drying hardwoods

kylekurt · 2nd February 2009, 03:37 AM

what is the proper drying time of hardwood planks. And do you need to dress them with anything to prevent cracking. I would like to try to make some furniture but I,m just as green as the wood is.

LeifR · 2nd February 2009, 08:59 AM

Here in Norway we say one year of drying pr inch thickness for needlewood and the double for hardwood. Then we are talking about outdoor drying under some sort of cover. That means for example 8 years (!) for a 4" plank. Just an example, 4" is far too thick for most furniture. It's not only the removal of moisture that takes time. Wood may be compared to a steel spring. There is a lot of tension inside a plank. Used for furniture indoor too early, it will often twist and crack. So the drying process is also about removing tension, make the wood "dead". Think about having an old car standing unused for some years. The springs will settle down.
We never dress planks with anything unless in the ends. It is possible to use some paint or wax, but it will hardly prevent cracking totally. It is hard to avoid anyhow. One important trick is to split the planks along the pith. Pith is always a problem. Cracking, knots, etc. There will often be cracks there even before milling. So, cut it away at the mill the sooner the better.
Hope this will be some help.
Leif.

Bruce Hopf · 3rd February 2009, 01:18 PM

We always Painted the Ends of the Logs, prior to Sawing them into Lumber, to prevent the Boards from Checking, or Cracking.
I read in a Magazine once, that you can speed up your drying time, by covering with a Tarp, and putting a Window Fan at one end of your Pile, blowing Air out, and a Dehumidifier at the other end of the Lumber Pile.
Make sure that you have Sticker Strips lying across between Layers of your Boards, for Air to travel through between the Layers.

treevet · 3rd February 2009, 05:06 PM

What makes more $.....a small tree guy's sawmill setup or a sophisticated tree guys firewood set up. Anybody compared the 2?

LeifR · 3rd February 2009, 08:30 PM

Depends on the climate. In cold areas people will always need firewood. Just as important as food. The market is there all the time, and thus prices will be stabile.
Milling on small mills is no fast business. I might have produced much more firewood in the same time it takes to mill a big log. Though, I have never sold firewood, just made it for myself.
But it would be a shame to split for firewood a beautiful log?

Leif.

treevet · 4th February 2009, 02:05 AM

It also depends on how much money people have in the area you are selling firewood. Also the contact to sell the lumber.

As for it being a shame to not use some logs for lumber, I agree, but also I have seen countless logs saved to go to lumber and never did and were wasted for firewood as well as they decayed.

LeifR · 6th February 2009, 06:11 AM

I made a picture of one of my plank stacks to day. I don't make myself believe it's more special than stacks anywhere else in the world. I post it just for fun, perhaps also a bit for showing how much snow we have. I had an idea about logging to day, but the snow was so deep that my tractor (4x4)nearly got stuck. I ended up with a picture instead.
There's pine and spruce, and the darker planks right are oak.

Leif

kylekurt · 7th February 2009, 10:36 AM

thanks for the info guys. If there is a market for logs I might sell them in that form. I dont have the room to stack it all. and I dont have the time to sit on them.

2nd February 2009, 03:37 AM	#1
kylekurt Sappling Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: idaho Posts: 15	drying hardwoods what is the proper drying time of hardwood planks. And do you need to dress them with anything to prevent cracking. I would like to try to make some furniture but I,m just as green as the wood is.

2nd February 2009, 08:59 AM	#2
LeifR Mature tree Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Norway Posts: 285	Re: drying hardwoods Here in Norway we say one year of drying pr inch thickness for needlewood and the double for hardwood. Then we are talking about outdoor drying under some sort of cover. That means for example 8 years (!) for a 4" plank. Just an example, 4" is far too thick for most furniture. It's not only the removal of moisture that takes time. Wood may be compared to a steel spring. There is a lot of tension inside a plank. Used for furniture indoor too early, it will often twist and crack. So the drying process is also about removing tension, make the wood "dead". Think about having an old car standing unused for some years. The springs will settle down. We never dress planks with anything unless in the ends. It is possible to use some paint or wax, but it will hardly prevent cracking totally. It is hard to avoid anyhow. One important trick is to split the planks along the pith. Pith is always a problem. Cracking, knots, etc. There will often be cracks there even before milling. So, cut it away at the mill the sooner the better. Hope this will be some help. Leif. __________________ My place - Bjørndalen. http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

3rd February 2009, 01:18 PM	#3
Bruce Hopf Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: North of Sebringville, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,176	Re: drying hardwoods We always Painted the Ends of the Logs, prior to Sawing them into Lumber, to prevent the Boards from Checking, or Cracking. I read in a Magazine once, that you can speed up your drying time, by covering with a Tarp, and putting a Window Fan at one end of your Pile, blowing Air out, and a Dehumidifier at the other end of the Lumber Pile. Make sure that you have Sticker Strips lying across between Layers of your Boards, for Air to travel through between the Layers. __________________ McCulloch chain saws 1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's, 2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener, 1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver 2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10 Stihl chain saws 2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084, Strunk chain saws 1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

3rd February 2009, 05:06 PM	#4
treevet Backflipper Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Posts: 2,131	Re: drying hardwoods What makes more $.....a small tree guy's sawmill setup or a sophisticated tree guys firewood set up. Anybody compared the 2?

3rd February 2009, 08:30 PM	#5
LeifR Mature tree Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Norway Posts: 285	Re: drying hardwoods Depends on the climate. In cold areas people will always need firewood. Just as important as food. The market is there all the time, and thus prices will be stabile. Milling on small mills is no fast business. I might have produced much more firewood in the same time it takes to mill a big log. Though, I have never sold firewood, just made it for myself. But it would be a shame to split for firewood a beautiful log? Leif. Attached Thumbnails __________________ My place - Bjørndalen. http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

4th February 2009, 02:05 AM	#6
treevet Backflipper Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Posts: 2,131	Re: drying hardwoods It also depends on how much money people have in the area you are selling firewood. Also the contact to sell the lumber. As for it being a shame to not use some logs for lumber, I agree, but also I have seen countless logs saved to go to lumber and never did and were wasted for firewood as well as they decayed.

6th February 2009, 06:11 AM	#7
LeifR Mature tree Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Norway Posts: 285	Re: drying hardwoods I made a picture of one of my plank stacks to day. I don't make myself believe it's more special than stacks anywhere else in the world. I post it just for fun, perhaps also a bit for showing how much snow we have. I had an idea about logging to day, but the snow was so deep that my tractor (4x4)nearly got stuck. I ended up with a picture instead. There's pine and spruce, and the darker planks right are oak. Leif Attached Thumbnails __________________ My place - Bjørndalen. http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

7th February 2009, 10:36 AM	#8
kylekurt Sappling Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: idaho Posts: 15	Re: drying hardwoods thanks for the info guys. If there is a market for logs I might sell them in that form. I dont have the room to stack it all. and I dont have the time to sit on them.

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