rip & plane before seasoning

[Dean O]

Ive milled a bit of timber from an oak log I saved a while ago.

 

info: intended for interior use as a small bookshelf, its all heartwood, currently stacked and stickered in the workshop.

 

for ease of storage - while it dries a little, can I get away with ripping to rough sizes (not finished sizes) and planning or should I wait for any movements to occur first.

 

with the way the boards are I think I can predict where some of the boards might cup - is it wise to cut this waste out of the pile to save some space.

 

thanks

Dean

[farmerjohn]

in my opinion i would rip to rough size, making sure you have allowed for wastage squaring timber up when it has moved from drying. this should help it dry quicker as you are increasing the surface area slightly.

i would not bother planing as it will move and it will only be to do again.

I am not sure what others think but i get the impression timber will dry quicker rough sawn rather than planed, but i could well be wrong

[spiral]

I often have to use that approach & Ripping while green is worthwhile, as is cross cutting out any obvious problem areas... as long as timber is still well weighted or held while drying... But cut a wider than you need...

 

Planeing isn't worth it, you probably lose more wood in the long run by first planeing green. Plane when dry.

[Dean O]

Thanks guys, I'm itching to get on with the build hence my eagerness to plane (though I know deep down its a bad idea)

 

It would be more convenient for me to be able to stack the planks in a narrow but tall pile than in a short wide one (planks are over double the width I require).

 

Ill get them roughed out - then as recommended - plane later.

 

how should I be weighting the stack?

 

 

 

Thanks again

[ucoulddoit]

Concrete building blocks are convenient for adding weight on top of a stack of timber. But you could use ratchet straps which would also hold it together and less likely to topple over if it is a tall narrow stack of planks. From the first post I wondered if the timber is still green in which case, you might find it dries quicker outside so that the air is constantly flowing through the stack when there is a breeze, rather than the still air in the workshop. Once it is air dried it could go in the workshop to reduce the moisture content further.

 

Andrew

[se7enthdevil]

in my opinion i would rip to rough size, making sure you have allowed for wastage squaring timber up when it has moved from drying. this should help it dry quicker as you are increasing the surface area slightly.

i would not bother planing as it will move and it will only be to do again.

I am not sure what others think but i get the impression timber will dry quicker rough sawn rather than planed, but i could well be wrong

 

what he said...

[Forest2Furniture]

Ripping to size plus a bit is fine but don't be tempted to plane, you're likely to year the grain as well as knacker the planner knives.

 

If you're planing to use the wood internally, once air dried they'll need to be kiln dried and as a rule of thumb for air drying oak it's a year per inch of thickness plus a year.

[MaverickGR]

I have read a US study which found that planing before drying reduced the amount of degrade that occurred. I haven't seen a commercial place do it though, so I guess overall you are better off losing due to the extra degrade and keeping the additional thickness.

[Stompy]

I'm going to say no and go against what everyone else has said, not to be argumentative I just think you may be lessening your chances of getting decent timber out of your stack.

 

For one until fully dry you can not predict where all the defects in the board may be. You cut to rough sizes you lose the ability to cut around surface shakes, checking and other defects. You can put weight on the top of the cut pieces but what is to stop the smaller individual components warping and cupping laterally? While still in board for the whole board remains more stable.

 

Also cutting to smaller pieces may cause the timber to dry too quickly, once again causing defects. Hardwood is generally dried in plank form before further processing for a reason, because it remains more stable. Even dry timber can banana horribly off the rip saw.....

 

Be patient and find somewhere to stack the timber out the way where you can forget about it until it is dry and ready.

 

Only my thoughts........

[Dean O]

Thanks for the advice

Ill move my log stack about and get them under there (not as flat a floor though unfortunately).

 

Ive read on here regarding bigger kilns, would building a tent/ tunnel with a dehumidifier force the timber to dry too quickly causing probs.