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Tip
#39
Drying Your Own Lumber
(continued)
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Testing
& Preparing Air-Dried Lumber
You can
be fairly comfortable using 4/4 wood after it’s dried for
a year. For 8/4 wood, you’ll want to test the and the moisture
content before using it. There is a simple method for this.
Saw off a small piece of green lumber (taken from the inside
of the stack) and weigh it. An inexpensive postage scale works
well for this purpose. Now put the piece of wood in the oven
at 350-degrees for a few hours to dry it thoroughly. Then
weigh it again. The difference in the two weights, divided
by the original weight of the wood, equals the moisture content.
Here’s the equation written out:
|
Original
weight - dried weight
|
=
% Moisture content |
|
Original
weight
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A note
on measuring moisture content: You can also measure moisture
content the easy way -- with a meter. Lignomat U.S.A. Ltd.,
14345 N.E. Morris Court, P.O. Box 30145, Dept. B-H, Portland,
OR 97230, makes several models of moisture meters. Write them
for more information.
Once the
wood has dried sufficiently, bring it into the shop and let
it sit for four to six weeks before using it. This will give
it time to get acclimated to your shop. A shop is usually
drier and warmer than the outside, and the wood needs time
to adjust itself to the change in temperature and humidity.
If you cut into the wood right away, the pieces may change
shape before you get a chance to assemble them.
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Introduction
Back to How to Air-Dry Your Lumber
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