Asking for opinions please!

[Phil Green]

First post, nice site you have here and I look forward to learning a great deal.

A friend just called me with a wood question (like I'm supposed to know all there is to know about wood!).

He cut some cherry and maple out of his yard, had them rough cut for mantles. The cherry will be for him and the maple for his daughter. The dimensions of both are roughly 8x6" and 8' long. The both have been in his basement for about 1 year, just air drying. He wanted to know when he could safely start dimensioning them for their final use.

I told him this, and I want to know if I forgot anything;

1) Both will be green inside, if you cut more that about an inch off the outside face to dimension it, you will have cut off the "dried" wood and will now be working with "green" wood.

2) Both will probably check or warp being over a hot dry heat source such as a fireplace. I would say even if you kiln dried it, you would have this problem.

3) The best thing to do, if you have to get going on the mantles is to bring the rough wood up and set it near the fireplace. Let it get dryer and move a bit before dimensioning. I thought, if he can convince the wife, he should leave them by the fire and not start working on either until the spring.

What do you think? If I could get him to wait, how long should he wait. I don't own a moisture meter, so I can't tell you what he has now in the lumber. If he can get one, should he wait for a specific % moisture on the surface before firing up the planer?? Did I forget anything?

Thanks,
Phil

[Jim Bowers]

You have given very good advice. Normal air dry time is 2 years. However, these demenisions would require longer. Is his basement conditioned. This would have an affect. I would try to get him to wait another year. If he is leaving the lumber thick and just planning it then your advice is super. If he plans to dimension this lumber into pieces. He needs to rough cut it now and allow it to air dry.

[John Keeton]

3) The best thing to do, if you have to get going on the mantles is to bring the rough wood up and set it near the fireplace. Let it get dryer and move a bit before dimensioning. I thought, if he can convince the wife, he should leave them by the fire and not start working on either until the spring.
Phil, welcome to the creeek! Along with Jim's suggestions, I would say generally you have given good advice. But, I would add relative to #3, that in order to minimize checking, etc., he may want to seal the ends of the lumber. There are a variety of substances that can be used, but this would slow the disproportionate loss of moisture from the ends and may help with twisting, checking, and so forth.

It will be at least 3 years before 6" thick wood will be dry - probably longer. I wouldn't want to trust it above 10-12% to stay stable. And, actually, I think he would experience less movement if the wood remains in the basement as it will dry slower. But, sounds like he wants to get going on this project.

I had a rough, green timber as a mantle piece at one point. It warped and split beyond belief! Not a good plan!

[Sonny Edmonds]

Maybe he could trade it for some fully seasoned wood of the same variety?
I know it wouldn't be the same as "Home Groan", but it would hasten the drying process.
An inch a year is my rule of thumb. So 8 years of air drying.
8 years??? :eek: :confused:
Yep. 8 years. Bounce that off of his pea brain. :rolleyes:

[Curt Taylor]

Sounds like you've recieved good advice so far so just alittle advice from personal experience. If the basement is heated then leave it in the basement. As said, make sure the ends are sealed, very important. Normally I'd sticker wood that I air dry but with these dimensions it's not necessary. Lay them across acouple of saw horses and make sure there is some air flow around them. A small fan will do. If he in any kind of a hurry he should make his mantels out of properly dried wood. It si possible to do what he's trying but it's also quite possible to end up with firewood. Do not move this wood near a direct heat souce at this time or you'll find out how unforgiving wood can be. My2c

[Bill White]

put it by the fire. IMHO that would lead to a "forcing" of the drying which can create some unwanted resulte. Taking the wood into a controlled environment is a definite plus, but don't try to dry it too fast.
Got a friend with a moisture meter?
Bill;)

[Phil Green]

Thanks guys,

I appreciate all the good advice. I will give him the additional info.

Phil

[Joe Chritz]

While I normally get all my info from here it may be useful to post this over at Woodweb. The moderator of the dying forum is some kind of PhD or something. I have seen his name in some research on kiln drying in other places.

If I remember correctly very thick slabs are hard to kiln dry properly and are often done with vacuum. That is why they are so expensive.

One thing for sure is that they aren't ready for mantles at this time.

Joe