When to plane rough cut lumber?

[N80]

Both stacks sitting out in the open. One has a shed about 4 feet from one end. Otherwise no obstructions to airflow. Both get about 5-6 hours of direct sun during summer months. I pulled boards from the interior of one of the stacks last week. No moisture.

Again, I think you don’t understand the humidity here. Which, again, is why my basement is where the select slabs go.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Both stacks sitting out in the open. One has a shed about 4 feet from one end. Otherwise no obstructions to airflow. Both get about 5-6 hours of direct sun during summer months. I pulled boards from the interior of one of the stacks last week. No moisture.

Again, I think you don’t understand the humidity here. Which, again, is why my basement is where the select slabs go.

Just trying to help you out, but you obviously know more than I do about drying lumber, so I won't bother you anymore with my answers.

SR

 

[Raul-02]

ough cut white oak

OAK.
Immediately~!! I have a forestry dept paper on just this topic. The thing about oak is you need to slow the transpiration of moisture without causing mold. Otherwise, it'll check like crazy. then you need to stack it so it is very close to more oak and tarp the stack.
So your sticks need to be really thin, the surface of the oak needs to be smooth, to prevent high moisture transpiration and you gotta cover it.

Now the problem with plaining wet oak is that it is hard on your gear. The acid and moisture will rust the machinery. So you gotta be on the spot about cleaning and getting moisture off the machinery. I used Kerosene. Kero displaces water immediately.

 

[N80]

Just trying to help you out, but you obviously know more than I do about drying lumber, so I won't bother you anymore with my answers.

SR

I appreciate all the help I can get but to be fair you haven’t offered answers to the problems you pointed out. You have pretty much just said that I’m doing things wrong without actually knowing how I am doing them. I did not claim that I knew more than you. I obviously don’t. I’ve only been at this 6 months or so.

You suggested that I was doing things wrong. I simply replied by telling you how I was doing them.

Any constructive advice is still very much appreciated.

 

[plowhog]

Any constructive advice is still very much appreciated.

I think the issue is airflow. My idea of a basement is an enclosed room. So how do you get airflow-- and when moisture is released from the wood, where can it go?

Everything I have read involves drying lumber outside-- and not in direct sunlight.

I'm new at this, but I read elsewhere that furniture grade wood should be something like 8% moisture content, not 20% or so. But maybe that's not possible in your humid environment?

I milled some cedar a while back. Properly stickered and dried it to about 20% moisture content. Made a wooden box as a TV stand. Stained it and coated with varathane. Two months later the bottom of the box, which was perfectly flat, now has an arch. The box is about 4 feet wide and the bottom center is up about 1/4 inch.

 

[N80]

Moving air might be an issue in the basement. It is a large basement. Walk in on the back. Rough concrete floors. House is 90 years old so it certainly isn’t sealed in any sense of the word. Also, has original and very leaky metal duct work. This means it is a least partially climate controlled.
As far as the outdoor stacks (all pine at this point), it’s a catch-22. To avoid direct sunlight they’d have to be in the woods. If they are in the woods they won’t get as good air flow and they’ll get covered in leaves and pine needles.

Right now there is nothing precious on the outdoor stacks so I’ll give them time and see what happens.

I definitely need to get a moisture meter so that I’m not guessing.

Also, I may have misspoken about the mold. For what it’s worth it might be a sort of lichen. It is very very fine, somewhat rough sandy feeling to the touch and had a faint blue green tint to it. It does not brush or wipe off. Just the slightest skim with the planer takes it right off and the wood underneath looks fine. Whether it is an indication of moisture or not I do not know.

Anyway, if the basement is a bad idea and my outdoor stacks are wrong, I may have to build an open shed to dry the good stuff.

The last thing I need is another structure on the property!

 

[Raul-02]

Both stacks sitting out in the open. One has a shed about 4 feet from one end. Otherwise no obstructions to airflow. Both get about 5-6 hours of direct sun during summer months. I pulled boards from the interior of one of the stacks last week. No moisture.

Again, I think you don’t understand the humidity here. Which, again, is why my basement is where the select slabs go.

