Replies

1. 
   DaveR | Oct 22, 2005 05:16am | #1

   Bob,
   I think you are correct about storing the planks in your garage. Heavy snow fall will inhibit air circulation around the boards and lead to many problems. Also equally important is using something to seal the ends of the boards to prevent checking or cracking. I initially used leftover paint, but found this doesn't completely work. I've heard some using the tar to cover cut tree limbs works well.

   Make sure that you have more than enough dry, insect, fungus and bark free stickers. The ideal wood to use is dry 1" x 2" cedar since it doesn't seem to react with other woods.

   Here's some other info I stole off a webpage...

   - Make sure the ground is level, then create a base that will keep the lumber at least 12" off the ground.
   - The ideal site for drying lumber is in a clearing, on high ground, with a gravelly base.
   - Cut or spray all vegetation around the base of the stack.
   - Sort your lumber, your longest boards and boards taken from reaction wood go on bottom.
   - Make sure that all bark is off the planks.
   - When stickering, the maximum sticker spacing is 16" for hardwood and 24" for softwood

   Hope this helps,

   Dave

2. 
   JeffHeath | Oct 22, 2005 08:02pm | #2

   Bob

   Air circulation is the key to air drying.  The whole concept of air drying lumber is the air!  You are correct in thinking that the snow will impede the process.  Sticker the wood, and either use weight on the top of the pile (cement cinder blocks do well) or wrap and tighten the whole stack with ratchet style banding clamps.

   I mill and air dry all my lumber, and cherry works out just terrific!

   Jeff

    

   
3. 
   frenchy | Oct 22, 2005 09:39pm | #3

   I've never lost a single board when I Air dry Cherry.. and trust me I've abused some of it!

     I sticker well, don't cover at  ALL and then instead of cement blocks etc to weight it down I use those cheap ratcheting straps.   At first I tighten them every week, then I tighten them every other weeek and finally I give them a tug about once a month..  (make sure the straps are over the stickers and not between them!

     It saves planner blades not cutting thru the sand and cement left by cinder blocks.

     If I were to cover I might use a sheet of plywood but I've found just as good results with no covering.. I live in Minnesota so  my weather is similar..

     Seal the ends of the boards.. I use a special wax but paint works just as well  remember to give it several heavy coats  a couple of days apart..

1. 
   beejay | Oct 23, 2005 04:01am | #4

   I didn't seal the ends and I got very bad splitting.  Some of the boards will have to be ripped and rejoined before they can be used.  I don't think it possible to put your end seal on to soon.   Maybe even before you cut the logs:-)

   BJGardening, cooking and woodworking in South'n Murlyn'

1. 
   jeffreysherow | Nov 09, 2005 04:42am | #17

   I had a sawyer come and slice up some ash for me and that is exactly what he did, he painted with some blue wax-type struff before slicing then gave me some to put on every day for the next couple. It made a big difference.

4. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Oct 23, 2005 07:05pm | #5

   One hazard from air drying is boring beetles.   (Kiln drying can heat the wood enough to kill them.)  You might consider treating the lumber with Timbor.   You can paint or spray it on the wet wood, and it gets absorbed into the wood to kill the bugs.

5. 
   PlaneWood | Oct 24, 2005 03:15am | #6

   Uh, did anyone think to mention what the weight of 300 BF might do to the ceiling of your garage?  300 BF of green lumber would approach 1500 pounds in weight.  If you have a double car garage, them you might put some temporary props in the center of the floor to the ceiling.

   If you made the stack 4' wide then it probably would be 6 layers high and with stickers, the total height would be about 12-15".  If you can find some steel banding,  then put a steel band around the pile at each sticker location.  Use 2x4's edgewise on top to keep the steel bands off of the Cherry, and pull the bands down as tight as you can.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
   PlaneWood

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Oct 31, 2005 01:32am | #8

   Hi All,

   Just returned from a talk with my sawyer and he informed me that he will saw my Cherry logs and kiln dry them to 6-8% moisture content for $.37/ Bd Ft.  Seems like a no brainer to me, and I can work the wood this winter instead of 2 years from now!

   I have made a 2" x 4" x10'  platform/frame that is 4' wide x 10' long to lay the boards on over my garage so they will remain flat.

   I have a question for PlaneWood.  Have you any idea how much this kiln dried Cherry might weigh?

   Thanks,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

1. 
   Dale | Oct 31, 2005 02:09am | #9

   I'm not Planewood, aka, Mike Taylor but KD cherry is going to weigh in about 2.5#/Bd.ft.........Dale

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Nov 03, 2005 02:07am | #10

   Hi All,

   Thanks to everyone for their informative responses.  I just read a Q & A response from Bruce Hoadley in FWW #98 about Problems with warping cherrywood and am concerned about how my cherry should be dried, as the kiln operator has told me that he is new to the process.

