Drying red oak

[woodydiver]

Hello all,
This maybe directed to the wood suppliers, but i have a question about finishing off some red oak i have been air drying.
I tested the stack last night with a mini-lingo moisture meter, and got several readings from 14 to 15 % with the wood type at 2, and ambient temp at 70deg f.

i measured on the side of some boards and on the top face of a couple of boards.
First question: where is the best place to check the wood (ie top of stack, bottom, ), do i need to unstack down to the middle to check the middle boards.

should i leave the stack outside or move inside some where? and at what point can i start working with it.

i am new to the drying process, and any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
curt

 

[Kyle]

howdy.. I would test a piece on the bottom of the stack and test a board by taking a cross section. 10-14 in the outer sounds about right for the amount of time you have had the wood and 60-90 days max this time of year for air drying is not unreasonable ( your final air dried mc will be between 10-14 in the CORE) to bring it down further either a kiln or indoors for a while will knock down the MC%

 

[jeff...]

If your lumber is around 12 ~ 15% it's dry for outdoor use... You'll need to polish it off for indoor use by bringing it down to 6 ~ 10%. Check out this link - you may find it interesting...

http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/pb/wp_395...10202824316668

You can do the same thing for small amounts (couple hundred BF) sticking a DH under a trap if you don't want to build something exclusively to dry lumber...

As you probably already know there is a tremendous benefits buying lumber green and drying your own. One obvious bennie is material cost, professional kiln dry services are down right expensive when you factor in minimum BF required, material handling, sticking and transportation.

I would think if folks are serious about wood working they would take advantage of buying green and drying their own. Some however may not want to mess with green lumber and would rather cruise the stock at their favorite retail store. Either way just make sure it's dry enough for indoor use before you build your masterpiece. Yes even depending on how the lumber was stored at the retail outfit, it still may be too wet for indoor use. One thing you don't want is excessive shrinkage after you assembled your piece and brought it into the house. I would venture to say if you do enough woodworking chances are pretty high, there will be a time you will find yourself with lumber that needs to dry further. A DH kiln is great means to accomplish the task.

Thanks