Air dried lumber source

[Don Rustic]

Can ANYONE tell me of a reliable source for small orders of AIR DRIED, straight grain red and/or white oak. My old source seems to have gone out of business. It seem that everything out there is kiln dried. I need it for steam bending and kiln dried will not work. It's just too brittle and no, soaking it doesn't help, believe me, I've tried many times. I've looked all over the web and with no luck. I'm just about out of what I have on hand.

Thanks, Don

[Scott T Smith]

Can ANYONE tell me of a reliable source for small orders of AIR DRIED, straight grain red and/or white oak. My old source seems to have gone out of business. It seem that everything out there is kiln dried. I need it for steam bending and kiln dried will not work. It's just too brittle and no, soaking it doesn't help, believe me, I've tried many times. I've looked all over the web and with no luck. I'm just about out of what I have on hand.

Thanks, Don


Don, not all kiln dried wood is the same. Conventional kilns (high temperature) typically dry wood between 160F - 180F; on the other hand dehumidification kilns are low temperature and the bulk of the drying cycle is at 100F or below - the same as air drying.

Vacuum kilns also dry at low temperature.

You might try some wood that has been dried in a DH kiln and see how it compares to your AD lumber.

Scott

[Jim Matthews]

He's not exactly nearby, but Ralph Southwick, Jr. of Barre, MA has an extensive supply of air dried lumber.
Google his name to get the phone number or drop me a PM.

I don't know that he will ship, but the order size might make a difference.

Lastly, have you tried Woodfinder (http://www.woodfinder.com/)? Sawyers are listed by ZipCode.

[Jim Falsetti]

Don - Have you contacted Woodmizer and asked for owners in your geographic area?

Paul Lelito in Massachusetts is one source. Check Steve Branam's April 10, 2011 closegrain blog entry for photos and Paul's contact details.

Jim

[Jim Andrew]

Check out forestryforum.com That's where the saw mill operators hang out. Put a post looking for wood there.

[Randy Gazda]

Have you checked woodfinder.com, just put in your zipcode and it will give you nearby sources, some of which may be air dried. Also, lots of small bandsaw mills list wood on Craigslist, most of those guys don't have kilns.

[Brad Schafer]

don- not sure where you are in indiana, but there's a fellow in the Lima OH area that has a bandmill and a potload of air-dried stock. for reference, it's around 80 mi from Ft Wayne. he's an older guy, not on the web and not in the phone book ... PM me if that kind of trip is doable and you want a name/number.

[Carl Beckett]

Completely by random I happened on this guy (in Indiana, dont know if this is useful or close)

http://www.woodsbygwgreen.com/Aboutus.html