# Walnut lumber



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I am getting some walnut trees that have been cut for several years cut into lumber. My question is how long should I leave it stickered up. Will it be dry enough to use right away? The logs have been downed three years and five years respectively.


----------



## fromtheforty (Jan 15, 2011)

A simple answer is no, you can't use it right away. Once you get the log open you will likely see and feel how damp it is. How long should you keep it sticker stacked? That a loaded question because so many things can factor into that. I would recommend getting a moisture meter to test it. I have found that old logs do dry fairly fast compered to their green counterparts. I wouldn't rush it. 

Geoff


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

I think he's saying they are already milled.
Get a moisture meter and check em, but still it is wise to sticker em if they are not going to be used right away. It keeps air moving through them, instead of molds/etc getting into the wood. Especially in Mississippi.

6% moisture is furniture ready, 10% is rustic furniture ready.
Lowes sells a cheap meter for ~$40.oo or so.
Fairly accurate and good enough to test roughed lumber with, but skin moisture is not the same as internal moisture., so you might have to cut a few pieces open to get a general idea..


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. They are at the mill now. I've worked with cedar and kiln dried oak,, but never walnut. I'll try to get a moisture meter. Thanks again.


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Ok. So they are not cut yet.
Yeah, there's gonna be some drying time, even though the logs are 3 to 5 years old. Rule of thumb is air drying at 1 year per inch. I don't subscribe to that firmly, but it tells you were your at, rough ballpark.

Love walnut.Especially black walnut.


----------



## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

aardvark said:


> I think he's saying they are already milled.
> Get a moisture meter and check em, but still it is wise to sticker em if they are not going to be used right away. It keeps air moving through them, instead of molds/etc getting into the wood. Especially in Mississippi.
> 
> 6% moisture is furniture ready, 10% is rustic furniture ready.
> ...


That moisture meter that lowes sell's i bought for $9.95. That was the going price and than it keep going up in price. The name is general . the HF sell's the same don't know of the price.


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Yup. Same meter. 
They are now about $37.00. Someone at Lowes, must have realized that other meters on the market run in the $$hundreds, and they wanted some more of that action.
They are ok meters, but don't go down less than 6%, which suits me fine for log/roughcut furniture. The pins look like they won't take much abuse, and if that is realized, your good to go. 

It's grey and yellow in color with no model number I can see on it.


----------



## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

Walnut air dries pretty quick, are you planning on stacking it inside or outside?


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

All right . I appreciate all the info. I'm getting it cut into 5/4 lumber, so I'll sticker it, and wait. It'll be trying my patience I bet, but it'll be worth it. Thanks so much y'all. I have a shop I'll be stacking it in.


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

If you need a few pieces, you can make a makeshift kiln, with a blue tarp and a small under desk size spaceheater and a thermometer. You make a small tent out of it. You gotta allow for the moisture to vent off, though.
I was able to dry 3 slabs of 8/4" x 20" x 6 ft. long black walnut in 2 weeks @ 100-135deg f. (135 is bug kill temp) You chance cracking and must constantly move the space heater to differing locations so it heats evenly.
It went from 23% down to 6% or less, actually faster than I expected.

Also, you might think of having some cut thicker so you have some variety.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Cool idea. I'll have to try that.


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

It works, and most will call for a de-humidifier in the link, but if it vents out and up (I slit the tarp at the highest point) you are releasing the moisture and bringing in dry heat. So it's a cheap method but works.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks Aardvark . I will try it for sure.


