Weather checks????

[Rusty Eads]

On my last trip to the sawmill the owner took me to a pile of wood out back that he said I could pick through since he was just gonna burn it anyways. I ended up with quite a few board feet of various hardwoods, about 750 bdft total with more to dig out (he said he would use his loader to knock the pile over so I can get to the better stuff that is buried). While I know this stuff is no where near select or probably even #1 common, there is a lot of usable lumber (thinking shop cabinets and a rustic oak bunkbed). The question I have is that most of the oak that I found has these checks in the surface, some about 1/16" deep after planing down to 3/4". The wood is around 12-15% according to my moisture meter. Does anyone think that these checks will get any worse and possible split later down the road? While I am not worried about the stuff that I build for the shop, I would like the bunkbeds to be in fairly decent shape. The checks add character but I don't want character at the expense of stability. Any thoughts? I have enclosed a picture of the end of one of the boards to show what I am talking about. Thanks

[Frank Drew]

Rusty,

As long as it's still just surface checking once you've let the material get into equilibrium with an indoor environment, IMO there's virtually no chance the checking will get worse after that to the point that it affects structural integrity or joinery. You have a cosmetic issue, not an issue with the wood's soundness (unless it's a lot worse than the pictures show.)

Once the wood stabilizes, some of that checking can be masked with grain filler.

[Scott T Smith]

Rusty, oak requires a very slow drying process, and surface checks occur when an oak board is sawn and then left in the hot sun on a hot day(s). This is not an uncommon event at sawmills that do not specialize in kiln drying or in making furniture grade lumber.

Typically these type of checks do not extend through the board, nor is there any danger from them "growing" in the future if the lumber is already less than 16% or so MC.

To see how deeply the checks extend into the board, simply cut it in two (crosscut) and observe the depth.

Voids that occur within an oak board (but not on the surface) - AKA honeycomb - are typically due to the board being dried too quickly in the kiln. The exception to this is if the board has pith wood in it (or near it), or if the checks only exist near a defect such as a knot, etc.

[Frank Drew]

Voids that occur within an oak board (but not on the surface) - AKA honeycomb - are typically due to the board being dried too quickly in the kiln.

Honeycombing can occur with boards that look great on their surfaces, and it's a HUGELY unpleasant surprise when you uncover them since they can, and usually do, render the board unusable.