Questions tagged [wood-drying]
Removing moisture from wood in order to reduce cracking and twisting.
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How to dry big lumber?
Years ago, my friend and I were helping to clear out an old man's shop after he died. Among the other stuff was a block of oak about two feet on a side. We marveled at how he was able to produce a ...
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Drying time for 10”x4’ Ebony log
How long should I allow my 4’ long log of 10” diameter ebony air dry before processing into live edge planks? I live on the equator.
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Using white oak for underwater wall of pond - need to dry at all first or not?
I am looking at building a swimming pond and the deep end would have a wooden wall. The company I am buying the design specs from typically uses cedar for the wall. (Just so you can envision - the ...
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Drying European hornbeam for knife handles
I have a piece of hornbeam wood which was cut green. I plan to make a couple of knife handles from it. Now it's extremely wet.
Does it make sense to try to force dry it? If yes then do smaller pieces ...
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How long should I leave a green yew stick clamped to a bench for straightening?
I have already gotten a lot of great info from some previous questions on here, but honestly speaking, I am trying to find a reliable answer for my ten year-old, son who (probably rightly) doubts my ...
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Drying Fir Rounds for Outdoor Table
I have a couple rounds cut off a 42 inch (107 cm) diameter Douglas Fir log that I'd like to turn into tables for use outdoors on a covered porch. The rounds are about 4 inches (10 cm) thick. I'm ...
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Do I need to dry white oak before it can be used for an outdoor balance beam?
I'm planning to build an outdoor balance beam in a 3-part right-angle Z- shape ( ‾‾|__ ) and have access to some fresh-cut white oak (6"x6") which I think will do well outside, but I'm not ...
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What are these bugs in my wood?
I found bugs in wood that I've had air drying for the last few years. What are they, and is the wood still safe to use?
I had a tree cut down a few years ago and some of the wood milled in to slabs. ...
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Does a vacuum kiln kill powder post beetles?
As I understand it, the accepted method for killing powder post beetles is bringing the temperature of the kiln above 130deg for at least 6 hours. Would a vacuum kiln that pulls 29.5" wc and then ...
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Is it better to mill boards before or after drying? (And does it depend on diameter?)
I just cut a log that I want to mill into boards.
(In case the best technique depends on the size, the log is only about 4 inches in diameter, and I want to mill one or two small boards from it, just ...
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How can I dry lumber outdoors for furniture?
My wood shop is outdoors since I don't have a garage in my current house that I'm renting. As such, everything stays outside for the most part (except small power tools).
I've been buying ...
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Ash, seasoning, and epoxying to aluminium
I've decided to make a pizza peel from aluminium sheet with an ash handle, and because aluminium sheet isn't very strong I'm going for a full tang construction. As ash is nice to work green, I've ...
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How can I prevent cracks from opening up in moldings?
In going around my house I notice that not infrequently the miters between moldings around doors and other places have opened up into a crack.
If I am putting new moldings in, how do I avoid this ...
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Let pine dry or use it right away for building a work bench?
Woodworking newbie here.
For fine woodworking, I understand you should let wood dry and get accustomed to your shop (or ideally wherever the finished product will live). Okay so of course that make ...
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Preventing splitting in a thick blocks of wood (over 6 inches)
I had some 6" oak beams cut and even though I put sealer on the ends, they still split. I assume this is because they are still absorbing moisture somehow?
How can stabilize thick beams like this?
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Stabilizing and drying a burl
I have a small elm (?) burl that I'm hoping has something nice in it. I'm not sure how to prep it for drying. In my experience milling elm, the sapwood shrinks significantly more than the heartwood ...
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What is this happned to my furniture
I have a closed room where I keep some furniture which is made up of engineered wood. By closed, I mean I dont keep windows open. Also in that room, I keep wet cloths to dry on cloths drying stand ...
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How soon should I cut up new wood?
I scored some pretty good logs of cherry from some workers across the street from my house who would rather have given it to me than lift it into the back of their truck. I carted it home and have it ...
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Hysteresis in wood moisture content?
I have heard or read that wood exhibits a hysteresis effect when gaining or losing moisture. I'm familiar with the term "hysteresis" in a general way (such as in a thermostat) but its not clear what ...
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What problems might occur attempting to glue wood that hasn't been fully seasoned?
I bought 2 inch thick oak decks that have been seasoned for a year outside. I would like to start gluing them together i.e. to make a bench top (and eventually a whole woodworking bench)
What do I ...
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oak has vinegar smell, action needed?
As I was planing a board of oak, I noticed an acidic vinegar-y smell emanating from the newly exposed surface and the shavings.
