# air drying oak question and suggestions



## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

*drying hardwood*

my wife and i are trying our hands at drying hardwood strips i got for a lil of nothing from work.. they all hardwood 1 3/4 " x 1/2" x 40" ..i hope we are on the right track...


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Looks like you're using the wood itself as a self-sticker stack. Is it just stacked in a corner? No air movement? What is the species? If it's wet it's going to go bonkers stacked like that. The species will determine the degree of movement you'll get. Also you'll get lots of nice fungus/mold/stain growing in there if it is wet and has no air movement. 

Even if it was in a kiln like that, it'll move a lot because you have wide lumber (compared to a sticker) stickering other wide lumber, so you'll have rapid moisture loss where no wood touches, compared to moisture being trapped where the wide wood is stacked on top. 

Having said all that, I have no idea what will happen because I cannot imagine drying wood that way.


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

Truecountry,I didn't think you meant 1 3/4 x 1/2 x 40" tall.The best way to dry that is to soak some newspaper in kerosene stuff it all the way down the stack and light it and get the hotdogs and marshmallows.I'm sorry,sometimes my fingers are faster than my brain.Then again sometimes everythings faster than my brain.What kind of hardwood is it?If it's hickory skip the first suggestion and break out the ribs.There I go again.IMO your stack looks fine but you may want to put some weight on top.A piece of 3/4 plywood with concrete blocks on top,or the family car.Good luck Rick


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

T.T.has a point I didn't know about with the wide stickers.I learn some thing every day.


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

lol told yall its our first time trying ..its all oak ..its in the basement besides the heat exchange ...and near wood stove .. yeah 40" long sorry


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

*maybe i should have asked before we stacked lol*

can someone show me a pic or example of how we are surpposed to do this ... i got 3 dollars in this all oak .. i just wanted to dry and make a bar top with the strips glued to plywood... my wife has a planer and jointer in her wood working shop... and with all the wood i see everyday i just wanted to start a hobby... i saw some 1 3/4 " x1" x 40 long walnut today im going to get


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

what would be the ideal way to air dry 1 1/2" x 1/2 x40" oak strips? or how would you do it ?


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## Julian the woodnut (Nov 5, 2008)

You should stack all of the rows tightly together, and instead of alternating the direction of the rows, keep them all going the same way. You should use 3/4x3/4 strips(stickers) in between the rows at 12-16" intervals. Then adding a fan isn't a bad idea. It will help it to dry out and should help cutdown on mold growth.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

They are going to dry fast enough just because they are 1/2 thick (thin!). The questions is not how you'll dry them but how you will keep some of them from becoming pretzels. If these are the same ones you are asking about in the otherwise same thread you have started, but you need to tell us what you want to use them for. That will actually make a big difference on what I am willing to venture on something like this.

If you're going to crosscut them all into much smaller lengths, it won't be as critical as as how you dry them. If you want to retain their full length for in service use, it makes a huge difference. 

There's a reason scrap wood like this is free. But you paid for it. You're starting in the hole unless you had already identified a good use for it.


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

ok thanks ill cut some stickers tomorrow out of the throw aways we had...


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

If you need to retain the full length and sticker them like a normal stack of lumber then you must add a lot of weight to prevent drastic twist and cupping with oak this thin. If you are crosscutting them to shorter lengths it's not as critical.


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

texas sorry i just want to make a bar top ,, plans are plane them down edge them and glue them to plywood backer after they are dry ehough


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

thanks guys


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I see. In that case, you can get away with a little more. Just cull the severely defected ones after you dry them, and since you'll be able to apply tons of clamping pressure this will be a very forgiving application. You'll still want to avoid using the ones that moved a great deal because the grain will open up even more eventually. Trust me on that.

It will be a lot of work maybe, but I would rip some more of the scrap in half if you can get it. You can rip them in half and have ½ x ¾ stickers. Just stand them up on end. ½ wide is okay, but if the stack is too wobbly you don't absolutley have to go with the ¾ thickness. With enough air movement ½ thick oak is going to dry considerably quicker than ¾ oak would. 

I say don't get too anal about it with tyour application. It's very forgiving. Especially if you decide to laminate them. :icon_cheesygrin:


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

What are you planning to build besides a bar top. You have enough there to start a house. GOOD SCORE.

Gerry


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## truecountry (Apr 15, 2009)

thanks i see this everyday most of it gets ground up for playground mulch for kids to play on....


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