Air drying Red Maple Question?

[Truefire]

Hey guys, i am cutting a nice red maple tree down on Saturday morning and i was wondering if anyone has ever air dried maple that came out with positive results? I know it's moisture content is gonna be really high this time of year and we are more than likely plan on cutting 1" boards out of it, plain sawn.

Has anyone had good results when air drying red maple?

Any specific advise one would need to appropriate when air drying this species?

Plus i understand with the relative humidity of 100% that we have been having here in eastern north carolina the past 3 weeks, it really isnt' the best time to approach air drying but for now that is pretty much where i am.

Any select methods whereby to cut down on any microscopic fungal spores that may be located in this wood?

Please, experienced, those of understanding and the 'enlightened' ones speak up.

Thanks, chris

 

[mxracer]

Chris,

Can't speak directly to red maple but I can share what has worked for myself and a couple friends for air drying other species.

Don't know if you have the room but if you do stacking inside a garage or other shop building would be the best. Although if it's a shop without heat or air it will take longer to dry unless you put a fan on it for circulation.

If not under some type of shelter will do as well. A shelter is key there, don't put a tarp over it (locks in moister and causes fungus growth), and don't leave it directly in the sun as that dries it too fast and really warps things.

I have had good luck cutting 3/4 or 1" strips from some of the cants while sawing and using those for stacking. I usually stack with 1/2" or so between boards and use the strips. That leaves plenty of air space for circulation. I also try to stack wide boards towards the bottom and work up to the thinner boards in an attempt to let the weight of the other boards keep the wider boards as straight as possible. If I'm stacking outside under my shed I also use blocks to level things out before starting as well as keep the lumber off the ground.

It won't end up like kiln dried but those things have helped me at least keep usable lumber when air drying.

Hope it helps.

Dan

 

[scsmith42]

Chris, I'll share some of what I know by making comments below in your original post.

Hey guys, i am cutting a nice red maple tree down on Saturday morning and i was wondering if anyone has ever air dried maple that came out with positive results? I know it's moisture content is gonna be really high this time of year and we are more than likely plan on cutting 1" boards out of it, plain sawn. Chris, the weight, as well as moisture content of green lumber is the same year round.

Has anyone had good results when air drying red maple?

Any specific advise one would need to appropriate when air drying this species?

Plus i understand with the relative humidity of 100% that we have been having here in eastern north carolina the past 3 weeks, it really isnt' the best time to approach air drying but for now that is pretty much where i am. Actually, the higher moisture content is not a bad thing from an AD perspective. Most damage during the drying process occurs during the span from green down to 35% MC. Although boards can be damaged by either drying to fast or drying too slowly, in most instances it's due to drying too quickly. The higher RH during the initial drying process can help to slow down the process and prevent damage. Lower temperatures also slow down the drying process, which is why a lot of folks will log and mill in the fall and AD over the winter. Even though the RH is lower in the cold months, the lower temp slows down the rate of drying (as well as prevents mold from occuring) and thus you usually end up with a better yield of high quality boards.

Any select methods whereby to cut down on any microscopic fungal spores that may be located in this wood?

Please, experienced, those of understanding and the 'enlightened' ones speak up.

Thanks, chris

The best advice that I can give you is to follow the standard air drying guidelines. Dan provides some good guidance below; the only thing that I would do differently is to use dried wood for the stickers versus cutting them from green wood; this reduces your chances of sticker stain.

Allow a good air space below your stack - 8 - 10" or thereabouts. Sticker frequently - 16" is a good target to use. Be sure that your stickers are lined up right on top of one another. Be sure that the bottom layer of your stack is perfectly flat from end to end and side to side.

If you can weight the top of your completed stacks with 150 lbs per square foot, that will help prevent movement. Additionally, an airflow of no more than 300 fpm through the stacks is what does most of the drying. So, if you have a prevailing wind try to orientate your stacks so that the wind hits the stack from the side, and is thus forced through the boards.

Re the shelter, when ADing outside a lot of folks cover the top of the stack with old roofing tin panels, and overhang the stack by several inches to a foot all of the way around to keep moisture off of it.

 

[Ozzie-x]

Another point of caution: watch out for bugs. I have a nice stack of red maple and oak, air dried, but the wood borers have had a heyday. Probably need to spray the layers with "something" as you stack it if you're going to fully air dry it.

 

[CrealBilly]

Chris, AD'in soft maple is one of the most forgiving wood species there is. You shouldn't have much problems as long seal the ends with ancorseal, stick it correctly, ratchet it down with some ratchet straps, remove any pith and keep it in a place with good air flow that's in the shade and out of the weather. 4/4 soft maple is like 13% safe MC loss per day - basically you can beat it up pretty good and not have to be too concerned with drying defect. 4/4 is not going to loose nowhere near 13% a day being sticked outside anyways.

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Drying_rates_for_hardwood_lumber.html