Comments on: Seasons change and seasoning becomes lost

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:42:00 +0000

There can be. It depends on the company drying the wood. Many smaller independent companies actually air dry for several months and get a cycle of stock going under shed roofs. They finish off the stock in the kiln and get it down to lower moisture levels. This wood rarely moves when you mill it. Force drying can be done quickly or more slowly. The better companies dry in the kiln more slowly whereas the cowboys dry it fast and we get the degrade without often knowing it. Force drying woods such as oak and cherry end up witha problem called case hardening and this often results in a problem below the surface known as honeycombing. Here the cells separate in subcutaneous checking which often cannot be seen.until the wood is milled or worked. generallt that’s not the case. You can feel the difference when wood is dried to rapidly though.

By: Glenwood Haven

Glenwood Haven — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:27:00 +0000

Is there any advantage working in air dried seasoned wood as opposed to kiln dried ?

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:29:00 +0000

the difference between air drting and kiln drying is that kiln drying reduces the moisture conent of the wood as rapidly as possible and the wood does not season in the process. On the other hand, air drying, which takes four to five time longer, both dries and seasons the wood. A good rule of thumb is a minimum of one year per 1″ of thickness. So a 1″ thick board is a ear of air drying, 2″ is two years and so on.

By: Erik

Erik — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:44:00 +0000

This has been a great series Paul, thanks. I was under the impression that air drying was one in the same as seasoning. Is there any set or guessed length of time that they would season the wood after drying it? Or is it just kind of a few years after drying?