Project:Drying Timber

ProjectInfoBox Drying Timber
Status:	ongoing
Release Date:	started in 2016, first products in 2018
Initiator:	Lukas
Materials Used:	various kinds of wood
Tools Used:	pocket chainsaw, hacksaw, drawknife

Before actively looking for sources of unprocessed timber or rough-cut boards for woodturning blanks or projects like a "river table", I want to experiment with drying and storage techniques to see which works best. Drying too fast will cause the wood to crack while incomplete drying allows fungi to grow.

Here you'll find my experiences! Different woods are tested as they probably won't behave alike.

• some photos
• 

  apple logs in late 2016

• 

  apple discs in late 2016

• 

  the pine log in late 2016

Progress/Results

Species	Approx. Dimensions	Source	Treatment	Storage	Outcome	Use	Notes
pine	log	forest (left over by workers a few weeks before <???>)	bark mostly gone already, no further treatment	uninsulated attic since 2016-9-25	not too great	(poor) chop block, then firewood (2017-5)	first "attempt" without any effort, no big surprise...
apple	log	orchard	cut into pieces for various approaches: 1.5 cm discs with and without bark untreated log log with cut faces painted over log with bark removed and cut faces painted over	garage (logs) or basement/attic (discs) since 2016-10-3 Lukas' workbench since <???>		planned: woodturning
cherry	small piece	gardener at the JKI Dossenheim (2016-12)	cut faces painted after two months outside double coat of clear lacquer too late - already had several cracks	$home since <???> Lukas' workbench since <???>
maple	small piece	gardener at the JKI Dossenheim (2016-12)	cut faces painted after two months outside double coat of clear lacquer too late - already had several cracks	$home since <???> Lukas' workbench since <???>
beech	small log	sawn from fallen tree (2017-2-5)	cut faces painted after two weeks outside double coat of clear lacquer already too late!	uninsulated attic since 2017-2-20 Lukas' workbench since <???>		planned: mallet head	"marbled" with some kind of fungus (spalting)
Robinia	large log	sawn from fallen tree 2017-10-21	(top) cut face painted when brought to the Space double coat of wood glue and water mixture left standing upright	garage since 2017-10-21 Lukas' workbench since 2017-10-31	nice overall, some cracks (could have started before treatment)	wedding cake stand (2018-4)
ash	large log with "handle" branch	roadside (left over by workers a few days before 2018-3-3)	cut faces covered when brought to the Space paraffin (melted with heat gun right on the wood)	put under Lukas' workbench immediately (2018-3-3)		planned: axe/hammer handles

Further Ideas

• get/make a moisture meter
• there is an Instructable on kiln drying at home, but it seems to require lots of space and electricity
• try cheaper and ecologically safer options than clear lacquer for painting cut faces
  • wood glue and water mixture ✔
  • paraffin (candle wax) ✔
• wood discs can reportedly be placed in a bucket of sawdust to dry, be treated with "wood hardener" or weighed down in a stack and rotated every few weeks
  • not tried yet, but as they are really hard to dry it's best to not cut the timber into discs when still fresh!
• write down some of this "theory" part more nicely
  • drying speed with grain, role of bark, importance to cover faces
  • start with long pieces - gives you room to cut off cracked ends