OK here goes all you could ever want to know about wood drying

[Tom Nie]

Just start clicking and have a ball. Add Dan Bollinger's link to this list.
Charlie B give this a try and let me know what you conclude.
http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/fwrc/forestp/drying.htm

http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for55/for55.htm
http://www.mtc.com.my/publication/library/drying/contents.html

http://www.forestprod.org/drying02powerpoints.html

http://web.utk.edu/~tfpc/person/kilnres.htm (mostly oak)

http://www2.itdean.umn.edu/faculty/detail.jsp?facultyID=482 UofMinnesota
professor

http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/forestry/g05550.htm

http://eesc.orst.edu/AgComWebFile/EdMat/pubresults.lasso?sortnum=0532

http://www.ecp.kts.ru/en/products/bc.shtml (vacuum oriented)

http://www.jonathan-guest.co.uk/solar-kiln.htm (solar kiln details)

http://www.valuecreatedreview.com/news6.htm (home built kiln)

http://my.execpc.com/~tmbrgrn/page50.html (solar kiln plans)

http://www.wisconsun.org/learn/cs_timbergreen.shtml (Timbergreen data from
ECtr of Wisconsin)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091880454X/ref=nosim/002-7764337-3346424?n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561583588/ref=nosim/002-7764337-3346424?n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0942391047/ref=nosim/002-7764337-3346424?n=283155

http://www.valuecreatedreview.com/kilningequip.php (moisture meters)

http://www.sankey.ws/wetwood.html (interesting meter info)

http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/forest/active_rd.html (primarily pulp)

http://www.woodmizer.com/en/secondary/index.aspx (Woodmizer kiln)

http://www.crcwood.unimelb.edu.au/research/wooddry.html (microwaves)

http://www.crcwood.unimelb.edu.au/docs/miicrowave-conditioning-of-wood.pdf
(pre-drying)

http://www.crcwood.unimelb.edu.au/science/wood.html (microwave reactions
during processing)

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah188/chapter11.pdf (oh, what details
with math for George)

http://www.uvm.edu/extension/publications/nrem/lumberdrying.pdf (some good
diagrams re warpage)

http://www.woodweb.com/ (huge listing of references)

http://www.wjrh.ece.uvic.ca/wjrh/rfchair/report95/project-wood.html

http://www.ul.ie/~woodtech/doc_pdf/6_Gard.pdf (steam drying)

http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-221X2005000100003&script=sci_arttext
(vacuum)

http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-221X2004000200003&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=en
(heat pumps)

http://www.ecp.kts.ru/en/products/bc_t.shtml (vacuum)

http://www.psl.bc.ca/equipment/woodkiln/ (number of pdf's)

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2003&itemno=239 (interesting
professor to FU on)

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah188/chapter01.pdf (FPL inc
individual characteristics)

http://theoak.com/solar/index.html (solar kiln Kip Yeager)

http://www.eco-index.org/search/pdfs/911report_1.pdf (interesting S America
wood situation)

http://www.fwprdc.org.au/content/pdfs/Fact%20Sheets/microwave%20fact%20sheet.pdf
(microwave)

http://www.thomasglobal.com/search/heading.asp?new=Y&country=NAME&hid=222363
(kiln mfgr)

[nailsh...@aol.com]

WAY TO GO TOM!!!!

Robert

[George]

"Tom Nie" <tom...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:qEb4g.181$TO1...@fe02.lga...

> Just start clicking and have a ball. Add Dan Bollinger's link to this
> list.
> Charlie B give this a try and let me know what you conclude.

As you note, from your research, it's the Scandinavian countries who have
shown the most interest in vacuum-aided drying.

Note that _nobody_ soaks things dry. It's all variations on a theme - water
is let out of the wood and carried away by the air. Vapor pressure/relative
humidity are the governing factors in all drying methods.

Play the distortion figures to get as thin as you can for more rapid drying,
but remember the orientation of your annual rings and their relative
thickness when you do. Six weeks to EMC on 3/4 of an inch stock is not
unreasonable. Translates mostly to a heart-up piece with 3/8 final wall
thickness on most northern hardwoods to a foot or so in diameter.

[Prometheus]

I believe the six week figure to get it totally dry, but I've found
that (for me in my little turnery) my best results to date have been
with turning to 3/4"-1/2" thick, drying one week with no special
hoodoo, just on a bench in the basement at 55*F out of the sun, then
turning to final thickness. I do turn pretty thin- average final
thickness for most of my stuff ranges from 1/8" to 1/4", generally
with a little thicker base. What I find is that they're still a
little wet, but any cracks that were going to happen have happened,
and they tend to hold together after that week's dry time. It's fun
watching them distort as they get thinner, though- I usually turn
bowls with the heartwood towards the rim, and they have a pretty
consistant distortion across the big three types of wood I turn
(maple, birch and willow) after sanding up to 120, I give the rim a
little shave with a sharp scraper, and so far there has been little or
no cracking. Hollowing's a little different, of course, but it's my
current favorite for bowls.

Might have to reevaluate my strategy if I get the giant oak limb we're
contemplating removing to build my dad's new deck. It'd be a first if
I can get that stuff to turn without exploding, so the drying
discussions are welcome.

[George]

"Prometheus" <none...@business.org> wrote in message
news:36p552dij6jkpqp6g...@4ax.com...

>
> I believe the six week figure to get it totally dry, but I've found
> that (for me in my little turnery) my best results to date have been
> with turning to 3/4"-1/2" thick, drying one week with no special
> hoodoo, just on a bench in the basement at 55*F out of the sun, then
> turning to final thickness.

It's not the heat, it's the (relative) humidity. Keeping them up on the
bench is going to give you dryer than leaving them near the floor. If I put
mine down too early into that 80% RH, they have time to grow mildew.

OTOH, I have had some surface checks appear after the first week by leaving
them up where it's 65%. Those I turn directly to thin for warp and go ~1/4"
can be left almost anywhere and do just fine.