how dry is "dry"?

[jrhannum]

I am air-drying claro walnut slabs, destined for seats and table-top on a high-end picnic table, expect 15-20 WC and haven't yet built a kiln; want to seal with CPES and follow with several coats of Epifanes varnish. Books say apply to "dry" wood, even when talking about teak on boats, thus not kiln-dried. And yes, even kiln-dried soon absorbs moisture to equilibrate to "air-dry" levels. So ... am I buying trouble by applying the sealer and finish to my air-dried stock?

 

[BobL]

So ... am I buying trouble by applying the sealer and finish to my air-dried stock?

No.

 

[Dave Boyt]

It depends a lot on the construction. The biggest issue is that if one side is exposed to air flow and the other side isn't, there could be some cupping. The wood will lose some moisture, even if it is sealed up. How long has your wood been air drying? How thick is the slab? A pin moisture meter won't be accurate on 2" or thicker slabs, unless you have extra long contacts (such as driving a nail) to the middle of the slab. If you build so that the wood can move a bit in width or thickness, you'll be fine. Looking forward to photos.

 

[jagchaser]

I can attest to daves statement. I treated 1 side of an air dried walnut table top and it cupped 2 inches within weeks of bringing it inside. It was my first try, so I took it back outside and made a series of cuts 3/4 of the thickness on the bottom of the table then my screws were able to suck the cupping back out of it. Hopefully it will hold until it reaches stability, my wife says she wont help me move it again!

 

[lps8]

Have finished building my house. Took 3 years. Have had a good bit of experience dealing with moisture content. Used 1x6 pine for the floors and pine log cabin siding in part of the house with knotty pine for other walls and ceiling. I knew from my previous experience putting down a pine floor that the moisture content need to be about 6 or 7%. That is what the house is with consistent heat and air. So, I have a business with a large drying oven that we use to sticker the wood and dry it to less than 6%. After drying, it is brought in the house, not left outside. Here, in north Alabama, kiln dried lumber in an open warehouse is 16-18%. It was kept inside from there on out. The floor has been down for almost 2 years and the joints are still tight except maybe in front of the fireplace what is gets pretty warm.

But if you want a technical outlook, I found this in a magazine called CABINETMAKER FDM. I searched the net and found this link: http://www.cabinetmakerfdm.com/Wood_Dr/Temperature_change_and_its_effect_on_wood.html

I wanted to make sure that it would be ok to copy it or refer it.

Below is a picture of the pine floor, cedar cabinets, and a table that I just finished. All received the drying before assembly. Cedar was milled on my mill and dried and processed in my shop. The ceiling and wall boards were also dried before installing.

Larry

 

[Buffhunter]

Have finished building my house. Took 3 years. Have had a good bit of experience dealing with moisture content. Used 1x6 pine for the floors and pine log cabin siding in part of the house with knotty pine for other walls and ceiling. I knew from my previous experience putting down a pine floor that the moisture content need to be about 6 or 7%. That is what the house is with consistent heat and air. So, I have a business with a large drying oven that we use to sticker the wood and dry it to less than 6%. After drying, it is brought in the house, not left outside. Here, in north Alabama, kiln dried lumber in an open warehouse is 16-18%. It was kept inside from there on out. The floor has been down for almost 2 years and the joints are still tight except maybe in front of the fireplace what is gets pretty warm.

But if you want a technical outlook, I found this in a magazine called CABINETMAKER FDM. I searched the net and found this link: http://www.cabinetmakerfdm.com/Wood_Dr/Temperature_change_and_its_effect_on_wood.html

I wanted to make sure that it would be ok to copy it or refer it.

Below is a picture of the pine floor, cedar cabinets, and a table that I just finished. All received the drying before assembly. Cedar was milled on my mill and dried and processed in my shop. The ceiling and wall boards were also dried before installing.

Larry
View attachment 326910

Wow man that is beautiful I love it!!!!!

 

[lps8]

"Wow man that is beautiful I love it!!!!!"

