I'm green and so is my wood - Woodworking Talk

bigredc · 11-10-2007, 08:38 AM

Hi all. I'm getting back into woodworking, and finding out how expensive wood can be. A guy I ran into on my construction job gave me some rough sawn wood. I didn't ask him how old it was. So not knowing how long it's been drying, how long should I keep it in my dry basement before it OK to use.

**Daren** · 11-10-2007, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigredc

how long should I keep it in my dry basement before it OK to use.

Until you go out and buy/borrow a moisture meter and check it

. That was my smart alec answer, here is my real one (it's mostly questions).

How thick is it? Is it hardwood or softwood? Why are they using rough sawn on a construction job ?, if it is framing material it should be already kiln dried and graded unless they are doing a timber frame or something. What are you going to use it for ? there are "green wood" construction techniques that don't even need dry wood.

My first answer was the easiest, check it with a moisture meter.

Charles Neil · 11-10-2007, 07:26 PM

a good rule of thumb is to let it dry 1 year for every inch of thickness, but ditto to a good moisture meter.

bigredc · 11-23-2007, 05:19 PM

I ordered the meter.

**TexasTimbers** · 11-23-2007, 05:25 PM

Congratulations red, you have taked th efirst step in avoiding problems that are totally - well - avoidable. Too many woodworkers take for granted their "kiln dried wood" from their local hardwood retailer are acceptably dry and ready to use in fine furniture construction. I think alot of the problems that "mysteriously" creep up down the road in a piece of furniture concerning joinery and finish could be avoided if more woodworkers owned a moisture meter.

bigredc · 11-23-2007, 09:33 PM

Thanks for the positive thoughts.

bigredc · 12-07-2007, 10:01 PM

I got my tester. According to it the wood I was worried about either doesn't even register any moister or like 5%. I was thinking about putting this stuff in my living room to dry it out faster. This is great.

Gerry KIERNAN · 12-08-2007, 11:44 AM

Hi Bigredc

At 5% or less you should be able to work with the wood right away. However, letting it acclimatise to the area of your house, where it is going to live for a few months would be a good plan to do before you apply any finish to it. That way, if there is a little more moisture, deeper in the wood, it has a chance to get out before you seal it up with something. Good move buying the moisture meter. I don't think you can go wrong having one of them. If you have wood panelling, or wood furniture in the house, where you are going to set up your furniture, find an obscure spot on that item, and take some readings. That should give you a pretty good idea where your new piece is going to end up once it has acclimatised to the house.

Gerry