hey everybody Jared a second life design
I want to go over one of the more
commonly asked topics so they I get run
into a lot on my Instagram is how do I
dry my lumber do I air dry do I kill dry
what do I do
I myself I air dry everything I have I'm
a small operation I am a one-man show I
don't have any any heavy equipment to
move things so everything I'm moving is
by hand and I don't have the means to go
to a kiln it costs a lot of money for
the more and more dollars you to put
into the slabs that's that all adds up
at the bottom dollar so I air dry
everything keeps my cost down i've only
handling the slabs one time and that's
what I go with if I were any larger and
had more space I'd have a forklift or
you know a telehandler or something to
move logs and slabs it'd be a different
story but right now I air dry everything
that's what I can speak about there's
other videos out there on kiln drying
what to look for what to avoid whatever
you know check those out as well you'll
find that drying wood the topic of
drying wood there's a lot of different
ideas on it it's a science that I can
even begin to intelligently speak about
I've only been working with slabs
working with logs for a short time so I
know I can share my experience and maybe
that'll help you so I'm a kind of start
very I'm gonna start from the beginning
of my process and go through the end and
kind of tie in with the timeline and
hopefully that'll help so day one I have
my log slab
I mean I've cut them into nine quarter
ten quarter twelve quarter pieces I will
stack them up against my house
vertically for six weeks eight weeks 12
weeks kind of depending on my own
schedule how my back's feeling and kind
of yeah just kind of something to where
I leave them standing up so they get a
lot of airflow when they're standing up
in that orientation for whatever reason
they lose a lot of moisture and a short
amount of time when you first cut trees
they're gonna be at thirty forty percent
maybe even higher when they're still
green so there's a lot of flash moisture
in there that they can lose so I find by
keeping them step
raided keeping a lot of airflow with
them they lose a lot right off the bat
and that's that's what you want you want
to get down to that ten percent number
nine percent 11 percent whatever
whatever your relative moisture is in
your area I'll leave them stacked up you
leaned up against the house for however
long after that point I will put them
back into a stack in the orientation
that they were cut so I'll do the
european-style stacking where they are
sequentially cut kind of how they came
off off the log I will stack them
outside in the shade with plenty of
airflow air flow is the key to all
lumber drying and that is a common
denominator people tell you about
they're gonna be stacked up with
stickers that's gonna be 3/4 inch pieces
of wood stacked between them ever so few
feet yeah that's gonna be a lot of it
just keep the airflow to it really quick
thing about stickers if you are using
two by fours that's what I do I go grab
regular 2x4 studs I rip them down on my
table saw to 3/4 get kiln dried boards
if they are not kiln dried the woods
that are sensitive to staining the
maples and the ash isn't that they can
get sticker stain through them that's
going to be a stain from like the resin
in the 2x4 will stain the wood so that's
just be aware of that use kiln dried
stuff that generally takes care of it
so sidebar about stickers I put
everything in the European method where
you're stacked back in the orientation
and that works really well for me I lay
them out in the yard I put cinder blocks
on under them keep them all level you
want to keep it as level as you can
that's the more level they are the less
likely they are to twist cuff whatever
trees are the slabs are a they're an
organic thing they are gonna dry how
they're gonna dry some are going to
shrink up more than others they're gonna
shrink across their width for example I
had some red oak slabs that were when I
cut them they were 37 to 41 inches wide
now two years later they are 31 to 35
inches wide they shrank four inches
across their entire width that's red oak
they
kind of bad they are not the best for
that that's something I've learned in my
short time every trees gonna be a little
bit different you know we can you talk
all day about what's gonna work best
what isn't at the end of the day they're
organic things they're kind of they're
gonna do what they're gonna do so you
can take steps to try and mitigate
problems to try and make it less in it
but sometimes they just are what they
are if there's a lot of tension in the
trees and you're releasing that by
milling it you they could just split
apart and there's nothing you did wrong
it's just the way it happened so he's
got to keep that in mind that you can
mitigate problems you can try lessen it
but it's still something just go bad
