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Drying Ash

Started by Mhaaland, November 29, 2022, 01:27:28 PM

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Mhaaland

What kind of drying behavior can I expect from ash in a dehumidification kiln?  Is is sassy like oak?

YellowHammer

Ash can behave a like white oak, and can have occasional stress so slow drying is best.  However, if you dry too slow or raise your temperatures too high early, it is very prone to enzyme sticker stain.  I like to run cool and and have a 10° depression.  I've seen very bad enzyme stain on ash, even dried by big professional operations.  I've seen many thousand bdft ruined.
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

taylorsmissbeehaven

I just sawed and dried some Ash for LE shelving in a cabin remodel. It was pretty well on its way to dead when I cut it down, sawed 7/4 boards, air dried a couple of months, and then into my friends kiln for 13 days. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Some poor behavior but planed down to 6/4 and a coat or two of shellac and the boards look great! Good luck with yours and let us know how it turns out.
Opportunity is missed by most because it shows up wearing bib overalls and looks like work.

Al_Smith

Ash will pretty much air dry all by itself .I have a good bit of window valances, wide window sills, a nice fireplace mantle and several rooms with ash trim .None of it was dried other than by air .Using red mahogany stain it  resembles white  oak .BTW it didn't split or turn into sled runners, nice straight boards .I've still got a bunch of it stacked and stickered plus maybe 5,000 BDF in logs .I'm going to miss it when it's all gone .I much prefer working with ash than oak .

kelLOGg

Ash has less moisture to begin with than most woods. I have air dried then DH kiln dried it with no issues. Even hundreds of 1" thick cookies of sizes 4" to 20" (except 4 or 5 of them) dried with no cracks. Don't know if this is typical - my experience is based on limbs of 1 huge (4' diameter) tree.
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

jpassardi

That's consistent with how ash firewood dries - minimal cracking in comparison to oaks.
I just had to take down 3 big dead ones, unfortunately, they're going the way of the American chestnut...
LT15 W/Trailer, Log Turner, Power Feed & up/down
CAT 416 Backhoe W/ Self Built Hydraulic Thumb and Forks
Husky 372XP, 550XPG, 60, 50,   WM CBN Sharpener & Setter
40K # Excavator, Bobcat 763, Kubota RTV 900
Orlan Wood Gasification Boiler -Slab Disposer

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