Storing Wood in a Subtropical Climate Thoughts on how to keep air-dried lumber sawn on site from decaying while stored for a season or two — in Nicaragua June 22, 2012
10,000-Year-Old Mystery Wood Sawmillers try to guess the species of wood recovered after thousands of years buried in the mud. November 13, 2005
Treating Burls With Pentacryl Is pentracryl a proper treatment for burl wood, or are other sealers more suitable? January 6, 2005
Wax to Seal Turning Blocks Thoughts on selecting and applying wax to preserve turning blocks during storage. February 8, 2008
Will Stacked Lumber Gain or Lose Moisture? Lumber in storage may gain or lose moisture, but very slowly. Wrapping the pile in plastic will slow or stop the moisture change. March 29, 2006
Water Damage to Glued Cherry Glued-up wide Cherry boards got rained on. What's the best hope for salvage? January 18, 2011
Storing kiln-dried lumber Controlling the humidity in the atmosphere around stored lumber. January 16, 2002
Wood Storage: Vertical or horizontal? Truly dry wood stored under the proper conditions will not warp, no matter how you position it. September 26, 2000
Smelly lauan The Wood Doctor is quizzed about bad-smelling lauan in a commercial bar. Diagnosis: anaerobic bacteria. Prognosis: terminal. Prescription: replacement. 1998.
Stained oak from supplier There are solutions for stained, milled, not-yet-dried oak lumber, but first , one must determine the cause of the staining. 1998.
Is Kiln Drying to 7% Worth It? Why kiln dry wood to 7% moisture content when it will gain moisture in storage? Here's an informative thread about proper drying targets and storage based on the intended end use of the lumber. December 31, 2013
Re-Drying Wood from Outdoor Storage Advice on how to best restore wood to useability after it has been left partially exposed to weather in a shed. January 18, 2011
Long-Term Storage of Air-Dried Lumber Air-dried lumber left in drying stacks for long periods without kiln-drying is at high risk for insect damage and spoilage. June 18, 2010
Managing Fungus on Cedar Advice on handling and cleaning a Cedar slab that wasn't properly dried and now harbors fungus. October 19, 2014
Minimum Sticker Thickness How thin can stickers be in order to maximize kiln capacity without creating drying problems? May 11, 2005
Glue failures Adhesive failure can usually be traced to one of two causes: overly moist wood or defective glue. December 6, 2000
Protecting Fresh Wood from Bugs Chemical means have drawbacks and are not very effective. So good drying and careful hygeine in the the yard are your best methods for keeping wood bug-free. April 20, 2011
Dealing with Bowed or Warped Plywood Warped, bowed, cupped, twisted — these days, plywood seem to lie every which way but flat. Here's a long and somewhat technical discussion of what makes plywood deform, and what can be done about it. December 28, 2005
Calculating moisture content Using a hygrometer and calculator to determine the MC of kiln samples. September 2, 2002
Air-Drying Big Timbers Over Long Time If you plan to air-dry posts and beams for a period of years, here's advice on stickering, sawing over-size, end-sealing, et cetera. October 26, 2011
Ash, Pine, Bugs, and Borates More info on the insects that may infest hardwoods and softwoods, and on the use of borate-based controls. December 6, 2009
Cherry Color After Aging When cherry shelves are constructed years apart, how dramatic will the color difference be? May 8, 2004
Drying Rewetted Kiln-Dried Lumber How to render kiln-dried lumber, which has been rewetted due to flooding or excessive humidity, useful once again. 1998.
Bacterial Action in Wood Temperature and the availability of oxygen help determine which sort of bacteria can thrive in wood, and therefore how the infected wood might smell. January 27, 2007
Dehumidifiers and Lumber Storage A dehumidifier in the storage room will keep lumber at the proper moisture content, and will do no harm. December 6, 2012
Keeping Plywood Flat Pros discuss causes, cures, and prevention of warping in plywood. July 9, 2005
Powder Post Beetles in Plywood Amazingly, the bugs are not killed by plywood manufacturing methods, and can lurk inside plywood for years. October 27, 2011
Getting a charge from melamine How to mitigate the creation and transmission of static electricity during the handling thermofused melamine. April 2, 2002
Crack Prevention and Repair for a Large Wood Turning Here's a long, thoughtful technical discussion of humidity conditions, wood cracking, prevention, and fixes, focused around the case of a very large wood turning that has developed hairline cracks. January 20, 2011