Drying lumber

[mdotis]

I am new here and have some questions on drying my lumber. I know for furnature work and inside projects you should let your lumber dry 1 year per inch, or to between 10 and 12% moisture. But one of my first projects is going to be to cut some oak or ash boards to make a new rack and floor on my ATV trailor. If I cut the boards one inch thick how long would you let them dry before you started to bolt them to the trailor? Also the second project is going to be oak boards for our steer feeder. Most will be 1.5 inches thick. How long should they dry before we can start to nail them together? Any Ideas would be a big help.

 

[betterbuilt]

For a trailer I'd put them on right away. I put them tight and they will shrink. You'll end up with 1/4 to 1/2 gap depending on how wide the boards are. If you want them to be tight your gonna need to dry them.

As for the feeder I'm not sure what it looks like. The width of the board matters. A wide board is gonna shrink more than a narrow one. It would help if to know if the feeder is gonna be in the sun or not.

 

[GLOBOTREE]

For a trailer I'd put them on right away. I put them tight and they will shrink. You'll end up with 1/4 to 1/2 gap depending on how wide the boards are. If you want them to be tight your gonna need to dry them.

As for the feeder I'm not sure what it looks like. The width of the board matters. A wide board is gonna shrink more than a narrow one. It would help if to know if the feeder is gonna be in the sun or not.

Wood it not be safe to say that wood that will spend its life outdoors as something is best left to dry outdoors? and wood that will be something indoors should be dried in a warm kiln?

 

[Hillbilly3995]

I am new here and have some questions on drying my lumber. I know for furnature work and inside projects you should let your lumber dry 1 year per inch, or to between 10 and 12% moisture. But one of my first projects is going to be to cut some oak or ash boards to make a new rack and floor on my ATV trailor. If I cut the boards one inch thick how long would you let them dry before you started to bolt them to the trailor? Also the second project is going to be oak boards for our steer feeder. Most will be 1.5 inches thick. How long should they dry before we can start to nail them together? Any Ideas would be a big help.

The old timers around here would use sweetgum for the trailer.

 

[betterbuilt]

Wood it not be safe to say that wood that will spend its life outdoors as something is best left to dry outdoors? and wood that will be something indoors should be dried in a warm kiln?

True, your totally right.

He could tweaked his results a little by drying it down for a few months and installing it tight and the gap would be a lot less and it wouldn't swell enough when it gets wet to destroy its self. He could also ruin what he trying to do by drying his lumber down to 10% and then putting it together tight and leaving it outside.

I personally never dry wood for trailers. It easier to install before it dries.

 

[mdotis]

Thanks

This is exactly the information I needed. I will start the trailor almost as soon as the boards are cut. The Steer feeder however I will let dry just a little so the gap will be less. Would not want the feed to leak out. $6.30 corn is to expencive to spill on the ground. Thanks for your quick feed back. I cannot wait for the snow to leave and the weather to warm up so I can play with my new mill. It will be an outside feeder.

 

[Ted J]

IMO I would prefer treated wood for the bed on a trailer. I've stepped through a rotten board while unloading a trailer because I used untreated wood on one occasion.
Most trailers are not being stored under cover or in a shed and that horizontal surface has more opportunities to degrade faster. I would prefer the 1x6x16 rough cut treated corral boards at the BORG for $7.50 each, and being that they are rough cut they are a full 1x6.

Ted

 

[mrbentontoyou]

as for wood shrinkage while drying, rule of thumb to expect 1/8" per 12" of width on flat sawn boards. red oak is known to move more than most. if you rip your boards down to 3-4" wide for the feeder after they've seasoned a bit you should have no problems.

 

[SPM in King]

Google "wood shrinkage calculator" and take the first hit. Start with 30% mc and end with perhaps 15%. Shrinkage will vary dramatically based on how the wood is cut. You might cut the feeder wood thinner and overlap it in construction.

Steve.

 

[betterbuilt]

White Oak will rot pretty fast when its not quite wet and not quite dry. Actually all domestic woods will ,even pressure treated. The DEC uses it here a lot for water retaining walls and it does good except right where the top of the water hit.

I'm a firm believer that pressure treated is over rated. I build white oak decks along the lake here and they out last pressure treated ones by at least 5 years. My opinion is that white oak will last just as long if its installed right. I also don't get a dose of unknown quantities of chemicals using White Oak.