several years outside is key. good move. "seasoning" them is proper. I have seen similar results. however, the longer you can wait- in a consistent environment- the stability is better. i like it to go through a few seasons outdoors, then at least a season indoors- in my house, basement with full house dehumidification, and have no problem with further checks, twist or warp. I build refined furniture, muzzleloaders and instuments with the wood I mill.
So you don't use a kiln (such as a dehumidification kiln) before using the lumber? Just the seasoning process you described?
Yep. it is a very long process. You might get a few bugs crawl out, but I'm milling mostly freshly cut logs that don't sit on the ground very long. I believe that is key. Early fine furniture from the 1800s wasn't kiln dried wood. Kiln drying wood was an early 1900s thing and not all lumber was kiln dried. Seems to work fine for me. I think the seasoning cycles is very important for wood stability. I'm also using rubbing oils as finishes. This is also a factor. not hard surface finishes. I'm using traditional shellacs, tung oil, polymerized linseed oils that breathe.
