Thread: air drying wet timber

I don't know about faster but what I can gather the slower you dry green timber the better, less cracking, shrinkage & distorsion. In other words a better recovery rate.

Originally Posted by Mal Dinning

I don't know about faster but what I can gather the slower you dry green timber the better, less cracking, shrinkage & distorsion. In other words a better recovery rate.

Mal's spot on

Originally Posted by ApprenticeBenny

how does air drying soaking wet timber work better and faster than if you were to just put it straight into a kiln?

The answer is no. Air drying is not faster than putting timber into a kiln. The purpose of the kiln is to speed up the drying process. Timber is often allowed to air dry for a period of time before being finished in a kiln. This reduces kiln drying time and cost. Depending on the species and size it is possible to put wet/green timber straight into a kiln and dry it according to a strict schedule to prevent cracking but most will air dry for a period first.

regards
Steve

Originally Posted by ApprenticeBenny

how does air drying soaking wet timber work better and faster than if you were to just put it straight into a kiln?

Do a google search on making a solar kiln. Some designs are little more than a garden shed and able to dry timber in 60 days or so than in colder climes than here.