   My question, given that I'm talking about approximately 350 Bd. Ft. of cherry wood is about how long should it take to kiln dry this wood?  I realize that this is a rather open ended question, as there are many variables that I'm not aware of.  Can anyone offer any advice on the proper procedure(s).  The kiln operates on the dehhumidification process.

   If thickness is a variable, I plan to have the bulk of the logs plainsawn to thicknesses of 15/16", 5 & 6/4; no really thick pieces.  I have no imediate plans for the wood, except for a period styled entertainment center and keepsake boxes for the 5 grandchildren of my parents. 

   These logs came from my deceased parents yard and mean a lot to me as I'm the only kin that can even approach cutting a board square!

   Thanks,

    

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres, NH (A suburb of Colebrook.)

    

1. 
   frenchy | Nov 03, 2005 02:16am | #11

   Bob,

     If he is new to drying then you risk much more damage in Kiln drying than air drying..  It's easy to honeycomb cherry, and Case hardening is a real possibility. Trust me,   You don't want either!  Air drying is free (except for your time) and gentle on the wood. 

2. 
   GHR | Nov 03, 2005 02:41am | #12

   I believe the schedule is about 21 days. Maybe more. Maybe less. Close enough for planing purposes.

3. 
   DennisS | Nov 03, 2005 03:01am | #13

   Bob I was going to mention the weight issue but Planewood beat me to it. In order to stack & sticker the lot most efficiently it should be taller than wider thus you're got quite a bit of weight on a smallish footprint. Figure out how much weight you actually have and the floor area you anticipate it to occupy. Divide the weight by the area (square feet) to find out the weight per SF. Someone mentioned (as I recall) that 300BF of green cherry would be about 1500#. I don't have any idea if this figure is right but if your stack was 10' long x 3' wide that would be 30sf resulting in 50#/sf. This is a rather simplistic assessment of your situation of course - there are a lot of other engineering issues involved with the capacity of a floor system. But if this is an attic/open truss space or a space not otherwise intended for occupancy, my suggestion would be to get some cheap (haha) framing lumber and build a temporary lean-to shelter to keep the snow off and keep the stuff outside. Just some 6mil plastic sheeting for a cover. The humidity will be a lot lower outdoors anyway.I tried drying some short sections of a cherry log and found the flat sawn pieces off the outsides of it really really warped. I didn't band mine, though. But be aware that it's gonna move no matter what you try. Next time I try it I will rough saw the boards a lot thicker so I can get thicker finished pieces. Consider sealing the ends as well with something like greenwood endgrain sealer, parafin wax or whatever. Lots of suggestions have been tendered here in the forum.

4. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Nov 08, 2005 03:41am | #14

   Hi All,

   We got the cherry logs sawn this past weekend, mostly all 5/4 and we cut 2 slabs of 6/4 from the centers of three of the logs.  I ended up with about 320 bd. ft., with 6 6/4, essentially quartersawn center slabs each measuring about 18" wide!  Everything came out beautiful with magnificant figure.

   We then stickered it 16" on center in a neat stack and it will air dry outside until about the middle of January.  We will then place the stack in the dehimudification kiln for final drying.  We plan on running the kiln @ 115 degrees and checking the moisture content daily for the first week, then backing off, assuming a correct slow drying progress.

   I want to thank everyone for their advice/suggestions.  I have since been told by a forester that I could have sold the logs for veneer for a lot of money.  My original intent (and still is) is to make a few pieces of furniture/keepsakes for the family.  That's worth more to me than selling them for veneer.

   Bob @Kidderville Acres

   P.S. to DennisS - That should end up being about 800 lbs. right?  No problem!  Thanks Man.

5. 
   Dale | Nov 08, 2005 04:18am | #15

   Bob,

   Glad to hear you got your cherry sawn up.  If I understand you correctly, you have the center, the pith, in some of your lumber.  If it's not to late you should rip say 1.5"  on either side of the pith.  The center of the tree contain juvenile wood: tries to shrink long ways, will cause the board to bow/warp.  The pith will always crack on you. 

   Another forester,

   Dale

6. 
   AndyE | Nov 08, 2005 07:39pm | #16

   http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.plHere is a lumber calculator to figure out how much the finished board will weigh. If you know the MC and the # of BdFt you should be able to get a pretty accurate number.Andy"It seemed like a good idea at the time"

6. 
   JoeThePlasticMan | Oct 24, 2005 05:11pm | #7

   I air dried my cherry. I built the base with cinder blocks 3' off the ground. worked great considering I get 2' of snow in MI. I used shrink wrap on the ends and it worked great also.