Buffhunter, Thanks

Larry

 

[BobL]

Awesome work!

 

[Dave Boyt]

Outstanding work! Don't tell me you milled everything with a chain saw!

 

[lps8]

I milled most of it with my chain saw mill. I have only recently converted it to a band mill. I used plans from pro cut in Canada. 3120 Husky w/32 bar. Cut about 24" wide. The table was done on the band mill. I did a barn on the chain saw mill. I got a pretty good job from my chain saw. Usually 1 pass thru the planer would clean up the cut marks, but I cut thick enough to take 4 or 5 passes to get down to finished size.

All this talk about mix, I used 50/1 with Husky 5 gal mix. Cylinder looked good the last time I looked and still running good when I took it down. It was just slower than bsm and cut a bigger kerf. I tried some lo pro with good success, except if I hit a nail, then it would shuck all the teeth. I used Stihl chains though, they seemed to be a little thicker and I can tell the difference in the metal when sharpening.

 

[Dave Boyt]

I haven't seen that many feeder tubes since I was in the hospital with appendicitis! It looks like your chain saw has been assimilated by the Borg Collective. Pulling low pro chain with a 3120 must be about the fastest way to rip through a log with a chain saw.

 

[lps8]

Dave, my wife came from the store with a Hobby Farm mag and what did I see, but an article on winches. Good Job. Also, I think it was Countryside that I saw another article. Have seen several and all have been informative. Congrats.

I am working on mods to my band saw. I have a roller toe board for raising end of log to center up for cut, a log turner, a backstop, and a clamping system, all operated by winches with chain and sprockets. When I get all that working, I need to saw some pine that I have collected.

The low pro cut pretty good, but makes a lot of sawdust. When I cut the barn lumber, I had several small dump trailer loads of sawdust. I gave it away, burned it, piled it up, etc. Then I got ready to do a garden and had a thought. Saw dust mixed in the garden would help it to hold moisture, then a second thought, why not put some cow manure from the neighbor's pasture. So 3 loads of cow manure and 3 loads of saw dust mixed in the not very good sand/clay made a really good garden spot. Stayed easy to work even during a long dry spell. This will be the third year to use what saw dust I have and get the soil tested to see if I need more cow fertilizer.

This tomato is at about 8'. I used some 1x2's from some drops to make a lattice work. Plants like sawdust, cow manure and a soaker hose buried under the row hooked to a timer.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use a LOT of sawdust/planer chips ect. in my gardens, it's all carbon, so you have to add nitrogen to break it down. If you don't, it will tie up all the N in your soil and your garden will suffer. Once the carbon is broken down, it will release the N back into the soil.

I use turkey poop (TP) in my gardens as it's higher in N and does a GREAT job, but i do also use cow poop (CP) too. Here i am adding some CP to my back garden,

SR

 

[lps8]

SR, your soil looks better than mine before you even start. What we had when we started was sand clay. Grass doesn't grow very well if at all in places. After we get a good rain, you can really see the sand. I know we need to make some adjustments to our soil this year, but everything that we have grown so far has done pretty well. We did sweet potatoes for the first time this year and they sure taste a lot better than store bought and we had a bumper crop.

It's almost time to start again. We are going to put out some red potatoes when it looks like the weather is going to break and be dry enough to till a place for them.

Larry

 

[Dave Boyt]

Thanks for the comments about the magazine articles. Writing gives me something useful to do when it is too hot, cold, or rainy to work outside.

Nice looking tomatoes! Every year we talk about a garden then, before we know it, it is mid-summer, and we say "maybe next year". Now I'm inspired, so who knows... maybe this year? By the way, I understand that walnut sawdust is toxic to tomatoes, or is that just an ol' wife's tale?

 

[lps8]

Don't know about the walnut dust, all I've had so far is cedar and pine. Have read that cedar will take longer to compost, but it's supposed to help keep insects away. Maybe some one knows if there are any down sides to cedar. I have a bunch bagged from planing all that cedar for the cabinets.

Larry