How do we know when it's dry enough?

[RavioliKid]

Okay, woodguys!

Do you remember the saga of the oak in my front yard? We got it taken down and then some Forum member - I forget who   - sawed boards out of it.

Well, we put the boards we got out of it in the basement and have them clamped down with spacers between them.

Can any of you give me a clue as to when the wood will be dry enough to use?

[Tom]

Some of my old-timers use 4/4 oak after about 11 months of drying under an open shed.

You could find someone with a moisture meter.  Have you a wood working shop in your local high school?   That would be a good place to start. (you may find a cabinet shop with one too)  I'm sure they would jump to help a pretty young thing like you.

You could also weigh a piece of it and then put it in the oven on warm (110-150 degrees} for 12 hours and then weigh it again.  if it loses weight then it had water in it.  That doesn't tell what the content was but it lets you know that it existed.

I'd try for the moisture meter if it were me.

[SwampDonkey]

Difficult to dry lumber in a basement, 'less you have a dehumidifier. I air dry mine in a barn, up in the loft where its about 10 degees warmer than at floor level. Most of my lumber as been drying for 5 years. Large stock  like 6 x 6 is hard to air dry and my cherry checks bad. My white pine is the most stable and white ash also. As Tom suggested the moister meter would come in handy, an MC of 12 to 18 % would be nice, but air drying in a basement, prolly around 26 to 35 %. Need to get that number lower. Remember that wood binds water like contact cement.

[Den Socling]

It's a lot of work but, if possible, I'd move the 'predried' oak from the basement to the attic.

[RavioliKid]

Thanks for the ideas, guys.

We do have a dehumidifier, but I still think the basement is pretty humid.

Okay, another question...

We don't have an attic. When I lived in Guatemala, the "saw mills" (and I use the term loosely) used to dry their wood by standing it up and leaning one end against something and just drying it in the open air. Is this a feasible idea?

Or, do you thing we could just bring it up and reclamp it outside? Of course, with all the cold, wet weather we've had this spring/summer it's probably better off in the basement!

[beenthere]

First, how dry is enough, depends on what you want to use it for.  In Guatemala, the wood probably wasn't as dry as you want it if you are going to try to use it for furniture. All depends on the use for the wood that you have in mind.  

Nowdays, we live by airconditioning to keep the humidity down in the summer months, and heat in the winter months which also keeps the humidity down. So if furniture, it probably is important to get your wood down to at least 10% (it will try to go lower than that in the 'heat' of the winter) moisture content.

Tom suggested drying some pieces in the oven. If you do that, and are able to fairly accurately weigh those pieces, then you can use those weights to find out how dry the wood is now. Weigh the wood sample before oven drying, and then keep drying and weighing until the wood doesn't lose any weight between oven drying.  Take the final weight, subtract it from the initial weight, and divide that difference by the initial weight. That number, multiplied by 100 will give you the initial moisture content and an indication what the moisture content is of the wood in your basement.

Finding a moisture meter may be the better way, also as Tom suggested.

[SwampDonkey]

Diddo to beenthere's MC% formula and end use of the wood. If you stand that lumber on a  lean, its likely to bow like the gunnels of a canoe. Theoreticaly in the house, in dry winter conditions, MC can be down to 6 % and during summer it depends on geographic region and RH% of the local air.

[etat]

Ah ha.  I asked a question  about drying leaning a here while back.  I remember a lumber yard up the other side of Bolivar TN that used to dry that a way. Still don't know if we ever figured if it was a good idea or not. I do understand that it was somewhat labor intensive.  One of the things talked about was that an employee had to turn the lumber every day to help eliminate that warping.

[SwampDonkey]

Ok, getting real techincal here, but another term used is Fibre Saturation Point (FSC). That is when the wood cell cavities are free of water, but there is an equilibrium established in the cell walls. No loss or gain of water. Typically, this is around 30 % for most species. And a second term is relative density (specific gravity) which measures the weight of water displaced by wood. I'm sure these terms are in this forum somewhere, nothing earth shattering.

[RavioliKid]

Wow!

I am getting overwhelmed with all this technical stuff! Thanks for all the answers. I guess I'll have to try to find a moisture meter - but if I get bored this summer, maybe I'll try the oven method.

You guys rock!

[Den Socling]

If your wood has been in the basement only, I'd bet it's too wet for any indoor use. To find out if it's dry or not, just cut a thin (1/4") slice (not off the end) and put it in a microwave for a minute or so. If it warps, the wood was wet. If it stays flat, the wood was dry.

[oakiemac]

Hi rav,
It was me that milled your trees. I got some good Oak of them. Most of it has been stacked and stickered in my barn since last year. I have about 1500 ft of Cherry on top of it. My kiln is going to be in operation here with in a few weeks and I could throw your boards in with the other Oak (no cost).
Or I can swing by after work with my moisture meter someday. Let me know. I'd be glad to kiln dry it for you.

[RavioliKid]

Oakiemac!

Of course it was you!

Would you mind swinging by here sometime with your moisture meter? Let me know when. I'll be in town all this week - going out of town the week after. Should be back the week after that.

[oakiemac]

How about wednesday at 3:45?

[RavioliKid]

That sounds great! It'll give me a good reason to leave the baby shower early.

Baby showers....  

[RavioliKid]

Oakiemac came by with his moisture meter today. The wood was measuring at about 12% on the sides and 5% on the ends.

I just thought I'd share the results, in case anyone was interested. Back to your regularly scheduled program...

[SwampDonkey]

And you thought the dehumidifier wasn't doing its job?  I know I'm impressed. I wonder what a fresh sawn piece yeilds on the end grain.

[beetle]

Just curious, moisture meters work on the basis of conductivity ( resistance ) from a point to point measure. The points are placed on the surface and not the interior of the wood. Do they not read just the surface moisture content?

[oakiemac]

beetle, the pins are about 1/2" long and are inserted as far as they go into the wood. This allows you to check the interior of the board. On real thick stuff like 8/4 or 12/4 lumber you really are just checking the surface. I'm not sure if they make longer pins for this thickness or not.

[Tom]

The make longer pins and they even come with hammers.  But, all you have to do is cut the end from a board or timber and that gives you access to the inside.