Do I need to kiln dry slabs and cookies?

[Dilz]

Milling to me is a hobby that's starting to get out of hand

..is it necessary to kiln dry slabs and cookies / ovals after they have been air dried for a while before use?  Is it possible / right to sell just air dried stuff?  

 

[topchippyles]

10 minutes ago, Dilz said:

Milling to me is a hobby that's starting to get out of hand

..is it necessary to kiln dry slabs and cookies / ovals after they have been air dried for a while before use?  Is it possible / right to sell just air dried stuff?  

 

Nothing wrong with air drying how do you think it was done before kilns came out. Are they stored inside in the dry ? 

[Dilz]

That was kind of my thinking but have come across other opinions on the subject whilst researching...the stuff I've milled already is currently inside the garage on pallets.  Ive got a fair amount lined up to mill after hiring space at a yard for storing logs and chip rather than the garden....that I will probably stack outside and just strap a bit of plastic roofing or a tarp over. 

[trigger_andy]

2 hours ago, Dilz said:

Milling to me is a hobby that's starting to get out of hand

..is it necessary to kiln dry slabs and cookies / ovals after they have been air dried for a while before use?  Is it possible / right to sell just air dried stuff?  

 

It really depends on its use and more critically the joinery technique used. I’ve had well seasoned /air dried oak significantly shrink when brought inside. Made my accurate work look sloppy. Had I used a different technique I could have mitigated this to a degree. We’re talking about 3-5 years air dried oak. 
 

 

[Squaredy]

4 hours ago, Dilz said:

Milling to me is a hobby that's starting to get out of hand

..is it necessary to kiln dry slabs and cookies / ovals after they have been air dried for a while before use?  Is it possible / right to sell just air dried stuff?  

 

There is a market for air dried timber.  For some uses it is not ideal, for other uses it is perfect.  As long as you are clear with your customers about what they are buying that is the main thing.

[Forest2Furniture]

A lot of my customers are old school makers who prefer air dried over kiln as they can bring it down to the desired m/c they want.

A lot of big yards that advertise kiln dried stock will, once out of the kiln store the planks in barns where the timber can take on moisture again, very few yards wrap the timber up in plastic as is the recognised procedure.