Replies

1. 
   HowardAcheson | Sep 12, 2008 10:52pm | #1

   Basically the only determinate of drying time is the thickness of the wood. Width and length are not relevant. Of course, other non-wood things affect it also. Temperature, relative humidity, air flow, etc. all have an affect on the length of time to dry. Different species take differing times to cure also.

   The "one year per inch of thickness" is a very rough approximation at best.

   Howie.........
1. 
   benrn | Sep 13, 2008 02:15am | #2

   Howard,I saw your post regarding air drying wood and I'm hoping you might shed some light on my problem. I purchased some 2x12 yellow pine -"scaffold plank" - to make a table. After the fact I realized that the KD19 stamped on it indicates it was kiln dried to 19%. I have it stickered in my garage in Maryland. How long do you think I might need to wait before it gets to 12%? Or - what do you think would happen to a table top if I were to glue it up at 19%? Any help you can give would be a great help. Thanks.Ben Winkler

2. 
   dkellernc | Sep 13, 2008 02:25am | #3

   With respect to Howard, his answer is close, but not quite on the money.  Most of the moisture is going to wick along the fibers of the wood and evaporate from the end grain, so in a sense the length over a few feet won't matter too much.  However, the rate at which the wood will dry is a ratio between the surface area of the end grain (and to a small extent, the face and side grain) and the total volume of the piece.  So in the example you give, you could expect that the small piece will dry faster than the larger piece by virtue of the fact that the ratio of the volume to the surface area is much smaller with the smaller piece of wood.  That's partially why turners can often wait a bit less time for a rough-turned green blank to dry out.

   And, of course, leaving the wood outdoors in a humid climate is going to mean a much slower drying cycle than that same wood left outdoors in a place like New Mexico.