getting beach down to 12% MC.... and other timbers

[farmerjohn]

Hi. I have been getting a few logs slabed up since getting the new double headed mill.

I have been asked by a few clients to process some of there felled trees.

the biggest problem i have is getting my timber dry fast enough, for myself and clients.

I have a large (1.2m diameter, 5m long) spalted beach a customer would like milling and turning into a table. can beach at 3" thick be put straight into a kiln?

on this matter i know oak and i beleive cherry are difficult to dry fast, i have the following timbers also cut and would like everyone opinion of how long to leave before putting in the kiln so as not to get massive case hardening problems (or any other really bad shakes and warps) at 2 and 3 inch thicknesses. I will be using a humidification kiln not heat vent.

sweet chestnut

monkey puzzle

cedar

ash

yew

[Big J]

Beach - sandy thing, usually next to water

Beech - tree-like thing, often confused with the aforementioned sandy thing

 

Anyway, you can't force dry sawn timber like firewood. It's marketability and usefulness to the customer is dependent on it's quality. Rapid drying (excluding vacuum kilning, which operates on a different set of rules) results in defective timber.

 

Beech air dries rapidly compared to most hardwoods. 3 inch, stacked in a well-aired barn, shielded from the rain will get close to 20% by autumn. At that point, you can consider kilning it. 

 

Do not put it into the kiln before that as it will twist heroically. Beech has a reputation for that. Even in an air drying stack, make sure it has a lot of weight on top of it. Tonnes, not kilos.

[farmerjohn]

9 minutes ago, Big J said:

Beach - sandy thing, usually next to water

Beech - tree-like thing, often confused with the aforementioned sandy thing

 

Anyway, you can't force dry sawn timber like firewood. It's marketability and usefulness to the customer is dependent on it's quality. Rapid drying (excluding vacuum kilning, which operates on a different set of rules) results in defective timber.

 

Beech air dries rapidly compared to most hardwoods. 3 inch, stacked in a well-aired barn, shielded from the rain will get close to 20% by autumn. At that point, you can consider kilning it. 

 

Do not put it into the kiln before that as it will twist heroically. Beech has a reputation for that. Even in an air drying stack, make sure it has a lot of weight on top of it. Tonnes, not kilos.

legend, thanks Big J

[se7enthdevil]

i was going to say, the tide twice a day would make drying it out a bit of a challenge.

 

[se7enthdevil]

spalted beech should have a bit less of a tendency to warp as some structural degradation has already taken place amongst the cells where spalting has occurred but it will still dry fast enough.

 

any reason as to why it can't be milled slightly thinner for even faster drying? 3" will take a while longer than 2-2 1/4"

[Ratman]

Uhoh! We’re on the verge of having this thread all sewn up again.

[farmerjohn]

18 minutes ago, se7enthdevil said:

 

any reason as to why it can't be milled slightly thinner for even faster drying? 3" will take a while longer than 2-2 1/4"

Yep, because that is what the customer wants!!!!!

I agree, if a single slab table 1.2m wide and 4.2m long is 2inch thick it will look thin enough. And cupping might take it down from 3 to 2 by the time it is flattened 

[farmerjohn]

[farmerjohn]

I am not particularly a fan of beech but I think this could yeld some nice figure in the middle few boards. 

[agrimog]

theres a good chance that the centre of that  trunk could be soft and squidge, cut and milled enough beech to recognise the signs