Kiln drying lumber???

[John-W-WI]

So I cut down some black ash this winter to use for some furniture pieces in our new home.... Have a local guy that has a saw mill and a kiln.... He says the lumber needs to be air dried all summer before it can be kiln dried.

Does anyone know if that is correct?

When I was a kid, I worked for a company that dried oak commercially. We stacked it, sprayed the ends with a wax coating so the ends didn't dry faster than the rest and threw it in a kiln. I don't think it was air dried before we got it, as the boards were plenty heavy.

I want the logs 1/4 sawn and dried ASAP. Can they go straight to a kiln rather than sitting in a pile all summer?

Thanks,

-John

 

[Catscratch]

I used wood in my house that I cut on the place. I let it dry for a summer but it wasn't kiln dried. I did stack and spacer it for quite a while after it was milled. It didn't move much and dried nicely.

 

[Tree Spud]

I know that slow air drying can reduce the chance for warping and cracking. My neighbor cut some black walnut, had it milled and then air dried in his garage. It may be that he wants to see the woods condition after air drying before milling to see any issues?

If you use spacers between the rough boards, be sure to use the same type wood to avoid discoloration.

 

[Catscratch]

I may have gotten lucky... I didn't use the same type of wood for spacers and it didn't discolor. That would have sucked!

 

[JFK52]

Years ago I had to cut down some oak and cherry trees that were in the middle of my garage and pole building apron areas. It was just a hassle to plow around them and constantly avoid them.
I had the saw logs rough cut by the Amish mill just North of Portage, WI. Next I took them to a man in the Baraboo hills area who had a solar kiln and planer. He kiln dried them for me and 3/4 finished them. I had painted the rough board ends to prevent checking of the wood prior to drying.
Since then, I have used the wider cherry and oak boards as backings for various fish and game mounts. I must admit they look great. It gives me a sense of accomplishment knowing that I am looking at finished lumber that came from my own land. It was a lot of work to haul all those logs and boards around to the mill and the kiln.
So my answer to your question is go ahead and get on with the process.

 

[Big Snow Man]

I think on a small scale that works well but I don’t think they do that commercially.

 

[Northbound]

Pvc tree tube stakes are great for spacers if you have a bunch on hand. Most barns in this area where built with air dried ash, I'd paint the ends to get uniform drying as ash likes to split as it is

The local hobbyist mill and kiln guy moves product from mill to kiln same day unless it was cut in spring and full of sap-in that case he stacks under lean too for a while as kiln is costly to operate

 

[dsinwi]

The lumber does not need to be air dried prior the kiln however you may see more warp and bow when putting green lumber in the kiln. As was mentioned paint the ends. Putting some kind of significant weight on top of the pile helps. You can use just about anything to sticker rough sawn lumber. Ideally the stickers would be dried and of uniform dimension. I've stickered rough sawn lumber using the edge cuttings right off the mill too.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Many hardwood mills use a product called Anchorseal to paint the ends of fresh-cut logs so they don't check. It slows the drying process to prevent cracks through the log. Rough-cut boards are treated as well before air or kiln drying. I don't know if air drying first is necessary before the kiln. Local hardwood vendors here tell me it takes roughly 1 year per inch of thickness on cut boards / slabs for air drying.

 

[WTNUT]

So I cut down some black ash this winter to use for some furniture pieces in our new home.... Have a local guy that has a saw mill and a kiln.... He says the lumber needs to be air dried all summer before it can be kiln dried.

Does anyone know if that is correct?

When I was a kid, I worked for a company that dried oak commercially. We stacked it, sprayed the ends with a wax coating so the ends didn't dry faster than the rest and threw it in a kiln. I don't think it was air dried before we got it, as the boards were plenty heavy.

I want the logs 1/4 sawn and dried ASAP. Can they go straight to a kiln rather than sitting in a pile all summer?

Thanks,

-John

He is giving you some good advise. I would not rush it. We cut Walnut in January, it just got cut in to slabs with the portable mill this week and it will have to stand up for 1.5 years before it is ready. Ash is not that bad, but I would dry it this summer then put in dryer.


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[John-W-WI]

He is giving you some good advise. I would not rush it. We cut Walnut in January, it just got cut in to slabs with the portable mill this week and it will have to stand up for 1.5 years before it is ready. Ash is not that bad, but I would dry it this summer then put in dryer.


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Thanks for the advice.

Current plan is to air dry until september some time (we cut it this week) then put it in the kiln. Should be making furniture some time in December.

Thanks,

-John

 

[WTNUT]

The set up this week.


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[Bowsnbucks]

Nothing like hardwood flitches. I love slabs !!! Sticker & stack.

Got plans for that stuff ??

 

[Catscratch]

Here is where some of my wood ended up. Unbelievably satisfying to build with wood you harvested yourself.

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[WTNUT]

Here is where some of my wood ended up. Unbelievably satisfying to build with wood you harvested yourself.

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What kind of tree is that on the corner?


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[Catscratch]

Here is where some of my wood ended up. Unbelievably satisfying to build with wood you harvested yourself.

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What kind of tree is that on the corner?


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Eastern red cedar.

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[bwoods11]

Looks nice!!

 

[WTNUT]

Nothing like hardwood flitches. I love slabs !!! Sticker & stack.

Got plans for that stuff ??

No plans for it, it was given away to the guys that came and cut it. They were family members.


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[Bowsnbucks]

What kind of wood is the slab top ?? Can't tell from the camera angle.

 

[Catscratch]

What kind of wood is the slab top ?? Can't tell from the camera angle.

Hackberry. When I brought the mill guy out to look at the logs I had save I had oak, walnut, hackberry, and Osage orange. The Osage orange wasn't big enough but was his first choice, the hackberry was his second choice. We cut up some oak and walnut too but the hackberry is by far the prettiest of what we worked with.

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