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8/4 Walnut

Started by Cazzhrdwd, February 04, 2017, 09:47:32 PM

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Cazzhrdwd

I'm getting some very nice large Walnut logs in, I'm thinking about doing it all in 8/4. Do you guys think I should air dry or dead green in the ol L200? I know what a pain it is getting final moisture out but I'm concerned about honeycomb and just hurting the load in general. I have a guy that would buy it tomorrow if I had it so as usual I need tonget going on this. I've done lots of 4/4 which is probably a cake walk compared to 8/4.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

Den Socling

I would say that figure has a lot to do with how you dry it. If it is straight, plain grain it is fairly easy. If it has beautiful figure wood at crotches, you have to be really careful.

Cazzhrdwd

I dont think it will have much figure Den, it's all woods grown tall and straight.
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

YellowHammer

I have been kiln drying 8/4 with good success. It has a high moisture removal rate.  However, I have been air drying to about 35% or less and taking it slow in the kiln. 
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

Air drying under an open shed is #1.  Then air followed by kiln.  Then kiln drying green.  The issue with going green is the long time involved.  Because you have L200, you can safely (quality perspective) kiln dry a full load from green. 

The most important procedure is to end coat with a double coating and also use the end coating on all large knots.   Use Anchorseal or equivalent.  This will prevent almost all honeycomb.  The biggest issue with walnut is end checks that turn into honeycomb and travel down the lumber, often 12".
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

robmelby

 What part of Maryland are you from?

Den Socling

Here is one of the walnut slabs I currently have in a kiln. The slabs are 12/4 up to 14/4 and the ends were heavily waxed. We mark the checks before loading to make sure there is no dispute about where they came from.


 

Cazzhrdwd

Quote from: YellowHammer on February 04, 2017, 10:29:24 PM
I have been kiln drying 8/4 with good success. It has a high moisture removal rate.  However, I have been air drying to about 35% or less and taking it slow in the kiln.
How long are you air drying to get that and are you air drying in an open shed?
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

Cazzhrdwd

Quote from: GeneWengert-WoodDoc on February 04, 2017, 10:37:51 PM
Air drying under an open shed is #1.  Then air followed by kiln.  Then kiln drying green.  The issue with going green is the long time involved.  Because you have L200, you can safely (quality perspective) kiln dry a full load from green. 

The most important procedure is to end coat with a double coating and also use the end coating on all large knots.   Use Anchorseal or equivalent.  This will prevent almost all honeycomb.  The biggest issue with walnut is end checks that turn into honeycomb and travel down the lumber, often 12".

thanks Gene, I'm going to air dry fro two months and see where it's at.
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

Cazzhrdwd

Quote from: robmelby on February 05, 2017, 08:19:14 AM
What part of Maryland are you from?
I'm in Westminster, not too far from you.
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

YellowHammer

Quote from: Cazzhrdwd on February 05, 2017, 05:30:52 PM
Quote from: YellowHammer on February 04, 2017, 10:29:24 PM
I have been kiln drying 8/4 with good success. It has a high moisture removal rate.  However, I have been air drying to about 35% or less and taking it slow in the kiln.
How long are you air drying to get that and are you air drying in an open shed?

Several months in the summer, longer in the winter.  I have an open roof on a concrete slab. 
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

serg

I dry slab vacuum humidity 6 %. Doing heat treatment of 175 gr S. Humidity will be 10 - 12% heat treatment no. Air natural convection. Cold at bottom, warm at top. I have not used the atomizer with water, I did not use a fan. The steam from the wood , very much in the chamber is a drying agent and moisture. The result of drying and thermal treatment on photo slab.

Sergey.





Den Socling

If you start with end checks, hopefully this is what you will have at the end of the drying schedule.


 


 
Nothing but a crayon line.

ToddsPoint

Quote from: serg on February 06, 2017, 12:08:23 AM
I dry slab vacuum humidity 6 %. Doing heat treatment of 175 gr S. Humidity will be 10 - 12% heat treatment no. Air natural convection. Cold at bottom, warm at top. I have not used the atomizer with water, I did not use a fan. The steam from the wood , very much in the chamber is a drying agent and moisture. The result of drying and thermal treatment on photo slab.

