Air Drying before Kiln Drying
Matt Farrell knows how to dry wood. He's been doing it for some time and has been a consultant in the lumber biz to help sawmills refine their operation and optimize their drying. I talk to him on this show not so much about the actual drying but more the preparation for drying. Just like achieving a fine finish on your projects relies entirely on finish preparation, good lumber relies on preparing it for drying. Air drying is a type of lumber but also should be seen as a preparation step for kiln drying.
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Hi Shannon. Bart here. Just finished episode 107 & your mini rant on solar kilns made me stop working on my timber frame project and dash off a quick note. I built a solar kiln 3.5 years ago and am finishing up my 4th summer of drying all kinds of lumber that I cut myself on my own sawmill from urban sourced logs. I only have ~ 20,000 bd ft through it so far but maybe I can help you better understand how it works and a better way to think about them. First thing though you need to read scientific paper that forms the inspiration for my solar kiln adventures. https://sbio.vt.edu/content/dam/sbio_vt_edu/documents/Solar%20Kiln%20Plans%20420-030_pdf.pdf
Perhaps Prof. Brian Bond would be an even better contact.
Feel free to contact me. I’d be happy to help you develop your thinking around this subject.