# drying lumber



## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

[this is entirely hypothetical]


Yesterday I saw a logging truck hauling logs that had been debarked. It got me to wonder: What's the best way to dry lumber?


Is it to leave the logs whole, bark and all?
To debark but otherwise let dry as logs?
Would it be better to slice into thick slabs? Or would the slabs dry too slowly and possibly start to rot on the inside?
Would it be better to slice into thin, nearly finished, boards so it would dry quickly and easily? Or would boards have a higher risk of cracking, splitting, warping since they don't have a bulk of the wood's natural structure holding them together?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

In log form it would take many times longer for the wood to season than if it were cut into lumber or slabs. If the wood was cut less than an inch thick there would be a great deal of warpage problems. It varies depending on how it is stored to dry but the general rule of thumb is that it takes a year for every inch thickness the wood is to dry. The quickest way to dry lumber is in a dry kiln.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*A tour of a lumber mill is informative*

There are quite a few lumber mill tours that show the entire process from log to lumber:






https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lumbermill+tour


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

Wow. That's incredible.


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