Sergey.


Sergey, I see you make gunstock blanks.  It looks like you have hundreds of rifle blanks.  Tell me about your gunstock operation.  I also turn walnut into stock blanks and fit and finish stocks.  Gary
Logosol M7, Stihl 660 and 290, Kubota L3901.

Den Socling

I, also, have been trying to write a perfect schedule for walnut gunstocks. I think they have been coming out pretty good but the company that sends them wants them perfect. Not even hairline cracks are permitted. They sell some rough and any cracks would depreciate value. If it was up to me, I'd run them through a belt sander and then sell them. Here's a couple pictures. In the first one, I had cut up a  a couple blanks to verify that there was no degrade inside and that the core was dry. The second picture is just 4 rejects.

 



 

serg

ToddsPoint, Hello!
I do not speak English. I brought the nuts for drying vacuum chamber. The customer himself takes the gun factories where they make the butts for a hunting rifle.
Den. You said, well, do everything right.
Sergey.

ToddsPoint

Quote from: Den Socling on February 20, 2017, 01:35:22 PM
I, also, have been trying to write a perfect schedule for walnut gunstocks. I think they have been coming out pretty good but the company that sends them wants them perfect. Not even hairline cracks are permitted. They sell some rough and any cracks would depreciate value. If it was up to me, I'd run them through a belt sander and then sell them. Here's a couple pictures. In the first one, I had cut up a  a couple blanks to verify that there was no degrade inside and that the core was dry. The second picture is just 4 rejects.

Crotch wood in a kiln would be tricky indeed.  I air dry my wood, simply because I don't have a kiln yet.  I cut stock blanks out of the slab immediately.  I hang it and put a clear plastic bag over it.  When the bag shows moisture, take it off and turn it inside out and put it back on.  This slows the rate of drying and it will keep it from checking.  Once there is no more moisture showing in the bag it is safe and the feather won't check.  Gary
Logosol M7, Stihl 660 and 290, Kubota L3901.

ToddsPoint

Quote from: serg on February 20, 2017, 11:12:26 PM
ToddsPoint, Hello!
I do not speak English. I brought the nuts for drying vacuum chamber. The customer himself takes the gun factories where they make the butts for a hunting rifle.
Den. You said, well, do everything right.
Sergey.

Thanks Sergey.  Gary
Logosol M7, Stihl 660 and 290, Kubota L3901.

Cazzhrdwd

So as usual, trying to get the water to move in this 8/4 walnut. I'm at about 30% in the core, 17% on the outside. Shut the compressor off and raised the temp to 120. It's been there for 24 hours, no movement yet!
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

Cazzhrdwd

Finally have movement. Core is about 28% so I'm continuing with compressor off and 120 degrees. Outside has moved up to about 18%
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

Are you using a pin meter?  They do not measure above 30% MC with any accuracy, so they will seem to stay at the same value even though there is moisture loss.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

Glenn1

I have an L53 so the dynamics are similar to your L200.  I turn off my compressor and raise the temperature to 145-150 degrees.  Then I turn on the automatic fans until the temperature drops to around 120 degrees.  The fan should exhaust a fair amount of moist air.  Then I repeat the procedure.  Make sure you turn off the compressor so you don't trip the over heat switch. 
Vacutherm IDry, Nyle 53 Kiln, New Holland Skid Steer, Kaufman Gooseneck Trailer, Whitney 32A Planer

Cazzhrdwd

Gene yes I am.

Glen I'm trying to get the inside and outside cores to equalise a bit. It's been air drying for 2 months. I'm a bit nervous to go that high yet. I will when I get it closer to done.
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

Cazzhrdwd

Still slowly coming down. I'm getting a small amount of end checking,
Some are about 1 inch long and a 16th wide, it would be normal checking on anything else, sure hope it's not an indication of honeycomb.
96 Woodmizer LT40Super  Woodmizer 5 head moulder

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

Face or end checkIng?
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

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