Can you air dry wood to make furniture

[Jeff]

Stal, welcome to NCWW. You'll get good, solid information here with lots of expertise to share. The only dumb question is the one not asked.

1. Wood movement sounds confusing but is understandable and can be taken into account in your furniture designs.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=46281&cat=1,46096,46109

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=20150&cat=1,46096,46109,20150

2. Air-dried vs kiln dried? Either will work and both will acclimate equally to your shop and home environment. Buying kiln dried wood is expedient because it's ready to go as soon as you get it home and you're anxious to get started. The added $ cost/board foot is minimal in my opinion.

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-163.pdf

http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

3. Bed construction has a few guidelines that will help you plan it (attached PDF, I think).

 

[stal023]

That is very unusual advice. At best, it is misleading. If you want walnut, use walnut. It is one of the best North American furniture woods. All wood species should be properly dried before building furniture...nothing special about maple in that respect.

Maybe I communicated wrong, they were not steering me away from walnut. They were saying the comparison between the maple and cypress.

 

[stal023]

Thanks so much!

 

[merrill77]

Maybe I communicated wrong, they were not steering me away from walnut. They were saying the comparison between the maple and cypress.

Well, I was attempting to communicate that the moisture content of wood is, for practical purposes, independent of the species. So somebody telling you to "use maple because it has less moisture" doesn't make sense as general advice.

Now, if they were talking about two specific pieces (or lots) of maple and cypress that they knew the moisture content of....well, then the advice could be sound.

 

[stal023]

So you guys are telling me to go for the air dried walnut. This place has it; http://www.ashevillehardware.com/lumber/

How long (approx) before I would be able to actually use this wood in a project?

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Stal,

If you have not checked, you might want to call some of the following to make sure you are getting the best deal:

Gennett Lumber Company
Bee Tree Hardwoods
Educational Lumber

$3.00 per board foot sounds reasonable to me.

Steve H.

 

[stal023]

Stal,

If you have not checked, you might want to call some of the following to make sure you are getting the best deal:

Gennett Lumber Company
Bee Tree Hardwoods
Educational Lumber

$3.00 per board foot sounds reasonable to me.


Steve H.

Both Gennett and Bee Tree are kiln dried and they start at 4.50 and 4.75 for com 1 black walnut. I've found D&D to be cheapest for com 1 BW at 3.50. I was going to go with him until I saw this air dried, however I'd like to buy the wood next week and start asap. I've not heard of Educational so I will check into them as well. Thanks.

 

[scsmith42]

Thanks for this information Scott. I always learn something from your post. One question on the temperatures you mentioned above: is 90-100F enough to kill most insects in the wood? For some reason I had in my head that you needed around 130F.

Bill, there are typically 5 different stages that green hardwood lumber goes through in the kiln drying process (8/4 oak has more). Stage 1 is from green to 35% MC, stage 2 is from 35% to 25% MC, stage 3 is from 25% MC - <10% MC, stage 4 is sterilization and stage 5 is conditioning / equalization.

The kiln settings vary depending upon species, thickness, and which stage the lumber is in. In a DH kiln, the operator typically dries stage 1 at 90F, stage 2 at 100F, stage 3 at 120F, and stage for at 140 - 160F. Stage 5 is done more with humidity control than temperature.

USDA FPL requirements for sterilization requires that the core of the lumber reach at least 133F for a period of 30 minutes or longer. The time that is required for lumber to reach this temp varies depending upon the thickness and initial temp.

Typically sterilization is done at the end of the kiln run and after the lumber is dry below 10% MC (unless it is framing lumber - that's a whole different animal.) So most drying is done below 100F MC, but the sterilization is a separate cycle.

 

[scsmith42]

Thank you Scott!
That is GREAT information,
So, your kiln is a DH kiln?

Hank, I have a Nyle DH kiln and a solar kiln.

 

[Jeff]

they start at 4.50 and 4.75 for com 1 black walnut.

Lumber grading: For furniture you want FAS (first and second grades). #1 and #2 common are lower grades with more waste, imperfections, knots, etc. That's not necessarily bad but just be aware of the differences.

 

[Charlie Buchanan]

Thanks for the details on the different types of kiln drying. Wondering how solar drying differs from air drying over a NC summer in a barn which is also solar heated. Is it enclosed, sealed up, mechanical ventilation of some sort? How long does it take with a solar kiln to dry 8/4 lumber to 12%, say?

 

[scsmith42]

Thanks for the details on the different types of kiln drying. Wondering how solar drying differs from air drying over a NC summer in a barn which is also solar heated. Is it enclosed, sealed up, mechanical ventilation of some sort? How long does it take with a solar kiln to dry 8/4 lumber to 12%, say?

Charlie, it depends upon the species as well as the environment in which the solar kiln is located. Here in NC outside of Raleigh, if you start a load of 8/4 white oak in a solar kiln in April, in about 4 - 5 months it will be down to 12%. If you start that same load in the kiln in November, it will take about 10 months.

Same time but with Poplar, in the summer it will be down to 12% in less than 60 days.

One nice thing about solar drying is that the lumber conditions itself every evening when the temps drop and the RH% increases.

 

[scsmith42]

You will find that walnut is more vibrant when finished, if air dried.

Joe, would you be interested in performing a comparison and posting the results? I have both in stock (DH kiln dried) and will be happy to provide a couple of sample boards.

 

[atun]

Yes you can air dry your own lumber and make it into good furniture. I have and still do.

 

[stal023]

If I buy air dried walnut right now, how long before I would be able to actually work with it?

 

[stal023]

I just spoke to the person at Asheville Hardwood and he said the air dried BW is between 10-12%. With this knowledge, is this something I could work with within a couple of weeks of letting it sit in my shop? Thanks.

 

[merrill77]

I just spoke to the person at Asheville Hardwood and he said the air dried BW is between 10-12%. With this knowledge, is this something I could work with within a couple of weeks of letting it sit in my shop? Thanks.

Personally, I would not hesitate to use it right away. But that's me - I recognize the wood is going to move and try to build in a way that allows for it.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

I just spoke to the person at Asheville Hardwood and he said the air dried BW is between 10-12%. With this knowledge, is this something I could work with within a couple of weeks of letting it sit in my shop? Thanks.

Is your shop "climate controlled" (i.e. heated and air conditioned)? If so, I would let it sit inside for 10-14 days. If not, then go ahead and start working it. Cut all your pieces to rough dimension, then sticker them and let them sit 24-48 hours before going to final dimensions.

 

[cpowell]

Is your shop "climate controlled" (i.e. heated and air conditioned)? If so, I would let it sit inside for 10-14 days. If not, then go ahead and start working it. Cut all your pieces to rough dimension, then sticker them and let them sit 24-48 hours before going to final dimensions.

+1.

This is really important. If you surface the stock and then lay it flat on a assy table or workbench it will warp/bow. You should sticker the stock to ensure that both sides of the board are exposed to air.

If I want the finished stock at 7/8 inch thick then I dimension to 1-inch thick and let it sit for a few days. Then I do final surfacing to get down to 7/8 thick.

 

[stal023]

+1.

This is really important. If you surface the stock and then lay it flat on a assy table or workbench it will warp/bow. You should sticker the stock to ensure that both sides of the board are exposed to air.

If I want the finished stock at 7/8 inch thick then I dimension to 1-inch thick and let it sit for a few days. Then I do final surfacing to get down to 7/8 thick.

The workshop is just the garage that had no climate control. Doesn't get warm but doesn't get super cold either.