I found that document online here it is

https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn223.pdf

 

[crazyal]

I had some green rough cut red maple that I tried to dry but at the time I didn't have an open area. Before it could dry powder post beetles got to it. It takes plenty of air movement around the wood to remove the moisture. Too little and mold and infestation will result. I don't know if PPBs are an issue down there but putting green wood inside your basement could lead to bigger issues if bugs can get in.

Do you have a place on your property that's open enough to get plenty of air movement? How much is a bunch? 1" stickers are the minimum used around here. If you don't have too much wood you can try to make larger gaps to help flow.

I think you're real problem is how long it's going to take to dry. If it's as humid outside as you say then it's never going to get that dry. 20% might work for a simple shelf but even then I think it'll still move. I would like to see 12% or less before I do anything to wood. If higher you'll find that the center has more moisture and as you remove the outside of the wood you'll expose the wetter wood which will dry at a faster rate. If that's the case you need to be very careful to remove the same amount from each side and once removed make sure both sides of the wood have equal air flow. Otherwise the wood will dry more on one side than the other and it's not going to stay flat.

Typically when you buy kiln dried wood you like to bring it into your shop and let it sit for a few weeks to adjust to it's new environment.

 

[N80]

I don’t know if we have powder post beetles or not. I have heard of them but have not heard anyone around here having issues.

I really will need to get a moisture meter.

I agree that getting moisture below 20% is probably not possible with my outdoor stored lumber. The relative humidity is typically between 80 and 100% in the mornings during the summer and on really nice, and fairly rare, days it will drop down into the 30% range.

When we built our cabin we bought rough cut boards for the flooring. For that to work we had to have them kiln dried and planed at a local mill.

 

[civilian]

Try a fan to help move air, use a dehumidifier in the room. Can OP store in basement, build a temporary opened ended box around it, put fan on one end, and blow air through the stack.

I have some in my storage room in my attic. Temps reach 110F on hot days in Northern Michigan.

Probably the best fastest way to dry it is to take to a kiln and have them dry it. But that will cost money. Good luck. Jon

 

[/pine]

FWIW...there can be insect larva etc.within the lumber even before it is sawed...simply air drying will not kill said larva etc...
An internal temperature of 140* is required to kill any insects in lumber (AKA kiln dried)...
This is true with powder puff beetles...

 

[civilian]

FWIW...there can be insect larva etc.within the lumber even before it is sawed...simply air drying will not kill said larva etc...
An internal temperature of 140* is required to kill any insects in lumber (AKA kiln dried)...
This is true with powder puff beetles...

I was also told this for the worms, larva(?) that were in the white pine I had dried by a Sawmill. Jon

 

[STAYSAFE]

I had some green rough cut red maple that I tried to dry but at the time I didn't have an open area. Before it could dry powder post beetles got to it. It takes plenty of air movement around the wood to remove the moisture. Too little and mold and infestation will result. I don't know if PPBs are an issue down there but putting green wood inside your basement could lead to bigger issues if bugs can get in.

Do you have a place on your property that's open enough to get plenty of air movement? How much is a bunch? 1" stickers are the minimum used around here. If you don't have too much wood you can try to make larger gaps to help flow.

I think you're real problem is how long it's going to take to dry. If it's as humid outside as you say then it's never going to get that dry. 20% might work for a simple shelf but even then I think it'll still move. I would like to see 12% or less before I do anything to wood. If higher you'll find that the center has more moisture and as you remove the outside of the wood you'll expose the wetter wood which will dry at a faster rate. If that's the case you need to be very careful to remove the same amount from each side and once removed make sure both sides of the wood have equal air flow. Otherwise the wood will dry more on one side than the other and it's not going to stay flat.

Typically when you buy kiln dried wood you like to bring it into your shop and let it sit for a few weeks to adjust to it's new environment.

“I think you're real problem....”
Your; you’re......pick one.......either one.

 

[Surshot]

George, you never dress green wood. It should be air dried to at least 20% before the wood is kiln dried.
If the air drying is on slats, stacked for suppert, the wood should stay straight. It may take months to dry in an enclosure.
Now if you are going to put wood in an AC or heat environment, stack it inside for at least 30 days first, it is going to shrink. I do not care what the moisture meter says, it will shrink. Then at 10% or less, plane it and cut and sand it.
If you want to kiln dry it, it should be 10% or less, before you saw, sand and finish it. That is the parameter for a gun stock.
A moisture meter should have settings for different species, if you get one, do use the white oak setting.
I buy furniture grade at 10% or less moisture and store it in a temp controlled environment, on racks.
This is my 391 Beretta Silver side Sporting 20” with my stock wood, it is a fair piece of wood.

