AIR DYING LUMBER

Thanks for coming back to the blog. I appreciate the time you take out of your day to not only watch my videos on You-Tube but also to read my blog. I have also added a comment section to the blog for any questions/feedback from the reading. Feel free to leave me a comment.

The most crucial part of drying lumber is the initial drying phase. Some sawmill(s) will put their lumber directly into the kiln after sawing. I however elect to air dry my timber first. This has several advantages over putting green lumber directly into a kiln after sawing. It saves on cost and lets mother nature remove the biggest majority of water from the boards. Kiln drying the air dried wood over green wood is a safer way and yields a better success rate of a properly dried board with little defects. When I talk about drying defects I am referring to excessive checking, case hardening, cupping etc. The only setback or con to this method is in my opinion having to wait for the lumber to air dry down to 20% or less MC before going into the kiln.

So if you are a sawyer that enjoys the process of air drying lumber and the return of you efforts is not needed to be expedited then letting nature take the MC down on your timber would be your better choice. This is a more natural process than putting wood directly into the kiln after sawing and I believe yields a more stable board. I consider air dried wood to be timber that has been sticker/stacked outside in a covered area but open to wind flow on all sides. The ideal moisture content for air drying is 20% MC or less. At that point the timber is what I consider to be, out of the woods. During the drying process as wood goes from being freshly sawn to 20%MC everything bad that is going to happen to the wood has occurred. Timber is at its most vulnerable state when it is loosing the biggest majority of its water content. Once you reach that level of 20%MC you can breathe easy as long as proper kiln drying techniques will follow.

This topic/method really comes down to personal preference and business income needs. Some sawmills are based on productivity and need to move product to make way for incoming inventory and fill large orders. Myself being a small sawmill company I can enjoy the luxury of not being in a hurry to see my investments mature. I am not saying this is the absolute way, but it is the method I follow with great success.

I have found that the best practice for my business is saw it and forget about it.

The next entry in this series will cover correct stacking of wood for drying.

Feel free to comment below if you have any comments/questions and share this blog on whatever social media platform you prefer.

until next time, Saw on!

Nathan, OTW

Kiln Drying Lumber Part 1, Introduction

I have been getting request lately to further explain the concepts of drying lumber. Instead of doing a video on this topic which would consist of me just talking in front of the camera I have chosen to do a blog entry series instead. I am also considering writing an E book on the topic in the future for people to purchase as a reference guide. This will be a series of blog post in which I am going to share what I have learned over the past 8 years of my journey with my sawmill business. This will in no way be the definitive guide to drying but rather a good start at understanding drying lumber. My goal is to share everything that I wish I would have known when I started out. This information comes from research, books,articles and the most valuable insight was found by talking to country sawyers. That term which is not meant to represent a stereo type of the occupation but to convey the type of sawyer(s) that allowed me to pick their brain for this valuable information. This education can be found in text but hearing it straight from the sawyers mouth for me was the ultimate learning experience. The information in this series is by no means "trade secrets" or knowledge that is only available to members of an elite club. This wisdom amongst experienced sawyers is obtainable to anyone if they only do one thing, ask.

Drying lumber is as important as felling a tree and sawing it on a mill. You can have great success with your felling technique and also experience Christmas when the log is opened up for the first time, but without proper drying of the timber you will not enjoy the rewards of your labor.

There are many key terms that are always mentioned when discussing drying lumber. These are the ones that will be key in this series on drying wood.

Air Drying: The task of drying lumber with the assistance of mother nature. This usually consist of lumber being stacked/sticker-ed in either a barn, drying shed or simply on a base made out of concrete blocks and timbers covered with an old piece of tin. Wood is considered green in the initial state of air drying and great care should be taken as this is the most crucial period of the drying process.

Kiln Drying: This consist of using artificial air flow and heat to dry the lumber to the desired moisture content. There are many types of kilns from wood boilers to vacuum kilns. This series will focus solely on the kiln I operate at my sawmill which is a dehumidification kiln.

Sterilization: This process is when the lumber's core is heated to a set temperature in order to kill any bugs/larva etc in the timber. This is a very important part of the process that if skipped could result in a dining room table sitting on sawdust pillars.

In tomorrows entry I will start explaining the process of stacking lumber for airdrying. I am going to attempt to make an entry on this series everyday this week here on my blog. Thank you for reading this post and remember to sign up for updates on this site so you won't miss any of the entries.

Saw on

Nathan Elliott,

Get Your Chainsaw Sharp!

About a week ago Wranglerstar, a popular homesteading You-Tube channel posted a review of the Stihl 2 and 1 Chainsaw Sharpener. After watching the video I was very intrigued by the tool. Cody seemed to be very happy about the tool and recommended it. I am always looking for a better way to sharpen my chainsaw. Sharpening my saw is something I have always struggled with since the first time I picked one up. I have tried hand filing, grinding and a small dremel tool that attaches to the bar with mixed results. So going into this my expectations were moderate with the hopes of finally having the right tool to get the chain factory sharp.

I got my Stihl 2 and 1 Sharpener at my local dealer. It was the only one on the shelf and was covered in dust. I thought the tool was a little on the expensive side as it set me back $50 and some change. Ironically the tool was displayed below the sign that read "Chain Sharpening $8.00." Judging by the dust on the tool packaging and the sign above it my encouragement started to linger on the purchase. Still yet I purchased the tool and rushed home to give it a try.

I bypassed reading the instructions and began sharpening the chain based on the methods described by Cody in his video. Before sharpening the chain was in poor condition. The chain was dull and had gotten into some dirt the last time I used it. The tool was easy to use and seemed to feel like a natural fit on top of the bar. I performed the same number of strokes and had no trouble guiding the file across the tooth. Upon inspection of the first tooth sharpened I noticed a nice sharp edge and the depth gauge had been flattened perfectly to match the tooth.

After sharpening all the teeth I filled up the saw with gas and topped off the bar oil. I have a small pile of seasoned ash firewood that I picked out as a good test for the sharpness of the chain. I knew the chain appeared to be sharp but in the past I have had sharp chains that lacked in performance over all. I was hoping to achieve the sharpness I felt when using a new chain for the first time. It's hard to explain without ever experiencing the feel of a factory sharpened Stihl chain. It cuts through even the hardest of timber with ease.

As you can see from my video the chain performed nicely. It went through the Ash timber with very little effort. This chain gave me the feeling of a new factory sharpened chain that I had been been trying to achieve for years. A good way to tell if your saw is sharp is by the chips it is producing. You do not want fine dust in your waste from sawing, instead large chips are the sign of a properly sharpened saw.

Even-though this was my first time using this tool I can foresee by the results that it will be my primary tool for sharpening in the future. All the jigs,grinders etc that I had purchased in the past will now be like this tool was when I found it, covered in dust.

Thanks for reading this blog and if you haven't already go on over to You-Tube and watch the video that goes in concert with this blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv9gnde8GIU&feature=youtu.be