Replies

1. 
   gb93433 | Mar 05, 2006 10:14pm | #1

   Lumber is either put into a pre-dryer or air dried before it is kiln dried. I do not know of any company which will dry 16/4 dense hardwoods. They will KD woods like basswood which are soft and not very dense.

   Air dried woods work better and have better machining and hand planing properties. When kiln drying the wood it is finished at 165-180 degrees F. If you have ever walked into a kiln under that temperature the smell and other things you notice will be an experience you will never forget. Once the lumber is dried to the point where they want it, then, steam is added to relieve the stresses on the surface during drying.

   The optimum is to get the wood at exactly the same moisture content all the way through the board. Wood dries from the outside in and that is the reason why they steam the wood at the end. Air drying is much more likely to obtain the closest to optimum. Due to it being a business the objective is to get the lumber in and out. Some yards are so full and small in size that they must get the lumber to market so it can be sold so they can make the most money. Imagine what it would be like if a yard had 1 milion in ionventory and had to wait a lot longer just to get their lumber sold. They would need much more land to air dry the material.

2. 
   pcooper | Mar 06, 2006 02:29am | #2

   I've used it both ways, and I really prefer air drying personally. I think that the wood actually is more stable, but the thing is you buy it and have to sit on it a year or so. I don't mind, I buy wood at a good deal and let it sit a while, then a project comes along that will be a good use for the stuff I have. One thing might have been with the kiln dried wood I got before, it might not have been properly dried, and if so my opinion might be skewed some. I've had kiln dired wood that was supposed to be the right moisture content to use move on me in ways I never figured before. Now I end up with kiln dried wood that air dries for another six months before I use it.

1. 
   gb93433 | Mar 06, 2006 05:30am | #3

   The one thing a person needs to worry about with most woods which do not dry quick enough is sticker stain.