I read this might be due to natural acids present in the tree. I didn't ...
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How much extra thickness should I leave when rough milling green boards?
When rough milling boards from a green log, is there a good rule of thumb or something to determine how much thicker I should slice them than my desired target thickness? Does it differ depending on ...
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Should I “un-dry” wood for a while after oven drying?
I’ve been drying small green freshly milled boards in my kitchen oven (typical 1/2” x 3” x 12” quatersawn). It’s working well.
However, I never really get repeatable readings out of my moisture meter ...
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Wood Coasters from Tree Branch finish
My family just chopped down an old silver maple tree in their backyard. It has some great branches that are about 2-3 inches. We thought that slicing them and cutting them up into thinner pieces to ...
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How best to dry Ebony?
I've recently acquired a plank of roughly cut, dipped in wax Ebony. The piece is roughly 5ft x 8in x 2.5in.
I've got a lot that I'd like to do with this piece - the largest of which is a decorative ...
user4781
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How to store/dry freshly cut lumber (white oak)
I have a very old (approx 200 years) white-oak that is going to be cut down in the next few months. There is a mobile mill that is going to come out and help me cut it in to boards. I will likely end ...
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Building a Cabin; only un-powered hand tools. Need advice
Recently I had a crazy plan. And I need some advice about how to go about doing it.
I wanted to build a small garden shed, more kinda like a cabin actually.
So I started drawing it out, and listing ...
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Dry Spar Varnish in Oven? Or other methods to speed drying
We are making some wooden craft items as Christmas gifts. They are small items (wood disks about 3/4" thick and 4" in diameter) that we've put two coats of spar varnish on.
The second coat of ...
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Drying Wood Methods
What are the main ways of drying wood whether it be wood you milled into boards or just cut into turning blanks?
I have heard of sealing the end grain and then just leaving the piece to dry on it's ...
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What is this pest living in my drying lumber and how do I eliminate it?
this is my first time going from log to bowl, so please forgive me if I've made any really dumb mistakes.
I felled a birch and a beech tree (I'm in New England) and cut them into ~4-foot long ...
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DIY Kiln Dry Walnut Plan
I have a small Kiln used for pottery. I use it to melt aluminum for casting. I was thinking about building an enclosed space (like plastic sheet walls), putting that kiln inside to dry some walnut ...
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Traditional Japanese method of sealing wood?
When green wood is air dried, the first step is to seal the ends. What is the traditional Japanese method of sealing the ends?
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What is the proper humidity for a shop and how should I achieve it?
I'm off to build my own workshop for mostly woodworking projects in the (huge) basement garage of a very old house. The garage is about 5 by 30 meters(16 by 100 ft) and has a varying height of 3 to 6 ...
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Carved kuksa of ash wood has split and oozed water, what has gone wrong?
I hand-carved my first Kuksa a month ago from half an ash log. I worked with semi-dry wood (definitely not green, but still wet). I used axe, Japanese gouge and knife and all went well. The bowl is ...
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When is spalting beneficial for wood?
While I was researching the term "spalting" in wood, I found that there is a very big interest in spalted wood.
When is it good for the wood and when isn't it good? I'm referring to another post on ...
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What steps should one take to avoid spalting when drying timber?
I am interested in taking steps to ensure that some timber that I am drying does not develop spalting.
My specific scenario is as follows:
Recently felled Maple (1-2 months ago),
Whole logs with ...
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Is it better to store wood vertically or horizontally?
Is it better to store wood vertically or horizontally? What are the pros and cons associated with both methods?
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cutting board turned green!
I decided to make my own cutting board out of a nice piece of black walnut I came across. It looked great before I added oil, but after I added hemp oil to one side, the whole board turned greenish. ...
Pete
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How can I deal with wood from DIY stores that is crooked and may or may not be dry?
I've been meaning to build a desk for a while now. I made a design with millimeter accuracy, but when I went to the home improvement store, I found that all the beams they had were crooked! Some more ...
user35995
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Using green cedar for planks on a boat
I am building a Swampscott Dory as per "The Dory Book" by John Gardner.
What I am doing is using local wood (Red Cedar) and mills. As such, I am starting from the log, milling it, and then making my ...
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What does "stickering wood" mean?
I have seen the term "stickering wood" mentioned on a few other sites, but no one seems inclined to define what it means.
Is this where you pile wood in stacks with sticks between the boards to allow ...
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How to dry Blue Spruce slabs?
Our tree was cut down, I've asked the guys to save me a few of slices.
They are about 3-4cm thick.
Is there any simple way to dry them without having them crack and fall apart?
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