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Pete Staehling
01-09-2017, 9:03 AM
I build musical instruments so my work pieces are small and I consume relatively small amounts of board feet. That said I like to salvage dead trees and have a ready supply of dead cherry trees since they tend to live only until they are 10-14 in diameter here. I have used some blown down trees rough sawn by eye with a chainsaw and then milled at home on a 14" bandsaw.

I have been surprised that the planks seem to dry pretty fast just sitting in the shop, but as I do more of this I think maybe a small kiln might make sense. My work never requires finished pieces more than 3' long and most are less (most of it is ultimately sawn into thicknesses of 0.090-0.125"). I could see a kiln as small as one accommodating only a couple dozen board feet and a maximum length of only 3-6' working for me.

Has anyone used or seen a kiln that tiny? Is there any reason it is an especially bad idea?

Solar sounds appealing, but I am not sure if I can find an acceptable spot that gets more than a few hours of sun per day. I am in Tallahassee so the sun is pretty hot, but I just don't have a place with long hours of sun.

I wonder if something quite small with a small muffin fan and a light bulb or two for heat would be at all practical.

Thoughts on any of that? I have only had a minimum of experience with this and probably have done everything wrong so far, but I have been happy with being able to produce small quantities nice useable stock despite my crude approach.

david privett
01-09-2017, 9:58 AM
how about a small metal shed with a couple of gable vents and a fan. I believe that it would be best with a concrete floor to control pests and moisture. I lived in Clearwater ,fla. and I remember how hot the old shed got when closed up.

Bob Bouis
01-09-2017, 10:11 AM
Use a 120v humidistat to control a light bulb in an insulated box with a fan in it.

Jim Andrew
01-19-2017, 7:07 AM
If you put in the time to read about kilns, a concrete floor does not work. You want a raised floor, insulated. There is a lot posted on forestryforum about solar and other kilns. One guy uses a room dehumidifier to remove the moisture from the kiln, so it does not have to be vented.

Keith Outten
01-19-2017, 12:38 PM
Find an old horizontal freezer for the box. If you have a friend with HVAC skills you can convert a small dehumidifier that you can install in the box and then control the drying cycle.

John TenEyck
01-24-2017, 8:16 PM
I built a dehumification kiln as described in FWW Nov/Dec. 1991. My kiln holds about 275 BF, but can easily be scaled to nearly any size, including really small.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7Ic4J70LfOmW-h1K38-e-biGKtc-NNBWQ_1A4shfFMwO0KWKB6vxRIACvStfRB-5h0VlDJkxlqsHfj1PD4BBMv_2xzFdXkM237aklIHdv6qjZIycV k85OMK6KMtf8jcEhL_Y419RkFRYdIwBLOfOfJB6IcOEePK6iSh vtKg4OmThssKK0Lv4p0czuNHN3fnJOtwmsfgTEbQWNoUf8qfHc 9Ma73Pi32ynT1HrXgItUbkAl0SMgklWFWsOAHkTe61cz97pWQ8 PSlwxaHWICUX07Eidg1d4MPA5ggRGbzG-r6eIcFdFgu970CFlJhTt7ZFbmmeVCAgntCnJJgRmCPUmiadTzF Dyec9VGF-3GiOBwlpplyOilWMRCZQhuHg77NWYNKu7oagYLLn7OL5Qu1FIp IxXtsUhfaZyj2eq_JpVPVB1Lt82F3nnmJf2VxKOXOdBdHLNxe7 JwFgVoDSPBl7u3DCuBrE_1TDZPvuwGTsIAomgN-AFaTaTSrwMC4PBndYds5ql6hNLm2Yr3a420CBXNCFqiKxnSSSg FfrX14wp2UUYXcSG5HT6IZD8OMlNquzhEKiJdBJSJoDFaTRJcl Q-N5G0XDbgdJFx5ydf-X7QtPg6iBeEebv1=w640-h480-no

It has a semi automatic control system; requiring attention only once a day, and will idle w/o damage to the wood if I go on vacation, etc. Three 100W bulbs provide the initial heat up to its 110 F operating temperature and the dehumidifier takes care of removing the moisture and provides heat as well. You could actually build an even simpler control system as shown in this diagram:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Vj0Kdvj240pQ_DS0sbbXWklfJ-Y5SI8wgKG3HXHkjXliClC34UFFFZuF526zHkQohTkLxmrYVMju JK5nr7J7IJ1N_i1slr7HIINkzoIsbIo1UPSulpaFOT-8kYVGd7_YdvrS_hdATON35duErG53LgaCa1P5tRU1NAhGxh70T hlZI-yGx0At_kBRospO3CZcVAxctDQn8T-BaL3-tqM8zDR1bo91XOYSl_uQCRgxG7BtCI3StnZ8kfpuEVsW_fFL1L wLZl5_LcGF2r0V8fepI4CKHOVydIQ4Zzcqz15EWhIxMJR4poKJ a7aB1ScqiQEq4Txf0VlGFO4UfYnN5vM7N864hUCSYOJ4LRxfQq 2HhLjZlcakEOS1PaY6djzTDCboJNIhSwfZdYDrdo7wsDC1GLGn ZqV2JfUWleuVJLEJVATej0XawF-HcWncgVdUd_8ep56tSX4VB86r4kmC_I2p0t9zJw_r1rv1ZNq_C ndD4MzsrhzPSuhafUMFpgaXnsaeSDqRfKWuhHzSwjylhUBbmBW jMjEWkHTx1634NHgA3EeCBJRIOu0MQ_mF3YpABCtBUpwn5SzNi J3Zb7ImsgV8AHWYGlFLyaDKGhF01M7GAShdERrJmIgy=w889-h628-no

Having said and showed all this, I've found in practice that it's far better to air dry my lumber to less than fiber saturation point (28% MC) before putting it in the kiln. That only takes 4 to 6 months were I live for 4/4 lumber. Then I put it in the kiln and dry it to 6 - 8% MC in less than 2 weeks.

John

maximillian arango
01-24-2017, 11:03 PM
Depending on how small you want to go you maybe able to do a vacuum kiln, creating a vacuum will lower the boiling point of water and using a heat lamp or some sort of heating element should net you what you want,


back to lurking

John K Jordan
01-25-2017, 10:32 AM
Woodturners often use an old fridge or freezer cabinet to make a small kiln. Google has lots of info. Here is a write-up about one pro woodturner Cindy Drozda made:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwid1o3ozd3RAhWK6YMKHWsdBBgQFghgMAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cindydrozda.com%2Fhandouts_Pd fs%2Fhandouts%2Fdemo%2520handouts%2Fdrying_kiln.pd f&usg=AFQjCNGLUxKxMpjs7IPUhB_XRwcXogw3Mg&sig2=XGHi72biXWa2QyhizZA7Aw&cad=rja

JKJ

Bill Jobe
01-25-2017, 11:56 AM
A microwave is pretty small.
Seriously, the last 3 pieces I made I dried in a microwave.
The problem with that is no universal method. It' all by guess and by golly. But you can dry wood fast.