nothing…


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## Gregn

I knew this guy who used his old tool shed for a kiln. It was about 8×10 and he insulated it well and weatherized the door. He then used one of those oil filled heaters and a dehumidifier inside. He had a humidity gauge mounted outside so he could keep track of the humidity without going inside to check it. He could fit a lot of lumber in there by stacking and stickering it. He's passed on to be with the master carpenter, but I have never forgotten his way of drying lumber.


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## HalDougherty

I saw wood for my gunstocks and was going to build a solar kiln, but… I've been drying my green lumber by stacking my fresh cut lumber on my covered porch. (My shop is in a 2 story farm house with 3/4 of the house having a covered porch) After stacking and stickering for a year, I move the wood to my 2nd floor (attic) where it gets hot in the day and cool at night. In the summer the wood is at 6 to 12% in just over 30 days. In winter it takes just over 90 days. I heat and cool with a heat pump and it's drying all the time. Check the Virginia Tech site for drying information. I cut samples from at least 1 ft from the end of a board, weigh them, dry them overnight at 150 degrees in the oven and calculate the moisture content from the difference in weight. It works much better than my meter. After planing and drum sanding the rough lumber I use to make my laminated blanks, they never leave the room with my laminating press till they are glued up. Attic drying works so well for me that I don't know when I'll ever finish my solar kiln.


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## Knothead62

Thanks for the info. I checked and Lowe's has a meter for about $30; will take a look.


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