that's just way it is typically I try
and mill on the thicker side so if I
want a tabletop you know if I'm looking
at two slabs after I cut them and like
okay these would be a good book match
pair I cut them really thick if I want
inch and a half top I'm gonna cut them
at nine quarter or two and a quarter
inches so I have three quarters of an
inch of material to remove from that
because I'm just allowing for more
warpage so if it does happen I'm not
totally hosed on those slabs I didn't
wait two years for nothing so I try and
go a little bit thicker it's you know
you don't get as many slabs but you get
more usable slabs in that sense
typically I'll let them air-dry for a
year at least a year kind of the rule of
the one inch per year I don't find that
to be entirely accurate I have a little
bit I can I find it to be a little bit
long that's a good safe general rule
probably but in my area I'm in
east-central Illinois it is a little bit
quicker I don't know if it's you know
the humidity combinations or whatever
but I find a little bit quicker than one
inch per year so I'll leave them outside
for a year year and a half whatever kind
of whatever's convenient whatever space
allows then I'll move them into my
garage my garage is insulated is heated
in the summer it gets hotter than hell
in here it is a hundred degrees most
days so that to me that's where I do my
cut the final drawing that's when I go
from the 20% to 18% down to the 12 11 10
% yeah
that's kind of what I do I wait until
it's done I let them dry like that for
three or four months then I can use
those pieces they are dry I'm
comfortable using them
I've had some move after the fact again
these are organic things they can move
they're going to shift you know when
you're doing a live edge table account
for movement please for the love of God
account for movement if you're using
metal legs or something slot the holes
so the table could expand to contract it
will happen I guarantee it so just allow
for it plan for it and it generally
isn't an issue I have a single slab
table in my home
I've slotted the holes and I measured it
you know through the seasons and it
moves upwards of half an inch you know
from width I mean it's breathing in and
out over the seasons that's just
something that happens that's what
they're gonna do so just account for it
your final product and it generally is
gonna be an issue this part for checking
moisture I have a cheapo meter I bought
off Amazon for $30 just a pin type meter
it's accurate to a sense what I also
keep around is a couple tests scraps of
pieces I know are good dry pieces that
are I can guarantee you this piece is
dry I would you know it's come from a
killed it is bone dry I will test that
if it reads 8% and my other piece reads
10% like okay then I'm pretty close if
it reads 12% my other fees reads 12%
like okay they're acclimated they are
the same moisture so keep test pieces
around you get you know having the nice
you'll contact moisture meters you just
lay it on there it tells you there's
$300 those are great not totally
necessary I keep some test pieces around
and you're gonna get up you can get a
pretty good idea it's not gonna be
perfect but it's me pretty good
so if you're trying to keep this on a
budget $30 meter will do some good so
that's all I can really sure about that
guys I've been doing it a short time you
know this is my third I'm going into my
third year I guess milling and drying
and all that I have pieces now that I'm
using getting into this whole lumber
slobbing you know your world milling
world it takes a couple years to see the
benefits to it it's not something
happens right away it's I kind of like
it it too
starting a winery you know you have to
have your grapes growing for years
before you can produce something so it's
kind of like that so you know it's
there's a learning curve with it this is
gonna vary a lot in your area what your
region is depending on the moisture
levels the humidity levels all that so
that goes into it as well so talk to
other people see what see when they use
their slabs if they're starting at 12%
and they'll have any movement problems
go ahead if you're somewhere out west
and they've that you know the moisture
gets a lot lower where they're you know
that 7 8 percent then go with that too
it's gonna vary a little bit in your
area so I I don't know if this causes
more problems more questions but that's
my process for drying lumber for drying
slabs hopefully that helps you again
what drying lumber drying wood is an art
that is it's a deep deep rabbit hole and
I would talk to people in your region
talk to local Sawyer's and sawmills and
get their input they're gonna be more
acclimated to your region than what I
may be so that's what works for me I
hope it works for you if you have any
other questions drop below any comments
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Life design and thank you