Replies

1. 
   roy.unit8c | Aug 21, 2022 08:22am | #1

   Oak takes a long time to dry, and the thicker it is, the longer it takes to dry. When air drying, you want wood to dry as long as possible in the shop or where ever the furniture is going to be. A humidifier is useful and worth using to help dry out the wood. Besides a moisture meter, it is good to use a weight scale to determine when wood is at equilibrium in moisture content. I weigh whatever wood I want to use before I start drying it and then every Wednesday ("Weigh in Wednesday") afterward until it stops losing much weight. It is also a good idea to paint the end grain to seal it and limit cracks.

2. 
   mikeinohio | Aug 21, 2022 08:34am | #2

   It sounds like you want to air-dry your wood. If so, the answer depends on the average year-round relative humidity where you live.

   Here in northern Ohio, the lowest moisture content I can achieve with air-dried lumber is 12% regardless of species. After that, I gain nothing from additional dry time.

   Then I can bring it into my climate controlled shop and give it time to acclimate. I'll drop an additional 1 or 2 % given time. Then it's ready to use.

   Here is a link to Woodworkers Source for a reference chart of major US cities and the lowest moisture content you can achieve when air drying lumber.

   https://www.woodworkerssource.com/wood-moisture-content.html

   Mike

3. 
   _mj_ | Aug 21, 2022 09:42am | #3

   I get to 12%mc on a pin meter in the garage. 1 year per inch of thickness from green pretty much works here in NYC. Bringing it into the shop can drop it all the way to 6% in heating season. I consider it ready to work around 9-10%. I'll take a last reading from the center of my first breakdown cut to make sure I'm really there.

4. 
   eddo234 | Aug 21, 2022 01:52pm | #4

   Good advice so far, and a good link to determine EMC. I’d only add a couple of things: Although an accurate moisture meter is important, I own an Orion 930, which is accurate, but also pricey (I think they’re $400+ these days), so not a purchase for a hobbyist, you can make a cheap one work by using it for relative readings if you start doing regular readings when the wood is freshly cut, maybe on Wednesdays. :-). One point about the 1” per year…… not always true, it depends on the species and location. Oak will take a year here in Vermont, a humid continental climate, but eastern white pine will reach EMC in a few months in the summer. Cherry and apple take 6-8 months here. New York City has a sub-tropical climate, Arizona is semi-arid or not, it depends where in the state. I dry a lot of white oak, but most all the elm here is already dry because it’s dead from Dutch elm disease. :-)

5. 
   randomwoodguy | Aug 21, 2022 06:52pm | #5

   Thanks for your answers everyone

6. 
   joeleonetti | Aug 23, 2022 08:09pm | #6

   Low teens to occasionally high single digits is what I often see for the wood that I purchase and have had sitting in my garage for a few years before I get around to using it. Some of that wood has had higher numbers initially. What I do is write with a pencil the value I observe from my moisture meter and the date (month and year is typically good enough) if it is greater than say a mid teen value. Then, when I get close to actually needing it, I look to see what the value is. Low teen values and it is good to use.

7. 
   bergenfurniture | Oct 10, 2022 03:18am | #7

   Usually, the moisture content depends on the application. For a construction project, the ideal moisture content is 19%. However, for indoor woodworking, the moisture content recommended is around 9%. And, Ecyor has a good suggestion of using a weight scale to ensure the moisture content is in equilibrium when you are going to use it.

8. 
   pantalones868 | Oct 10, 2022 02:21pm | #8

   Wax the ends of your green wood sticker in a shed with good air circulation.Come back in 8 years and store the wood you intend to use in a low humidity environment for a couple of weeks and you should be good.

1. 
   eddo234 | Oct 12, 2022 09:15am | #9

   Come back in 8 years! That’s funny.

9. 
   pantalones868 | Oct 14, 2022 03:56pm | #10

   Actually I'm not kidding! I operate on the English lawn theory. How do you get a good English lawn? Use a good quality grass seed and roll your lawn everyday for 600 years.
   While air dried wood is usable in maybe a year or two there is something that happens when it is stored away for years and years that makes it much finer. Kiln dried wood is much different than air dried. Something happens to the cells in the process and you can see it but more than that you can feel it when your using it.

1. 
   eddo234 | Oct 14, 2022 06:07pm | #11

   Agree, not about the 8 years (who can wait that long?), the quality of air-dried vs kiln-dried. I remember the 1st time I learned that, from James Krenov's book. I have some black walnut that my partner's dad had sawn by a friend 50+ years ago. The local library cut it down and he asked if he could have it. Unfortunately, he told the sawyer friend, who should have known better, to slice it into 3/4" boards, and some 8/4, then he stored it in his dirt floor shed. When he died I salvaged as much as usable, but 2/3rds of it was beyond use. When my partner insisted she wanted a new king-sized bed a couple of years ago, some of the planed down now-1/2" walnut became the panels for the bed. I loved working with it.