The Forestry Forum

Does silver maple make a decent base and casing? 

I had 2 5' or so around Maples fall this spring the center's were hollow but the big upper pieces were solid not the straightest though. Thought it would be cool to use the trees from the property for the new trim were gonna do on our 140 year old house. 

I do have some decent size Ash trees I could use also but they had the ash borer and are full of wood pecked holes but I assume the centers would be good? 

How long would something milled take to air dry? 

In warm temperatures and medium to low humidity, silver maple 4/4 will be air dried in less than 30 days.  Today in your area there were a few snow flakes this morning, so any drying would be minimal.  However, after a month of good air drying, the wood will be 20% MC, plus or minus.  For interior use 7% MC is best in most cases, so you need additional drying, which often is done in a kiln at around 150 F to kill insects and fungi, plus achieve low MC.  Just a few pieces could be put in an attic.  Putting them in a basement or shop may also bring in insects, like the powderpost beetle.