I don't have a solar kiln and I don't see one in my short to mid term future, but I still need to mill and then air dry some lumber. My question is....
Is lumber dimensionally more stable when air dried as a CANT as opposed to air drying the same amount of board feet of lumber that has been milled? For example... (1) 6x6 CANT vs (6) 1x6's. I realize it may take longer to dry, but if it means less warping, twisting and cupping, I would sign up for that.
The thought is that after some time, I can throw the "drier" CANT back on the mill to get my desired dimensional lumber.
Thanks in advance.
Mike
Drying in the cant does not work well at all. The thick cant will take several years to dry where boards will dry in a fraction of the time. However the bigger problem is the thick cant will develop many more drying defects like cracks, big splits, and checks that will ruin many of the boards that will be sawn from the cant later.
Quote from: WDH on March 10, 2022, 09:45:11 AM
Drying in the cant does not work well at all. The thick cant will take several years to dry where boards will dry in a fraction of the time. However the bigger problem is the thick cant will develop many more drying defects like cracks, big splits, and checks that will ruin many of the boards that will be sawn from the cant later.
Adding on to Danny's excellent comments is the fact that you will have a mc% delta across the cant, and when you resaw it most likely the boards will cut because the two faces are different mc%'s.
Thank you gentlemen...
So nice to have experienced and knowledgeable folks available to us newbies!
It sure is great to have good info. Cut the boards and stack an sticker properly, some weight on top of the protected pile and you will have useable construction lumber by fall.
if your final is a thicker beam, you can glue them back together in order.
...With appropriate nails, bolts, or structural screws ;).