Drying wood - Costa Rican style

crtreedude · September 25, 2005, 11:53:50 AM

First of all, a disclaimer. If any of you yahoos go and try this, I am not responsible! I heard about it and went and saw it and thought it was interesting, so I figured I would report it.

What happens when you take a barely literate (I assume) Tico who has no access to the Forestry Forum who decides that drying wood is a good thing?

The man took and made a shed out of tinroof - at first the roof beams were made of wood - but those didn't last, so they are now out of metal.

In the middle of the shed is a pit - say 4' x 4' x 4' in which waste wood, etc. is thrown in. Wood is stacked around the outside of the pit and then the wood is lit. Don't ask me how much wood, how hot, etc, etc because I don't know.

After keeping a fire going (I assume at a low rate) for about a week, he lets the fire die out and then waits for 2 to 3 more days.

According to him, the wood is as dry as a bone and very good for making furniture for Guanacaste, where it stops raining for 5 months during the dry season.

Necessity is the mother of invention. I suspect this costs less than your fancy wood kilns. I have noticed no smoky smell in the wood either.

So, what do you think? Has he lost his mind or what? ???

By the way, the reason that the wooden beams were replaced by steel is that the first time - they caught fire! :D

Furby · September 25, 2005, 02:25:20 PM

Not sure that it is crazy............
I dry wood that I'm going to burn that way, also works to dry out green branches and such for burning.
If done carefully, it should work to a point, but he has very little control over the drying process.

crtreedude · September 25, 2005, 02:49:53 PM

He doesn't seem to have any problems with checking or warping. Of course, tropical woods tend to be very stable because they don't have pronounced growth rings.

I suspect he has as much control as a person who is smoking meat.