Question drying wood

[Craig D Peltier]

I have the option to buy about 150-200 pieces of 2-4 foot length figured big leaf figured maple blocks, anywhere from 2-12 inches thick 8-12 wide. Owner says hardly any have cracked but he didnt seal the ends. They have been cut anywhere from 14 months to 2 months ago. If I buy them should I seal such short lengths? Is it too late to wax them? Is it still the rule for 1 yr per inch with shorts? Can i dry them in my garage faster or must they be dried outside?
Sorry for all the questions but if you can even help answering some that will be more than I know :) without guessing. The guy is a sawyer so he doesnt know or maybe care enough to seal them.
Thanks

[Cody Colston]

I would cut off any checked ends and seal them ASAP. The "one year per inch" rule of thumb applies only to 4/4 stock and even then, it is not close to being accurate. Even being shorts, those 12" thick blocks will probably not dry in your lifetime. There is some thought that air-drying time is equal to the square of the thickness which is a long time indeed for a 12" block.

I would seal them and sticker them in the garage if you have the room. Just be aware that when you use them, especially the thicker ones, that they will require further drying after re-sawing so when used, cut oversize stock to allow for shrinkage and warpage while acclimating.

[Howard Acheson]

Sealing the ends needs to be done within hours of initial cutting to be effective. If there are any splits or checks, you will need to cut them off. Sealing at that point is not productive or required.

The one year per inch of thickness is only a rough guideline, not a "rule". Boards being air dried will dry faster in low humidity, constant light air movement and during the summer in most locations. Each species is different. The initial drying should be outside stacked and stickered in an area that has a breeze. Weight and cover the top with plywood or corrugated fiberglass but leave the sides and ends open so air can flow through. Once the wood is dry to 15-16 EMC, you can re-stack it in your garage to complete drying the you local EMC factor. You may need a fan blowing slowly through the stack to get even drying.

If still available, go to Lowes and buy a moisture meter. They had a good one on sale for $12 - $15 recently.

[Scott T Smith]

Craig,

Cody and Howard's comments are spot on.

Assuming that you're not planning to use these blocks for turning, let me add this to their advice. Wood dries very poorly in log or large block form because of the time that it takes to dry the interior of the blocks.

Let's say that you have a 6" thick block, and it's been air drying for a year. Most likely the shell of the block will be at 12% MC (or EMC for your environment). 1" into the block it will measure around 20% MC, 2" into the block it will measure around 30%MC, and 3" into the block it will measure over 40% MC, etc. Now if you take this block and resaw it into 8/4 planks for a project, you're going to have a problem with wood movement because each face of the resawn boards will be at a different MC%, and as they dry they will move at different rates.

If you know what thickness that you ultimately intend to use these blocks, it's best to resaw sooner rather than later and then weigh down your stacks as their air dry.

[Craig D Peltier]

Thanks for all the help. much appreciated.