wood drying when

[kclark]

This may need to be combined with my previous thread of "wood drying", but it is a parallel subject. After getting responses on the previous thread and being a bit "green" myself, I got to wondering if there is a chart somewhere that says for example, white oak is best cut and dried during this time period, walnut is best cut and dried during the first part of June, etc. It just seems that some of the answers that I received, most are drying the same species at the same time. So is there a best time/worst time to cut and dry certain woods.

Just trying to get a good understanding of what and when. Cause I know the wife will want something made using a certain wood and I won't be able to find it until next spring.

 

[Bas]

Paging Scott Smith. Mr Smith, please respond to this thread in the Wood forum.

 

[CrealBilly]

Oh Scott where are you - we all need to hear about maximum moisture content loss per day for different species and thickness of wood. My fear is someone may want to dry lumber to fast or to slow and ruin it.

 

[scsmith42]

There is no single hard and fast forumla, as it depends upon the species, thickness, and local environment. What would be recommended in upstate NY is not the same as what would be recommended in south Texas.

It's safe to mill any wood from late fall through early spring. With some species, such as holly, need to be milled and dried in the winter else they will lose their bright color.

The USDA Forestry Service Division has a lot of material available regarding air and kiln drying hardwood.

With the exception of extremely slow drying species such as oak and sycamore, it is safe to air dry pretty much all year round. Thicker beams/planks are best to start in the early fall though, irrespective of the species.

If you want to be really safe, don't start to air dry anything thicker than 4/4 in the heat of summer, unless you can stack/sticker it indoors.