Air Dried vs Kiln Dried

[Matthew Poeller]

Well I am mostly a lurker and do not post too much but I now have a problem that needs an answer.

There is a guy near my house that has a bunch of Cherry for sale. Mostly wider lengths and about 10' long. He has air dried and kiln dried.

Now here is the question. Not to make anyone jealous but he wants $3.00 a board foot for the kiln and $1.50 a board foot for the air dried and I am not sure why there is such a difference in the price. Can anyone enlighten me on the difference and the reason for the price difference?

[Martin Shupe]

I would think the price difference is a result of the price he had to pay to have it kiln dried.

I have always read in magazines and books that woodworkers should only use kiln dried lumber.

However, last year I took a class by Kelly Mehler, and he said he prefers to buy lumber that is not kiln dried, but air dried. He said air dried lumber worked better and had more "life" to it than kiln dried.

I would like to hear comments from others regarding kiln dried vs. air dried.

[Chris Padilla]

Did you ask him? ;)

Maybe the kiln-dried is better quality of cherry? Maybe he PAID someone to kiln-dry it? Maybe he bought a kiln to dry wood and need to pay for it?

Could be lottsa reasons. I am far from a cherry expert but I haven't heard any big deal between kiln- and air-dried cherry. Walnut is a whole other story and you will pay more for air-dried 'cause it's purttier. :)

[Perry Schmidt]

There was actually a good article in...Wood?? Magazine recently about air dried vs. kiln dry, and the 'myth' that kiln dry was better. There's some considerations w/ air dried - was it stacked right, is it dry enough, no bugs, etc. But if it's not buggy, there's no reason to be scared off by air dried wood.

When I was a kid we (being Father and I) cleared a lot of oaks on our lot of the new house. The oak ended up producing about 4000 BF of lumber. all air dried, took about a year and a half to dry, but was VERY nice wood. Ended up finishing the new house w/ it. He still has a really nice clear 14" wide piece that he hasn't used...moved it to 3 different houses, and I threaten to steal it every time I go home to visit - too bad it won't fit on the plane :)

Anyway, check it for bugs but if it looks good, go for it!

Perry

[Matthew Poeller]

Perry,

I subscribe to Wood and was wondering what issue that article was in? I must have looked over that one mainly because I have never had the opportunity to buy air dried lumber.

All,

Thank you. I never thought about the cost of having the wood sent to the kiln. Doesn't everone have one in their backyard that they can use free of charge??? Thank you for the replys. I think that I am going to check out the air dried and buy twice as much.

Matt

[Joseph N. Myers]

Matt,

The Wood magazine your interested in is the June/July 2004 issue and it is not an article, rather Editor's Angle on page 8. It also mentions an article on page 66 in the same issue on wood moisture and in it, a sub-article on "careful drying results in high-quality lumber".

I have lots of wood, most of it air dried "the correct way" and don't remember ever having a problem. I also have some kiln dried, maybe 1,500 bf and every once in a while, have a problem with the wood twisting when ripped. Been told that it is an indication of the wood being dried too quickly.

I've read and have been told that the "best" way to dry wood is to 1st air dry it then kiln dry. I do know that before using either, it is best to let it sit in your house/work shop for 2 to 7 days so the wood will "equalize".

As far as whether to buy the air dried or kiln dry cherry, you really have to check out how each was done. And with the air dried, how long. For 4/4 cherry, it should be at least a year, 2 years being better. And on stickers, etc.

Walnut was mentioned earlier. I've had excellent luck with air drying it. But I do know that if steam is use in the kiln (versus other methods), the steam with darken the sap wood (the white part).

Regards, Joe

[Greg Heppeard]

My feeling about air vs kiln is: I believe that air dried usually has a better color and the longer, natural drying process allows the wood to do it's natural movement during drying...kiln drying, IMHO tends to cook some of the color out of the wood and also dries it faster than the wood has a chance to move the way it wants. This is just my opinion tho. Air dried does have to be stickered correctly tho...both during and after the drying process.

[Todd Burch]

Both air drying and (solar, dehumidification, steam, vacuum, etc.) kiln drying can produce good and screwed up wood. I would simply take a good, long hard look at both and see which one is better quality. Any staining? End splits? Surface checking? Warping, bowing, twisting? Color? Flat sawn vs rift vs quarter sawn? Sapwood?

This "long hard look" may mean cutting into each flavor and seeing how the wood reacts when milled. There are tests you can do to check for case hardening, too much tension and too much compression. Also look at moisture content and compare it with the equilibrium moisture content for your locale.

Todd

[Tim Sproul]

Yeah,

what Todd said....

but you never have to worry about unseen drying defects with air-dried lumber....such as honeycomb or worse yet, case hardening. However, you have more concern with pests - both insect and microbial with air-dried lumber. Kiln-dried lumber generally is pest-free unless the sawyer stored the lumber wrongly.

This doesn't mean air dried sticks won't move on you when you rip them - they may if they are not uniform in moisture content throughout the board.


some woods are thought to have better appearance when air-dried. black walnut being the most prominent example I can think of.

also...kiln-drying runs in the $0.20/bf range.....not $1.50/bf.

The other thing to look for when purchasing lumber from a sawyer - you are often purchasing ungraded lumber (which partly accounts for needing to part with less $$ to get the wood) so you'll want to carefully inspect the boards before agreeing on a price and quantity. But I like inspect my lumber before buying graded lumber as well. warp is not considered a defect.....

If I had the room and the contacts...I'd love to buy all my lumber green and dry it myself....

[Perry Schmidt]

Matthew - Joseph has the issue/Editor's note I was refering to. Thanks Joseph.

[Matthew Poeller]

Thank you to all who have replied. I guess I will head over to his house this weekend and take a look see. Not sure what I will purchase yet but I think I am going to have to lean towards the air dried.

Thanks again.

[Donnie Raines]

The biggest cost diffrence with air dried to kiln dried(aside from the "raw" quailty of the lumber itself) is the amount of times the lumber is handled. To air dry you just find the correct postion and stack and sticker it...then forget about it(with ends coated). Kiln drying requires that the boards be stacked and stickered for some 2-6 weeks prior to being placed into the kiln. So you need to stack it for that. When ready to be kiln dried it needs to be moved into the kiln. Allow the drying process to take 2-4 weeks and then moved back out and restacked. When you have several hundred or thousand feet..thats a lot of work! You will have usbale lumber in a much quicker time frame this way..and time is money. Sure, the larger mills move the stackes around with fork lifts, but many of the smaller guys do it by hand(and back..). Air dried is my choice of lumber, not so much because of the price, but do to color. Cherry and walnut(in my eye) is best air dried. the colors are far deeper amd more rich..again in my eye.

[Jim Becker]

I will use either, but generally work with air-dried lumber. Why? The poplar and walnut I use is off the property and I dried it that way, so until it's gone...it's what I'll use. The Cherry I buy from a local supplier just over the river in NJ is also air dried...and the fellow knows how to do it correctly. I will likely buy walnut and poplar from him once mine is gone since the cost from that supplier is very advantagious. He doesn't have the cost of a kiln to worry about, mills his own lumber and has storage to deal with the drying process. When I need figured stock or exotics, it's likely that material will be kiln dried. For some woods, I prefer air dried...walnut comes to mind. I like the natural color that is lost with some kiln drying processes that use steam to increase yields with this species.

One other thing I do is buy lumber when I come across something I really like. Every piece of wood is unique and you only get one opportunity to put it in your rack. I don't really care which drying method is used in that respect...the lumber itself is key. Assuming, of course, it was handled correctly during the drying process. Remember, even KD lumber can be bad if it's not processed right!