Best way to dry lumber?

[matthew14146]

Hey folks,

Newby to the forum here.... still trying to figure things out, so if this question belongs under another thread, feel free to move it.

I've owned a Woodmizer LT-10 for several years now and have thoroughly enjoyed running it in my (rare) free time. It's a small mill, but definitely a great one to start with and learn the basics.

My main question concerns drying the lumber. So far, I have relied primarily on air drying the lumber. Last winter, I build a small dehumidification kiln to dry some wood I needed for a Christmas gift. Seemed to work decently well, but it was very rudimentary. 

Was wondering how many of you fellow sawmill operators just air dry your lumber? Or do you try to find a local guy with a kiln to dry it? If so, about how much is a reasonable price to pay per board foot to have it kiln dried? I've often wondered if starting a custom kiln drying business would be an option. Seems like there are a lot of small sawmill operations that could use a custom drying business, rather than pesting the larger sawmills with kilns to dry their lumber... thoughts on a custom kiln drying business?

Thanks in advance for all your insight!

[Rt1963]

Matthew air drying by far produces the best product. Some Mills put up fan sheds with fans in both ends to speed up the process. Unless the smaller Mills around you are cutting grade hardwood or pine they probably just sell green wood. It may be worth looking into but a drying facility is a pretty expensive venture which is why lots of the smaller Mills don't have one. Plus in some places the air control board requires newest technology which really gets expensive. Putting a planer with your kiln and doing custom work can be profitable if you're in the right area. 

[scsmith42]

Kiln drying has a pretty steep learning curve, but it can be very rewarding.

You don't state what part of the world you are in, but if it's the southern US a solar kiln can be a great introduction into kiln drying.  For 8 months or so out of the year they will get hot enough to sterilize the lumber too (if it's well insulated and has double pane polycarb collectors).  

Next up the list would be DH kiln such as a Nyle L53 or L200.  An L200 is sized for 4000 bd ft of 4/4 green oak, and is a very versatile unit.

The new iDry vacuum kilns are next up in terms of cost (around 50K).  They too dry around 3000 bd ft, but are fast and provide an excellent product. They are not well suited for white oak though.

At the top end of the cost scale would be either a larger conventional (steam) kiln or a deep vacuum kiln.  

In my instance, I built my first kiln (Nyle L200) a couple of years before I acquired my first sawmill.  Drying for others can be profitable if you charge enough, but it's always a challenge in terms of matching different species, thickness and MC%'s.  That's one great benefit of solar kilns or the iDry; you can safely mix and match in them; unlike drying from green in a DH or conventional kiln.

If you're in the SE USA, having a kiln that will heat hot enough to sterilize lumber is very important, as there are a lot of powder post beetles in the south.  It's less of a problem in other parts of the country.

Properly kiln dried lumber should be indistinguishable from air dried.  Having said that, it's easy to damage lumber in a kiln if you get in a hurry or don't know what you're doing.

[Brad_bb]

Drying wood for myself, I am planning to build at least 2 if not 3 solar kilns.  I'll build the first one soon, and follow as soon as I get that one cooking.  I have time. I air dry everything to ambient, which here is about 12%.  For furniture and other indoor use, you need to get it down to 6-8%, which is the reason for a solar kiln.  I figure each solar kiln will cost me in the $2500 range probably.  I wouldn't go for a DH kiln unless you were selling and needed to do a lot more drying faster.  Hopefully solar will do what I need.  I hear from some on here that solar is better for slab drying too than DH.  I have slabs and lumber hence why I would like more than one solar.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

The value added by drying hardwoods will pay the expenses and investment costs in two years with the right species and thickness, and if the equipment is operated properly and kept busy.  An empty kiln makes no profit.   Further, you can dry your lumber all day, but you do not make a profit until it is sold.  

I have helped around fifty drying operations get started and most made enough money that they put in a second kiln within three years.  Poor management is the reason for failure.  It is not uncommon to see an increased value after expenses of $300 per MBF.  This occurs when drying and selling upper grades of valuables species like oak, cherry, walnut, hard maple.