Kiln drying and storing

[WDH]

That last sentence is the crux of the matter to me.  The science of what happens is one thing, but on a practical level, if that board only gains 4 or 5% going from kiln dried to air dried or back again, and if that straight, flat board moves just a bit in the process such that that (Tom) straight and flat board now is bowed or cupped or warped just a bit, well, the damage is done on the woodworking level.

[btulloh]

Proper storage for dried lumber is just another thing you need when you start down this road. I've got the same problem with not having a good place to store my finished lumber. I see another building in my future. 

Happy birthday, Danny!

[K-Guy]

If you don't have good storage, you are left with drying to order. Not as cost effective but still an option.

Happy Birthday Danny!!  smiley_dizzy smiley_blue_bounce

ps Are you as old as Jake now?  ;D

[WDH]

By quite a margin.  He is just a young Whippersnapper. 

[firefighter ontheside]

Well, happy birthday Danny.  I'll admit that I never noticed the cake before.

[Walnut Beast]

I hope your having a good day WDH. Birthday boy  🎂 

[scsmith42]

So it seems that with all the technical information that if your kiln drying wood and storing it in a non climate controlled environment and it sits there for any length of time that you are wasting your time. And if your selling kiln dried wood from that example it really isn't

I don't look at it that way.  Even if it has regained moisture the wood has been kiln dried and sterilized (by most kiln operators). The customer can store it in a humidity controlled area and it will drop back down and still be sterile.
Air dried hardwood - at least in my area - is very likely to have lyctid powder post beetles in it unless it's been sterilized.  So proper kiln drying is a plus IMO, even if the wood has regained moisture.
This is predicated on the wood being stored in a sterile environment.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Just to be clear for those that are new to this kiln drying stuff, wood in the kiln can be sterilized ( which means all insects, larva, eggs, and fungi) when the wood temperature is over 133 F. However, once the wood is removed from the kiln, it is subject to attack by the lyctid powderpost beetle.  Further, if the wood is wetted, fungi can return.  In other words, sterilization only sterilizes the wood for the moment.

Although the lyctid PPB only likes very dry wood, there are other PPB, like the ambrosia beetle, that like wetter wood such as in air drying.

[DPatton]

If you don't have good storage, you are left with drying to order. Not as cost effective but still an option.

I hear ya knocking K-guy. I already offer drying to order buy utilizing another sawmills kilns, but almost no one is willing to wait 7-14 weeks for drying. So I either need have kiln dried stock or limit my sales to air dried products only. 

[Don P]

If you can't do full climate control it usually only takes a few degrees of heating above ambient to drive the rh in a building down enough to keep the wood reasonably dry. Alas, I do not even have that building.

[farmfromkansas]

When I was young doing carpenter work, would pick up lumber at yard, take it to the job and install the stuff. Sometimes after a month the job would look like some amateur did it, but I took my time to make joints fit.  Just depended on how dry the lumber was. Lumberyard just had a building with no heat to store the boards in, they called their wood kiln dried, my theory was that they walked the wood through the kiln on the way to their truck.  Now I have a shop with a storeroom for lumber, makes a huge difference if you take the lumber from your dryer directly to the shop.