Drying 5/4 quarter sawed white oak
7/1/16
We have have some 5/4 quarter sawed white oak that we have been asked to dry. I thought I would put it in a kiln charge along with 5/4 flat sawed red oak and run it on a 5/4 white oak schedule. Starting with a 4 degree depression. The white oak has about three weeks of air drying time. Red oak about two weeks. Would this be a good idea? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
7/2/16 #2: Drying 5/4 quarter sawed white oak ...
Sounds too humid to me with three weeks of air drying.
7/3/16 #3: Drying 5/4 quarter sawed white oak ...
Do you have a cell phone with a weather app? Check the humidity about noon. In GA over the past three weeks and longer, we have had many days with humidity around 40% RH or even a bit lower. If you are near, then your lumber surface is likely quite a bit drier than the 18% EMC (87% RH) that you are suggesting for the start up. This high humidity will add moisture and likely make small checks and cracks get a lot worse.
7/3/16 #4: Drying 5/4 quarter sawed white oak ...
Would it be a better idea to do a core and shell test, find the mc of the shell, and then jump into the schedule matching the emc with the mc of the shell?
7/4/16 #5: Drying 5/4 quarter sawed white oak ...
You have the right idea, but the shell cannot be too thick, as we really want the surface MC...maybe 1/8" deep.