Outdoor drying of milled walnut before kiln dry?

[Nick Mazzino]

I am new to milling. I have milled one large oak tree that I got about 40 planks from that I air dried for around 2 years. I weighted the boards down with stickers in between every board. However, many of the boards were twisted and cupped.
I have a black walnut tree on my property I am going to be haven taken down and mill this coming spring. I am going to take the boards to get kiln dried. Should I dry them for a short period of time prior to taking them to get kiln dried? If so, what tactics do you recommend? Ratchet straps? Anything else?

Thanks!

[Bob Bouis]

Some boards are going to twist or cup (especially cup) no matter what you do. It has to do with the uneven total shrinkage depending on the grain orientation of the board. Walnut does tend to be more stable than most woods (like, for example, red oak).

Ratchet straps are a good idea, but how much tension are they really applying? Not very much, I'd wager, so apply weight first and make sure there's no slack in the strap. Also retighten them periodicially as the wood dries. And yes, air dry it first. Especially walnut as that will give it better color and working characteristics.

[John K Jordan]

I am new to milling. I have milled one large oak tree that I got about 40 planks from that I air dried for around 2 years. I weighted the boards down with stickers in between every board. However, many of the boards were twisted and cupped.
I have a black walnut tree on my property I am going to be haven taken down and mill this coming spring. I am going to take the boards to get kiln dried. Should I dry them for a short period of time prior to taking them to get kiln dried? If so, what tactics do you recommend? Ratchet straps? Anything else?

Thanks!

I agree what what Bob said about walnut. I've always had walnut air dry flat, even wide slabs. I just sticker and weight with a bunch of concrete blocks. Oak, persimmon, and some others can be a problem. (With those quartersaw as much as you can.)

One problem with ratchet straps is they will need to be retightened as the wood shrinks. If wrapped around the bundle they will also pull more on the sides than the center and tend to pull the boards together, at least on the top and bottom layers (I always leave small gaps between the boards for air circulation.) Maybe make some stout cauls? But I suspect the dead weight will be fine for walnut.

I've never had anything kiln dried - you might get recommendations from your kiln operator or ask on one of the sawmilling forums such as the Sawing and Drying Forum on WoodWeb.

JKJ

[Danny Hamsley]

Yes, air dry it first. 4 - 6 months would be good.

[Robert Cherry]

I like to paint the ends with anchor seal right after the log is cut to reduce checking on the ends.

Check with your sawyer or kiln operator about walnut, here in my part of PA we cannot take air dried walnut out of the county due to thousand cankers disease.