Air drying issue WINTER

[Dominique Meuris]

I have a furniture factory in romania, And since August we started drying white european oak ourself.
But i have to but 100cubic meters of Fresh cut timber next month.

And i'm afraid of freezing of the timber And cracking then.

Is it a problem to store green timber outside in -20 till -30 degrees Celsius?
Is it damaging the timber?

Because i would lose a fortune if this is happening, And i really Cannot afford to ...

Anyone has experience with this?

[Jim Andrew]

I saw my own lumber on a small scale. Mostly in winter. The cracking comes from logs that have laid around outside till they are cracked before sawing. You can also ruin oak by drying it too fast, in a kiln. Best to air dry before putting in a kiln for drying down to single digits. Freezing weather doesn't seem to hurt lumber, sawing frozen logs is sometimes difficult, but possible.

[Dominique Meuris]

I saw my own lumber on a small scale. Mostly in winter. The cracking comes from logs that have laid around outside till they are cracked before sawing. You can also ruin oak by drying it too fast, in a kiln. Best to air dry before putting in a kiln for drying down to single digits. Freezing weather doesn't seem to hurt lumber, sawing frozen logs is sometimes difficult, but possible.

Well we are not sawing it ourself,
Someone Nearby is doing the sawing.
But we dry it ourself because this way we can be certain that it's dried perfectly.

So for me it's important to prevent cracking of the timber when air drying.

And that's why it's important for me that the freezing temperature is nog damaging the timber, does someone else have experience with this aswell?

Best regards
Dominique

[Jamie Buxton]

The trees in your forests survive your winters, without cracking. That tells you something.

[Mark Bolton]

There is a lot of information on the forestry form and woodweb with regards to cutting and drying in sub freezing temperatures. You may want to post your question on a forum that focuses on commercial lumber drying to get accurate information. No offense to anyone here on the creek.

[David Hendricks]

I am not expert in this at all, but there is a difference in a live tree uncut withstanding sub freezing temperatures and freshly cut timber. I would be concerned that the moisture in the wood would crystallize in the fibers and break them down, especially in late winter, early spring when daytime temps get above freezing and night time go below. Again I am not in anyway educated about wood cutting and storing, but that would be a big concern for me.

[Dominique Meuris]

I am not expert in this at all, but there is a difference in a live tree uncut withstanding sub freezing temperatures and freshly cut timber. I would be concerned that the moisture in the wood would crystallize in the fibers and break them down, especially in late winter, early spring when daytime temps get above freezing and night time go below. Again I am not in anyway educated about wood cutting and storing, but that would be a big concern for me.

That's my concern aswell, And i was hoping someone with experience could help me with this matther

[Max Neu]

Contact "The Wood doctor" on woodweb, his name is Gene, he is an expert in this sort of thing.

[bill tindall]

If you come to North America you will be able to see millions of bd ft of lumber air drying outside in freezing temperatures. It is the best time to dry oak, or anything else. It will freeze dry without cracking from the sun, or mold invading the sapwood.

[Curtis Myers]

If the wood is outside exposed to weather, cover the lumber. A small local sawmill owner keeps his lumber outside but covers it to keep most of the rain off.

[Jim Andrew]

I'd be more concerned about log degrade than lumber cracking in winter. Logs start cracking at the outside, and the cracks get deeper as the time goes on. After while the logs are just firewood.