Another wood water content question

[Mark W Pugh]

OK, I have some cherry, 1", stickered and laying in my shop for about 8 years. Not too sure how much is workable due to the splitting and knots. Not a lot of air flow over the years. Anyway, cutting back a foot from the ends reveals a 10-10.5 moisture reading. Wanting to use it for cabinets inside, which is heated by wood and very dry.

Can I use this stuff? Should I have it put in a kiln to reduce the moisture content? What moisture should I be looking for?

And, will kilned wood absorb moisture if kept in a higher moister area?

Thanks.

[Mel Fulks]

It will of course absorb water . But will move much less. Couple of posts on this in the last few days.I had been working with wood as job for years when my boss mentioned that they occasionally got calls from people wanting to sell some wood grampa cut years ago and stacked in the barn. When I asked why they were not interested,he said they didn't want to mess with getting it kiln dried and explained the difference between KD and AD and the fine print specs of the jobs we took.News to me. IMO this should be in print a lot more often. There is no reason you can't use your AD wood,just build in a way that allows for some movement. It's been done for a long long time.

[Jim Becker]

I personally wouldn't worry about RH of 10-10.5...that's not outside typical ambient moisture. Just, as always, build your projects with seasonal movement considered and dealt with.

[Lee Schierer]

Your profile doesn't show where you are located. If your shop is unheated or a basement shop, making a cabinet from this wood and then moving it into your house where the house is heated and dry will result in shrinkage across the boards. Make sure your design allows for this shrinkage.

[Chris Fournier]

Personally I'd want the MC down to 4 to 6 percent given the conditions the finished piece is going into. Bruce Hoadley's book Understanding Wood has formulas which help you calculate the amount of movement you will see in wood as it moves from one MC to another. Worth the read.