----------



## Eutree (Jun 13, 2012)

Fellas I would be a little nervous using a moisture meter that only cost $37 and doesnt have any kind of setting for specific species. We use a Delmhorst to check MC on lumber at our shop. Ive known a few other shops that used cheaper meters, they have all shut down. Not saying the meter is the difference but that may be a factor. :thumbdown:


----------



## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

i have a harbor freight meter. paid $12 for it and i am satisfied. i just leave my stuff stickered till i use it


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

The $37.oo meter will give a rough number that is accurate enough to test for wood drying from log cuts and getting a general idea. Actually the numbers I tested for my Walnut table matched exactly with a cabinet makers expensive setup, down at 6%. If I was doing fine joinery or cabinet building I would agree, it might be wise to have a better meter, The cheapie only goes down to 6% and even if it is off 2% (which it isn't) it wouldn't matter in most wood projects.


----------



## J R in MO (Feb 2, 2010)

MidGAOutdoor said:


> i have a harbor freight meter. paid $12 for it and i am satisfied. i just leave my stuff stickered till i use it


:thumbsup: Me too, Does not read after or below 6 %. I shut down kiln at that point. Lester then checks with his High end moisture meter and usually his will read 5.5%. :thumbsup:


----------



## Domer (Mar 23, 2008)

You might see if some one in the area has a solar kiln. Perhaps a school or woodworker guild. It would speed up the drying and still leave the beautiful color of the walnut. 

I have some in a solar kiln at a high school that is 3" thick. We are estimating that it will take three months for it to dry.

The solar method above would do pretty much the same thing but I don't know anyone who has used it.

Domer


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Solar only works here seasonal and then it goes below zero and minimal sun for months on end. It's too erratic and is outdoors and not in the best controlled environment.
The method Ilaid out above costs electricity from a small under desk sized space heater and works equally fast in any setting, since it is indoors. I dried 2" walnut slabs, 19" wide in 3 weeks from 24% to 6% or below what the meter will pick up. It retained most of it's color and had minimal cracking.
I also had temps with 2 heaters up to 135 deg f., for bug kill (if any) and I dropped it down to 1 unit and held 90 deg. f., after that. 
Temp is constant and not off at night like a solar setup would be. It seems constant expansion/contraction from solar would be detrimental, but that is speculation on my part.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

What kind of thermometer do you use under the tarp? And for venting, do you just have a corner lifted up a little, or a fan blowing outward, or some other way?


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Basically the opening down below is for the heater w/ fan in it, to take in air, and a slit in the tarp up top to release air and moisture. You get an air change that way. I sit a tall can on the wood to be the highest point, where the slit is. The rest of the tarp is tucked in loose.

Where I had issues is I didn't stack the wood high enough off of the floor, and getting the heat below the stack was rough. I would also on a regular basis (once a day) move the heater location to a different area around the stack so one area didn't dry faster than another.

Is it a professional setup? Nah, but it works, and cost me a $19.oo heater and a $3.oo tarp, and a thermometer on top of the stack to keep track of the temp. Thermometer is nothing more than a outdoor wall mount type.

I've used it on other wood drying as well.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Cool. I
Guess what is confusing to me is do I out the thermometer inside or on top of the stack on the tarp outside. I was thinking like a grill type thermometer with a probe sticking thru the tarp I guess.


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

No. 
I situate a thermometer where I can look down the open slit on top, just to see how my wood is cooking.
130 deg means bugs are killed, and edible (or not) after a length of time. I like to keep it running around 90 deg (don't ask why...just my preference).


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I gotcha. I tend to make things more difficult sometimes I guess. Thanks very much for answering my questions.


----------



## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Welcome.
This process is NOT a professional kiln, but it has worked for me on multiple occasions. I dry some fairly big pieces like 42" round x 6" thick hollow maple logs, that I use for table bases. They took 3 months to dry from 30% due to their massiveness and I lost a few, due to cracking (which was counted on). 
Unlike many who would prefer to air dry, I don't have the time or space to waste for that. I can't wait years. In fact we are moving in 1.5 years, so my wood needs dried, finished and sold before the move. The rule of thumb "1 year per inch" is unacceptable to me, even if I had the space and time. 
So I do lose a few boards due to cracking (Mainly on large irregular pieces), but the loss is acceptable, considering the alternative.


----------

