Drying white oak?

[Trey1984]

I just picked up some green white oak that's around 16" wide x 60" long x 1" inch thick. Just curious if anyone has experience with air drying and if so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I know basics on air drying but any tips to keep it from cupping and checking really bad.
I do have a small dehumidifier and some foam insulation so not above building many kiln.
Thanks

 

[Tarhead]

Borers love White Oak and will turn it into Swiss Cheese. It needs a heat cycle in a kiln to eliminate them AND their eggs inside the bark/sapwood. If they are free of active borers now, mix up some Timbor in a garden sprayer and soak all the surfaces of each board with it. This will help prevent new infestations and kill any as they exit but not kill any already inside. If the tree was dead before harvesting you will have them 100% of the time in my experience.

As far as air drying...it needs to be stacked, stickered, ratchet strapped(to prevent warping), and covered in the shade. I use corrugated roofing panels for a cover. Sacrifice the worst board or request White Oak offcuts for stickers. With 4/4 I would space them every 16-20" across the boards. If you have a prevailing wind direction, situate the stack with the long edge perpendicular to it.

 

[jlwest]

Take it to a kiln if possible.

 

[Gofor]

With oak, during the initial drying, it is important to not dry it too fast (I think its a max of 1% mc loss per day, but may be up to 3%). That means no sun and something to slow down any strong breeze if air drying. I use the sunshade cloth from Lowe's draped around the sides of the pile https://www.lowes.com/pd/Coolaroo-Coolaroo-Shade-Fabric-Roll-30-UV-Block-6x15-Rainforest/5005340089 /. This is until it gets below 25% mc. which is when it gets safer to kiln dry for the insects. Drying faster to start with normally results in stress and checking later on. I use the same method for walnut.

Also need to seal the end grain so the ends do not dry faster than the rest of the board. Scott Smith is an expert in white oak, so can give more pointers.

Hopefully Scott Smith will chime in, as he is an expert on oak wood processing.

 

[Bas]

I've dried some white oak before. Used cinderblocks to keep it off the ground, stickered it every foot or so for even distribution. Then used ratcheting straps to keep everything tight and minimize warping/ cupping. Harbor Freight is your friend here.

Mark makes an excellent point about not drying too quickly. I had my stack underneath a deck so it was in the shade, and I started the process in the fall when it was in the mid 60's. I didn't have any AnchorSeal so I used a few coats of latex paint on the ends.

Overall I was very happy with the results, boards were nice and straight, and wow, the difference in weight is unbelievable. But, this is all anecdotal advice based on one batch.

 

[Trey1984]

Borers love White Oak and will turn it into Swiss Cheese. It needs a heat cycle in a kiln to eliminate them AND their eggs inside the bark/sapwood. If they are free of active borers now, mix up some Timbor in a garden sprayer and soak all the surfaces of each board with it. This will help prevent new infestations and kill any as they exit but not kill any already inside. If the tree was dead before harvesting you will have them 100% of the time in my experience.

As far as air drying...it needs to be stacked, stickered, ratchet strapped(to prevent warping), and covered in the shade. I use corrugated roofing panels for a cover. Sacrifice the worst board or request White Oak offcuts for stickers. With 4/4 I would space them every 16-20" across the boards. If you have a prevailing wind direction, situate the stack with the long edge perpendicular to it.

I see signs of borers so needs to be kiln dried from the start correct?

 

[Trey1984]

With oak, during the initial drying, it is important to not dry it too fast (I think its a max of 1% mc loss per day, but may be up to 3%). That means no sun and something to slow down any strong breeze if air drying. I use the sunshade cloth from Lowe's draped around the sides of the pile https://www.lowes.com/pd/Coolaroo-Coolaroo-Shade-Fabric-Roll-30-UV-Block-6x15-Rainforest/5005340089 /. This is until it gets below 25% mc. which is when it gets safer to kiln dry for the insects. Drying faster to start with normally results in stress and checking later on. I use the same method for walnut.

Also need to seal the end grain so the ends do not dry faster than the rest of the board. Scott Smith is an expert in white oak, so can give more pointers.

Hopefully Scott Smith will chime in, as he is an expert on oak wood processing.

So air dry to start like normal and keep eye on moisture content then kiln dry. I see signs of borers.

 

[Tarhead]

I see signs of borers so needs to be kiln dried from the start correct?

It depends on how wet it is. Scott Smith is your closest kiln operator and specializes in Oak. Give him a call/message:

Whispering Pines Farm / Quartersawnoak
contact: Scott Smith
address: New Hill, NC
website: www.wpsawmill.com
phone: (919) 291-0095
email: qsawnoak@gmail.com

 

[Gofor]

I would contact Scott. The kiln operator can adjust the rate of mc loss during the initial phases, but not being one, I do not know the whole process. The key here is for the kiln operator to know what the requirements are for which species of wood, and use the right schedule. There is a difference between curing the wood for the best quality and just sterilization.

 

[jfynyson]

I recall Scott recommending Anchorseal for the log ends and Tim-bor for mitigate insects. Here’s a link for the Tim-bor (they make different packaging sizes): https://a.co/d/8Snfkid

 

[jfynyson]

I've dried some white oak before. Used cinderblocks to keep it off the ground, stickered it every foot or so for even distribution. Then used ratcheting straps to keep everything tight and minimize warping/ cupping. Harbor Freight is your friend here.

Mark makes an excellent point about not drying too quickly. I had my stack underneath a deck so it was in the shade, and I started the process in the fall when it was in the mid 60's. I didn't have any AnchorSeal so I used a few coats of latex paint on the ends.

Overall I was very happy with the results, boards were nice and straight, and wow, the difference in weight is unbelievable. But, this is all anecdotal advice based on one batch.

Curious what species stickers you used and if you observed any staining ? (ie maple or other white wood ?)

 

[Tarhead]

I recall Scott recommending Anchorseal for the log ends and Tim-bor for mitigate insects. Here’s a link for the Tim-bor (they make different packaging sizes): Amazon.com

Timbor kills them on the way out as it doesn't penetrate very deeply if at all. Boracare penetrates deeper (it has a Glycol base) and would be better for active infestations.

 

[Bas]

Curious what species stickers you used and if you observed any staining ? (ie maple or other white wood ?)

I used red oak stickers. There was a little bit of staining, but it was extremely shallow, and planed off easily.