I don’t have much experience drying wood – I usually just buy kiln-dried hardwood from my local guy, sticker it for a week or two to let it acclimate to the shop and then go to work. Recently, I ordered some 2x4 and 2x6 SYP from Menards, for a new workbench. When I brought it home, the moisture content was higher than I was expecting (ranged from 15% to 20%, using my cheap meter), but apparently that is where it was supposed to be – it’s graded KD19.
I cut it to rough length and stickered it in the basement (where the bench will live) and put a fan nearby on low, just to keep some air moving. The basement is ~64* and the relative humidity is ~35%. The wood has been there for 10 days, and my meter now says it’s at ~10%.
A couple of questions:
- Does it seem reasonable that the MC has come down that much in 10 days (I’ve never dealt with wood as wet as this before)? I’m testing the wood on the ends that I cut the day I picked up the lumber, so I’m wondering if I’m getting an artificially low reading because the ends are drying out faster than the rest. I’ve tried testing on the side grain in the middle of a board (again, around 10%), but I can’t get the pins on my meter to penetrate very far, so I’m not sure if I’m getting valid readings there. I can make some fresh cuts if that would yield a more accurate reading.
- I have some other SYP that's been in the basement for a few months, and it's at 7-8% - so I assume that's equilibrium. Do I need to have the new wood all the way down to 7-8% before I start working on it, or if I get to, say, 9% is it okay to move ahead?
Thanks, in advance.