How dry should wood be?
Roger Cox
>I was wondering at what % of mositure should wood be before you use it? I have some red oak drying now and was hoping someone could tell me. Or is it different for different wood?
How dry should wood be?
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Re: How dry should wood be?
#2Re: How dry should wood be?
Rob Sandow
>Depends on what you will be using it for. Most kiln dried hardwood is taken down to about 6-8% but will equalize to about 12% if kept in an outdoor space like a garage or barn. Indoors it will vary by season, between 6-12% or so. The best advice is to be aware of the MC of the wood when using it, and allow for wood movement base on season. Leave gaps between cabinet and drawer smaller if built in summer than if built in winter, etc.
Rob
Re: How dry should wood be?
#3what the industry does
bill tindal, E.TN
>Well, this question will set off another round of air dried vs kiln dried. I will tell you what the hardwood industry does as demanded by the furniture industry specifications. You can decide how relevant this all is to your work.
All hardwood lumber for the furniture industry and export is dried to 7% moisture content. In the best operations it is dried below this level and then steamed back to 7% to relax drying stress.
How relevant these specifications are to your work will depend on what you are making, how you are making it, and where it will live after you made it.
Re: How dry should wood be?
#4
Re: How dry should wood be?
Dale Lenz
>Roger,
I air my own lumber, first outside then bring it in to the shop and let it dry further. Once the lumber gets below 10% it's fair game to use. As other have said, allow for wood movement when building and enjoy your bounty.
Re: How dry should wood be?
#58-10 is about as good as you can expect
JRutter NW WA
>
Re: How dry should wood be?
#6Something People Forget
Rick Christopherson
>When most woodworkers discuss wood acclimation, they forget that both the wood and most joinery methods are more survivable under compression than they are under contraction. What this means is that if you build your project at a dryer level than its final disposition, it will be more likely to survive seasonal changes of expansion and contraction.
As a reality check to this, how many postings do you come across where woodworkers complain about splitting their wood versus discussions about the joint failure due to expansion. Wood has very little tensile strength across the grain, but most joinery methods have a high strength in shear or expansion.
The bottom line is that if you start small, the project will be less likely to fail in the future. For this reason, I will never build a project using wood that is above its final destination moisture content. Building your project with higher moisture content material poses a greater risk of failure.
Re: How dry should wood be?
#7Re: I have another consideration
Larry Clinton in Frankfort, Indiana
>I live in Central Indiana. With the normal humidity levels in this state, the wood & wood furniture in my Central heated / air conditioned house and shop Never falls to 7 percent. Normal measurements with my Delmhorst meter is in the 9 - 10 range. I'm sure the furniture / wood in the western states like Nevada & Arizona is far dryer throughout the seasons. I use wood at 10 percent or lower. Haven't seen any problems yet. I do provide proper construction for normal movement.