White oak surface checking

[dustytools]

Hi all, It was an extremely nice day here today so I pulled out some of my white oak that I have drying. Upon inspection I noticed some surface cracks or checking throughout the surface of the wood. Some worse than others. Its only on one side and of course is not all of the way through. Some of the cracks are curled up on the sides slightly, similar to cracks in concrete when they curl slightly for those of you who are familiar with concrete construction. Is this common in oak or is there something that I should be doing differently when drying. Thanks. Terry. BTW, these oaks were flat sawn and the cracks were slightly worse in the boards that were close to the pith.

 

[woodshop]

Happens when the outside surface of the wood dries a little too fast. Center of board is still swollen and full of bound water. Some of those checks will close back up as the center of the wood dries. This is why it's so important the first few weeks to a month or so of initial drying when the wood loses so much of its initial water.

btw, this is why some woodworkers, and especially high end shops, will not even buy wood from anybody but professional lumber yards that are experienced in kiln drying, and careful enough where that checking is minimized. There are other defects that can't be seen initially, like case hardening, due to improper drying, that don't really show up until later in the shop when working the wood.

Not trying to scare ya... just nature of the beast.

 

[dustytools]

Is there anything that I am doing wrong Woodshop or should I just relax. Thanks for the reply.

 

[woodshop]

Is there anything that I am doing wrong Woodshop or should I just relax. Thanks for the reply.

Relax. Keep the stack out of direct wind and weather if it isn't already. I often sticker my wood and initially let it sit for a few days, THEN put a tarp over the stack temporarily for a couple weeks before uncovering and letting it do its thing for the rest of its drying. Problem with a tarp or covering is you need to check that it isn't starting to mold, especially when it's hot out. That's why I don't cover it for the first few days.

I'm not an expert on drying, just firgured out over the years what works for me and the way I mill and sticker wood. Read Hoadly's "Understanding Wood" if you haven't already, he has tons of good info on drying.

 

[Ianab]

Oak can be a problem to air dry for the reasons Woodshop has mentioned.

Things you can do.

Restrict the air flow. There is a commercial product called Shade-dri I believe. It's like windbreak cloth. You wrap it around the stack and it partially blocks the air flow, you still get some, but it's slower and less drying. Normal shadecloth would probably do a similar job.

Location of the drying stack. In the shade, under some trees, against the hedge etc. Again slower drying.

Time of year. If you saw the wood in winter and stack it, it will do the first critical months of drying in the cold weather, dry slower and check less.

This does apply to species like oak where you need slow drying. Other species like pine you want to dry FAST to prevent fungal staining. Do the opposite with them

Cheers

Ian