air drying maple

sandsawmill14 · October 30, 2016, 09:49:37 PM

the first maple i stacked in the shop to dry and alot of it stained so i have another stack that i stacked out in the open with a layer of pine on it

it has been stacked for about 2 months will it be ok to put it in the shop now or how long will it need to be outside before it wont stain if it doesnt get much air ??? i would like to move it inside before the weather gets bad

Den Socling · October 30, 2016, 10:11:05 PM

Heck a lot of people would consider that desirable character.

Glenn1 · October 30, 2016, 10:18:57 PM

The biggest problem with maple is sticker stain, even with kiln dried stickers. As soon as it is cut and sealed on the ends, I run fans through the sides 24/7 to remove moisture as fast as possible. Then it goes into the kiln when it is below 20MC. Maple puts off a tremendous amount of moisture very quickly so I use a commercial oscillating fan.

sandsawmill14 · October 30, 2016, 10:26:48 PM

i was working at on a chipper at a circle mill and noticed the slab in the shaker so i went and told them to pull all the maple like that out and stack it for me ;D they said no problem so i got about 450 bdft ;D
i do really like the ambrosia in the maple

YellowHammer · October 30, 2016, 10:30:30 PM

What moisture level is it? With this dry air we have been having, it might already be near or under 20%.

sandsawmill14 · October 30, 2016, 10:35:59 PM

i havent checked it i dont have a meter and cant remember to bring one home from work :

but i will try to get it tomorrow and check it

it has been really dry here i dont think we have had but about a 1/4" of rain since i stacked it

good for the lumber not so much for the pasture :-\

GeneWengert-WoodDoc · October 31, 2016, 06:56:46 AM

The picture shows streaks from the Columbian Timber Beetle. This is not what is considered to be stain...stain refers to activity from fungi or from oxidation of sugar in the wood. The beetle is active in very wet wood, so the damage occurs prior to sawing.

Check out (especially Figure 1E)
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_043570.pdf

sandsawmill14 · October 31, 2016, 07:05:28 AM

yes that stack is fresh sawn and the beetle tracks is what i like about it

this is the stain im trying to prevent

GeneWengert-WoodDoc · October 31, 2016, 03:17:01 PM

Your picture shows blue stain, also called sap stain, which is a fungi and needs high moisture content. Oftentimes it begins in the log.

69bronco · October 31, 2016, 06:54:56 PM

I started standing maple up on end in an open shed for a month or so before stickering. Seems to work, agree with the fans. My 2cents, good luck.

sandsawmill14 · October 31, 2016, 07:01:56 PM

yep blue stain is what im trying to prevent

about 3/4 of the maple i saw has the beetles in it but probably 3/4 of that already has the blue stain when i saw just to many logs coming and going for me to catch them all when they come in :( but when i saw some thats not stained i will sticker it and save it back ;) but the last stack blue stained anyway and thats what i am trying to prevent

never had the blue stain problem with any of the oaks ash or other hard woods at least when i cared if it did or not are fans mandatory when drying maple ??? i generally have more trouble with it drying to fast and checking than i do with blue stain

some of you guys are are genius when it comes to marketing though denim pine (blue stain) spalting (grey sap is what its called here ) and is only good for pallet stock and pecky cypress = almost to rotten to use :D :D :D dont get me wrong i am proud for you guys that have those markets ;)

thanks for all the comments so far

Den Socling · October 31, 2016, 08:18:05 PM

Yeah I got 4600 bf of 16/4 Sinker Cypress today. Some is so rotten and full of holes that I really have to wonder how anybody markets the stuff.

sandsawmill14 · October 31, 2016, 08:27:53 PM

Quote from: Den Socling on October 31, 2016, 08:18:05 PM
Yeah I got 4600 bf of 16/4 Sinker Cypress today. Some is so rotten and full of holes that I really have to wonder how anybody markets the stuff.

the first logs i sawed with the b20 after we got it was pecky cypress a little over 4 tt loads of it

sawed it all 5/4 and liked sawing it sawed real easy but i wouldnt want to use it myself

GeneWengert-WoodDoc · November 01, 2016, 07:14:51 AM

As a review...
CONTROL. In order to control the fungus, at least one of these four requirements for growth must be eliminated. Let's look at each of these four in a little more detail.

Temperature. Temperature can seldom be controlled well enough in air drying to control the fungus. In the winter, there is little risk for staining to lumber outdoors if under 50 F. Using very cold water to sprinkle logs will keep the logs cooler.

Oxygen. Oxygen levels are difficult to control, as oxygen is present everywhere. End coating and aggressive sprinkling of logs works fairly well.

Water. Oftentimes, the easiest of the four requirements to eliminate is moisture. Rapid drying (relative humidities under 92%) will control the blue stain fungus (as well as mold and mildew). As a rule of thumb, whenever the moisture of the wood at a particular spot is under 22% MC, there is not enough moisture to support fungal staining. (Note: Wood does not rot when dry, so the term "dry rot" is a misnomer; wood rot or decay occurs when the wood is wet.)

Food. When drying will not be rapid, the only viable alternative when temperatures are above 50°F is to poison the food supply for the fungus. Typically, the lumber is dipped in a preservative chemical, treating (or poisoning) the wood fibers at the outer surface. This barrier of poisoned wood prevents the fungus from entering the wood as well as prevents its growth on the surface. (If the wood is already infected before treating or if a split or crack develops exposing untreated wood, then the fungus can develop.) The chemicals used today have only a few weeks of good strength. After that time, or if they are washed off due to heavy rain, protection is quite limited.

Den Socling · November 01, 2016, 09:31:21 AM

Yes Professor. ;D

Den Socling · November 01, 2016, 05:50:35 PM

Here's a couple pictures of the Cypress I mentioned last night.

And that's worth the really big bucks! :

sandsawmill14 · November 01, 2016, 05:59:02 PM

looks about like what i sawed

thanks gene for the info

BigZ La · November 01, 2016, 08:58:35 PM

That cypress isn't pecky, that's some beautiful stuff. If I knew how to post pics I would show you pecky. :D

I have about 1000bf of some that you can see through in spots, that's the really good stuff. :D :D

Denny · November 02, 2016, 03:27:45 PM

Hot & humid days are your enemy. I was taught that any month with the letter "R" in it means that its a safe month for air drying maple. If there's no "R" in the name of the month then you better...
1. Get em stickered ASAP !!!
2. Get em in the kiln ASAP !!!
3. Low temp schedule works nice for me. One hundred degrees to start em and keep the vents wide open for the first few days

May, June, July and August

January, February, March, April, September, October, November & December