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I have some 10/4 think, 10 inch wide, and 22 inch long boards of Tasmanian Blue Gum (eucalyptus globulus) which I am planning on air drying to become chair seats. This stuff is soaking wet right now (only milled a week ago) and i know this wood can be temperamental.
After some research I found several research papers on the subject will a focus on commercial drying. This one mentions block stacking the boards and keeping them wrapped in plastic for 4 weeks before racking and drying in a solar kiln.
http://www.fwpa.com.au/images/processing/PN03.1315.pdfHas anyone tried this? I have stacked my boards in a tight cube and wrapped it in plastic. I'm planning on letting them sit for a few weeks but this seems like the block stacking would cause drying speed discrepancies.
has anyone tried this?
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Thanks Hank. That is a pretty simple solution for trying small pieces that could be broken down when not in use.
I was wondering the same thing about the boron but I have seen plastic wrap mentioned in other papers as well as a form of pre-treatment, I think it is to slow down drying to minimize collapse.
The thing that concerns me is that none of them mention the block stacking. I could see the block staking being done to minimize warping, but it seems like that would increase the moisture gradient.
From your read, was the block stacking only for shipping/boron treatment or do you think it was kept that way for those 4 weeks?
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I just re-read the paper and realized they had painted the end grain prior to milling. That would help to reduce the end grain drying. I better do that when I get home tonight.
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the drying rig alone was worth the response :-)
Thanks for your thoughts.
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After some more research you were correct, the block staking while wrapped in plastic is to allow the boron to diffuse. I also should have painted the ends immediately after cross cutting.
I'll be racking the boards and painting the ends tonight when I get home and then putting plastic sheeting over the rack (for the first few weeks).
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Wow, I actually air dried some Eucalyptus. And some Pacific Yew.
I stacked it in the crawl space, kept pressure on it, and left it for 2 years.
Mine is cut 8/4. I painted the ends, some cracking, but honestly it dried really well..
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Thanks, I've sitckered them, painted the ends, and wrapped ratchet straps around the stack.
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On the off chance anyone else is looking to do this I wanted to add a update.
After a week stacked under plastic I removed the plastic to allow more airflow. We then had a few days of 70 degree temps with high winds which ended up drying out the boards way to quickly. some boards dropped from 30+% moisture do around 20% moisture and several boards checked very badly. They are back under plastic for the time being.
Boards are stored outside in the shade in a sheltered area of the yard.
