Wood Drying Question

[Matt King]

First of all - hello! This is my first post. I have found these forums to be MOST informative and educational. I've only been working with wood for a few months, so I have a lot to learn!

I have several blocks of wood coming to me, in several different species. Some are maple, some are walnut, some plain, some figured. They are generally 2-3" thick and 2-8" wide, in a variety of lengths. They have been air drying for about 4 months. I *believe* that they are wax sealed on the ends. I intend to resaw these into 1/4-1/2 'slices' to use in making some small boxes. Therein lies the question! Let them dry longer (and for how long?) or go ahead and slice them up, stickering and weighting them for further drying?

Again - I have thorougly enjoyed reading these forums for the past several weeks and look quite forward to joining in some of the conversation!

Thanks,

Matt

[chris toomey]

slice em up now. resticker and stack. best if you can stack them in your shop. those thick slabs take a long time to dry. buy yourself a moisture meter ...it will be money well spent

[lou sansone]

I am sorry to disagree with chris on this. the wood is still going to be pretty wet with only 4 month of drying. I think you will end up with a lot of pretty twisted 1/4 thick boards if you slice them now and let them dry. I have tried it and have a bunch of fire wood now. IMHO I would wait until the wood is at 10% and then try to resaw them, keeping in mind that they are going to move around some. Leave some extra thickness to allow for final flatening.

[John Hart]

I have a question Lou...couldn't Matt accelerate that process by sticking them in the microwave 30 or 40 times letting them cool between cycles? I know I've had good luck on bowl blanks, so wouldn't that help a bit? Or would it deform the wood for his application?


Oh...by the way. Welcome to the Creek Matt! Great place to hang out!:)

[chris toomey]

i should have said slice to 3/4 inch.....then mill to final dimensions when dry...i realize there would be waste...but 8/4 or12/4 slabs can take years to dry.....

[Matt King]

I see we have some dissenting opinions! :)

Hopefully these chunks of wood will be here soon - I'll take a couple of pictures, with some measurements, and post them here. I don't have a moisture meter, so I'm not sure how to see what the moisture content is.

Thanks for the input - I'll update this thread once they arrive...

Thanks,

Matt

[lou sansone]

i should have said slice to 3/4 inch.....then mill to final dimensions when dry...i realize there would be waste...but 8/4 or12/4 slabs can take years to dry.....

I completly agree with you chris. I was taking issue with slicing them into 1/4" sections.

IRT to microwave idea... you got me on that one. I have no experience with it.

I do resaw a fair amount of 1/4 and 3/8 wood for a variety of projects. I have sort of got it down to a science at this time and can provide some tips if you all are interested.

regards
lou

[Matt King]

I'd sure like to hear your ideas - any advice is appreciated at this point!

Thanks,

Matt

[Bob Smalser]

Once 8"-wide stock is more than halfway into a drying season in 8/4 or thicker, you've only two choices.

1) Let them dry as is. (recommended)

2) Resaw and entire half inch over the desired thickness and restack/sticker outdoors in gentle air flow to dry....then still expect to lose a few to twist too severe to remove.

Kitchen microwaves are pretty hot to dry wood without damage.

[Matt King]

Well, they arrived - I stand corrected on the widths. The largest piece is a piece of black walnut that is about 2.5x3.5x15. There are a couple of maple burls that are 2.5 inches thick by 15 or so inches long, and vary from 3/4 inch to 3" in width.

The walnut is wet to the touch, the maple isn't quite as wet. I sort of doubt the '4 months air dried' claim at this point, but it's mine now, so....

Slice 'em up or let 'em lie - that is the question! ;)

Thanks, y'all,

Matt