 

[Egon]

Commercial sawmills will only accept logs at a certain moisture content. This ensures the milled lumber will meet standard specs when dried.

 

[jyoutz]

I just got a bench top planer. This question pertains to when to use it. I have some rough cut white oak planks. Most are a little over 1 inch in thickness. They were cut about a month ago and have been stacked on stickers in my basement since that time.

My plan is to make some built-in shelves out of them.

I know they need a lot longer to dry at this point.

But once they have dried sufficiently what is the timing of thickness planing them to their final (pre-sanding) dimension which will be around 3/4"? Should it be done well before I plan on building the shelves or right before I build them......of does the timing even matter once the rough cut boards are dried?

Any input much appreciated.

Sawmills plane lumber after they have been through the dry kiln.

 

[Egon]

A site with information on milling lumber. Long read but can be skipped through to find pertinent information. There is a very good index.

http://images.mofcom.gov.cn/gy/201310/2013102504430546.pdf

 

[jayhawk238]

George, you never dress green wood. It should be air dried to at least 20% before the wood is kiln dried.
If the air drying is on slats, stacked for suppert, the wood should stay straight. It may take months to dry in an enclosure.
Now if you are going to put wood in an AC or heat environment, stack it inside for at least 30 days first, it is going to shrink. I do not care what the moisture meter says, it will shrink. Then at 10% or less, plane it and cut and sand it.
If you want to kiln dry it, it should be 10% or less, before you saw, sand and finish it. That is the parameter for a gun stock.
A moisture meter should have settings for different species, if you get one, do use the white oak setting.
I buy furniture grade at 10% or less moisture and store it in a temp controlled environment, on racks.
This is my 391 Beretta Silver side Sporting 20” with my stock wood, it is a fair piece of wood.

WOW!! That is more than beautiful!! I am VERY jealous.

 

[N80]

George, you never dress green wood. It should be air dried to at least 20% before the wood is kiln dried.
If the air drying is on slats, stacked for suppert, the wood should stay straight. It may take months to dry in an enclosure.
Now if you are going to put wood in an AC or heat environment, stack it inside for at least 30 days first, it is going to shrink. I do not care what the moisture meter says, it will shrink. Then at 10% or less, plane it and cut and sand it.
If you want to kiln dry it, it should be 10% or less, before you saw, sand and finish it. That is the parameter for a gun stock.
A moisture meter should have settings for different species, if you get one, do use the white oak setting.
I buy furniture grade at 10% or less moisture and store it in a temp controlled environment, on racks.
This is my 391 Beretta Silver side Sporting 20” with my stock wood, it is a fair piece of wood.

Gorgeous wood on that Beretta.

I was aware not to plane it green. I rephrased my original question this way:

"I guess the better way to ask the question is, once the planks are dry is it okay to plane them even if it will be a long time before I build with them?"

The current game plan at this point is to let them dry another 3-4 months. I will get a moisture meter and monitor it. Once dry and within a month or two of building the shelves I will plane it and saw it. As someone else suggested I may leave it close to 1 inch thick for added stability against twisting etc. The shelves are going to be in a laundry room that doubles as my closet/dressing room and will be fairly simple and plain in design. I have enough white oak with nice figure to do the upright sides, base and top. I will probably use red oak for the shelves.

If I get adventuresome I may put doors on one section. If so I will save the boards with the best figure for that.

I feel capable of doing the work as I've put built in shelving in two rooms already. Granted, that was pine from the big box stores and is painted so this will be a bit of a different animal.

For this project I don't think I'll spend the money and time to have it kiln dried. If it all blows up and goes to heck it won't be a tragedy and I'll learn from my mistakes.

 

[jaxs]

I buy furniture grade at 10% or less moisture and store it in a temp controlled environment, on racks.
This is my 391 Beretta Silver side Sporting 20” with my stock wood, it is a fair piece of wood.

I don't have anything to add (or subtract for that matter) for op but I have some very experienced advice regarding that gun. You should immediately rehome it to me in Texas for safe keeping.