Resawing/Drying Wet Lumber

[Jim VanBramer]

I just got my hands on some fairly nice figured maple (8/4), but unfortunately it was just sawn recently. I want to use it to make some small keepsake boxes, so the finished thickness will be somewhere between 1/4"-1/2". I really don't want to have to wait 1 1/2 - 2 years for it to dry, so I was thinking of resawing down to a thickness that would have a more reasonable drying time. Can anyone help out with whether this is feasible, thicknesses that might work, stickering, any does & don'ts, etc.?? Thanks for your help guys!

Jim V

[Ian Abraham]

If you resaw it too thin when green you may have trouble getting it to dry straight. Sawing it in 1/2 (making 1 inch boards) should be OK, as long as it is really fresh sawn. If it's been drying for a few weeks the outside will be dryer than in the core, you are asking for trouble resawing that.
At least one inch boards will 1/2 your drying time.
For a small amount like that you can probably rig up a box / fan / lightbulb kiln to speed up drying. I haven't dried maple myself so I dont know how fast you can push the drying, but I imagine you can speed it up considerably over standard air drying. You might want to experiment before trying this with your nice figured wood though.;) Usually safer to push the drying in the later stages, once the moisture gets down closer to 'air dried' .
Cheers

Ian

[Jim VanBramer]

Just to add ... I'm talking about fairly small pieces here ... 8"W x 24"L if that makes any difference. Thanks again.

Jim V

[lou sansone]

I agree with ian

lou

[Tom Sontag]

I will jump in. Impatience is a specialty of mine and I sense the desire to get these boards dry fast. It seems to me that you could resaw them thinner than 1" and dry them flat with some added effort. Frequently spaced stickers and clamping the whole pile down would work. Treat it as you would freshly cut veneer.

[lou sansone]

I will jump in. Impatience is a specialty of mine and I sense the desire to get these boards dry fast. It seems to me that you could resaw them thinner than 1" and dry them flat with some added effort. Frequently spaced stickers and clamping the whole pile down would work. Treat it as you would freshly cut veneer.

not much thinner or you will end up with potato chips
lou

[Cecil Arnold]

This maybe off the wall, but what is the thinking on either microwaving the resawn boards cut close to box size, or using the alcohol method currently in favor with most of the turners. We turn bowls to 1/2" then soak them in denatured alcohol overnight, wrap in brown paper for two weeks and final turn. With a few changes might be worth an experiment.