# Buying rough cut red oak



## Nurumkin (Dec 9, 2009)

Ok I am looking at purchasing about 1500 feet of rough cut red oak. The guy said it has been air drying for about 25 years in his barn. Is there anything special that I should ask him or look for? I am going to be finishing it myself and building cabinets, doors, and other random stuff that we need to remodel the house. I am paying him $1.15 per BF. Any advice on this would be appreciated because this is the first time I am working with rough cut wood.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

The only thing I can think to look for would be signs of powder post beetles on wood stored that long. They are pretty easy to spot in the stacks. Very small pinholes in the wood and a fine powder around the holes/under the hole on the boards below.










If it is nice looking lumber I would say the price was right, go for it.


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I would agree with Daren about the powder post beetle. I bought about 800 BF of cherry earlier this fall for .79 per BF(air dried 20 yrs) the owner of the barn had been treating it every two years for the beetle but i still got some boards with some beetle holes. I am a cheap SOB so i personaly would find out if the owner knows about the beetle at all and use it as a negotiating tool to get at better price. good luck!!


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## CDN_Maple (Dec 19, 2009)

Where are you located? I recently bought rough cut kiln dried oak from a local saw mill at less that $1 bf (in the NC / VA area). I was planning on buying from a local vendor who had his stuff air dried in the barn as well until I found the mills in the area. It's worth a look. Good luck!


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## Greenhead Sharpening (Nov 24, 2009)

I wouldn't build cabinets with air dried lumber. No matter how long its been air drying, it is likely above 15% moisture. Kiln dried lumber is around 6%. We just had some dried that sat for 15 years and it was 21% moisture before going in the kiln


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

That depends on where you live...in the arid southwest wood will air dry to 6%-easy. Here in the midwest I can get it to 10% air drying in 100-120 days in the summer. And even though I have a kiln, once out of the kiln it returns to EMC (equilibrium moisture content). So if it comes out 7% in a few weeks stored in an unheated shed it goes back up to 10-12% EMC for my area.


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## Nurumkin (Dec 9, 2009)

*re*

So if I want to build cabinets with this do I need to kiln dry it. One important note is that my wife and I do not use an airconditioner and usually leave the windows open all summer. So we go from dry winter air to 100% humidity sometimes in the summer. Would it be better if the wood is used to these huge fluctuations rather then being very dry and possibly expanding after I have made the cabinets. (I am very new to this so forgive my lack of knowledge). I have the space and ability to build a kiln if I need to.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Where do you live? 

Going from very low RH inside (winter) to summer with what you describe as 100% RH, I would choose a more stable species if it were me. I have no experience with RO in that situation so I cannot say for sure you'll have problems, but that seems to be asking too much of most species. 



Nurumkin said:


> Would it be better if the wood is used to these huge fluctuations rather then being very dry and possibly expanding after I have made the cabinets.


Wood doesn't get "used" to huge fluctuations, it reacts to them (moves). Before hardwood flooring installers install the planks, they like to let the wood sit in the room it will be installed in for a week or more. They usually can't but they do when they can. But most homes are not seeing the kind of wild swings you are describing so it wouldn't do any good to do that anyway. Red oak is considered as about the middle of the road in stability. Not highly unstable, but not highly stable either. 

Maybe someone else can offer some actual experience with RO in this kind of environment, but I would think even though you might not see any problems for a year or two, eventually that kind of movement is bound to take a toll on the flatness of the panels and the joinery as well. To what degree? That's the $64,000 question.


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## mics_54 (Oct 28, 2008)

I guess I would suggest either controlling the RH in the living spaces, living with the effects or furnishing the space with furnishings that are more suitable for the environment. ..or a combination of the three.


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