Drying Sycamore

DR Buck · April 19, 2011, 06:20:11 AM

I just dried ~1200 bf of Sycamore and most of it dried OK but some of it had real issues. It was all 4/4 and a lot of boards came out looking like Lay's wavy potato chips. :-\ It was random. Boards near the top, bottom or middle of the stacks warped. No visible reason why it ended up that way.

Is this a trait of Sycamore?

scsmith42 · April 19, 2011, 07:12:24 AM

Unless it was quartersawn, it's not uncommon.

Sycamore uses the same drying schedule as oak. I have successfully dried FS sycamore in the past, but the boards were placed in the bottom of the stacks and they went into the kiln pretty quickly after milling.

WDH · April 19, 2011, 08:01:35 AM

It probably matters more where the board was in the log versus where it was in the stack. Even if a sycamore board that is not quartersawn looks flat, the stresses from the interlocked grain are still in the board. When you plane or rip it, the stress can show up. The first board or two off the outside of the log on all four sides are the worst performers. For that reason, go against your instincts and slab heavy and put the flat sawn stuff on the bottom of the stack, then stack another species like oak on top till you get the stack as high as you can handle. The oak provides weight on top of the sycamore boards.

Left Coast Chris · April 19, 2011, 09:54:41 AM

Knots are an issue also. Be sure and seal the ends of the boards or easier yet, the log before you saw. That slows down the drying. It is also good to get rid of the heart center by sawing down it and edging it off of the board.

tyb525 · April 19, 2011, 12:44:03 PM

Quartersawn tends to be the most stable kind of sycamore board.

WDH · April 19, 2011, 08:58:01 PM

Scott,

I did not know that sycamore took the same drying scheduled as oak. It sure does seem to be wetter than most green lumber, and it gives up moisture grudgingly. It took a lot longer to air dry that I expected.

lt70guy · April 20, 2011, 12:12:02 AM

Of you guys who have sawn Sycamore ever found a large portion of your logs containing shake? It seems nearly every Sycamore log from our farm, and areas around here, contains shake and is useless for pretty much anything. Can't seem to get a good piece of Sycamore lumber from any of the logs from this area. I don't notice it so much in logs that come from other locations far from our farm. Anybody else have this problem?

DR Buck · April 20, 2011, 06:42:17 AM

Quote from: WDH on April 19, 2011, 08:58:01 PM
Scott,

I did not know that sycamore took the same drying scheduled as oak. It sure does seem to be wetter than most green lumber, and it gives up moisture grudgingly. It took a lot longer to air dry that I expected.

You're right on that Dan. Wettest lumber I've ever dried. Didn't think the mc was ever going to come down.