# If money were no object...



## Ken Martin (Jun 9, 2017)

If money were no object (within reason) how would you go about building a sun kiln? How big would you make it? What features would you put in it? What would you line it with? Any other tips...

I'm thinking about lining it with foil backed styrofoam house insulation. Will this help me or hurt me? Should the inside be painted black instead?

I searched sun kilns and saw how several of you have built yours, but are there any plans posted on here somewhere? 

I have a really nice honey locust butt that I don't want to mess up as well as a walnut root burl that I don't want to mess up. 

The honey locust is 23" on the little end and about 36" long. The walnut is various sizes and I know I need to seal it. 
http://i612.Rule #2/albums/tt210/BarefootBoxes/Mobile%20Uploads/F38EBFF3-382A-4C37-A7A4-9E44F532BE4A.jpg 
http://i612.Rule #2/albums/tt210/BarefootBoxes/Mobile%20Uploads/DE736EFC-5FDC-4D67-9955-91C85E3B8ED9.jpg 
http://i612.Rule #2/albums/tt210/BarefootBoxes/Mobile%20Uploads/3A7C8E3B-A698-4767-AD30-76E2C8153F26.jpg

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jun 9, 2017)

I use a dehumidfier. More reliable then sun. It works yr round and ver efficient. But if you are thinking you are going to dry 23" butt of anything you need to re-think. Some dry easier then others but mother nature designs to retain water. Just my thoughts....

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 9, 2017)

Hahaha, I'm going to slab it, Mike. But before I got started on that, I figured I'd better plan on where I'm going to put it.


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 9, 2017)

Oh, and the weather is mich different down here in MS. We've been in 90° days for a few weeks, now and will be pushing 100° by the end of June. That will hold til up in September and it's not unusual to have 70° days in the dead of winter here. I'm actually more worried about the summer months drying it too fast and splitting it.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jun 9, 2017)

Ken Martrin said:


> Oh, and the weather is mich different down here in MS. We've been in 90° days for a few weeks, now and will be pushing 100° by the end of June. That will hold til up in September and it's not unusual to have 70° days in the dead of winter here. I'm actually more worried about the summer months drying it too fast and splitting it.


It is about humidity- if you have a chunk of wood- try to dry it site A- 95 degrees 95 % humidity and sit b 65 and 30 % which will dry quicker?? Our greenhouse gets to 125 easy with a fan on and door open. I think a lot of solar kilns get too hot. My dehumidifier creates enough heat in winter to keep at 80-100. It keeps air dry so wood bleeds off.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 9, 2017)

Yeah, I understand that, but humidity is relative to temperature. At the heat of the day, when the temps push 100, the humidity is in the 60% range, maybe lower. It goes up as the temps go down at night, but even then holds @around 80° most nights. If I can keep the rain off of it and the dew off at night, it will have several hours of good drying time each day.


----------



## vegas urban lumber (Jun 9, 2017)

used sliding glass doors are a great way to build greenhouses and or sun drying kilns. most have aluminum frames and can be screwed together easily. since money is always an object around here, if i was going to build one i'd round up used sliding glass doors and build a box with a hinged lid out of them. i also have a convection incubator(used medical equipment) with an interior bigger than most fridges, that i think would do the trick nicely


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 9, 2017)

Hmmmm.... interesting. Two good, workable ideas. 1) the glass top. Might be doable I'll have to look into some resources. 2) the convection thing got me to thinking that a solar powered fan might be in order.


----------



## vegas urban lumber (Jun 9, 2017)

don't move to much air out to fast if the ambient humidity is low. course in your area that's not a problem really. her in vegas i've gotta let the moisture vapor out of the closed environment real slow. since we are typically around 10% relative humidty.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## gman2431 (Jun 9, 2017)

The blue orb in the background of your first photo looks hot enough to be a kiln!

What in the world is it?


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 10, 2017)

Haha! Just a trick of the light! I took the pics after sunset and that's just the evening light on the heather grey shingles of my neighbor's house. Just a regular, flat, gabled roof.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jun 10, 2017)

vegas urban lumber said:


> don't move to much air out to fast if the ambient humidity is low. course in your area that's not a problem really. her in vegas i've gotta let the moisture vapor out of the closed environment real slow. since we are typically around 10% relative humidty.



another reason a de-humid kiln works great. I also live in semi arid climate. summer humidity in the teens. But the kiln is sealed unit. Like a sauna inside, you add heat to wet wood, you get plenty of water vapor. Dehumidifier uses heat to create cold, much like your fridge. it is self serving -creates it's own heat. small house fan keeps circulation going.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 10, 2017)

This will be a bit of an experiment for me and the kiln I'm envisioning now, as I gather information here, will be a 4'x8' box at 4' high on the back sloping down 3" to the front, framed with 2x4's (exterior dimensions)

The floor will be 3/4" plywood and the sides will be 3/8". The taller side will have 2 large doors for loading/unloading. The floor will be supported by 2x4's on edge, on both sides of the vertical frame. There will be vertical members on each end and the middle. It will be built with at least 6" of clearance underneath for air flow. 

There will be a hole cut in the upper region of one end and on the lower region of the other (size to be determined, to fit whatever size fan I can find and said fan will be solar powered with a switch to turn it off. I may even get 2 small fans so I can turn 1 off to further regulate temp and airflow)

All joints will be caulked and the exterior painted flat black. 

The top will be glass, if my contractor buddy has plans to remove sliding doors from a remodel. Otherwise, it will be plywood. 

I will line the inside with styrofoam sheets, except for the floor (and top if it is glass).

There will be 1 or 2 shelves inside, built to allow airflow through them, but making loading and retrieval easier. 

Lastly, if I can find a reasonably priced interior-exterior weather station or probes, I can monitor the temp and humidity inside the box from the outside. 

Have I missed anything?


----------



## Spinartist (Jun 10, 2017)

Here's my kiln made from an old wine cooler. 7 pull out shelves. I cut hole in side near floor & covered with a heavy cloth like paper towel for filter since I use it to dry finished pieces I spray with Polyurethane which dries in 45 min instead of 3 hours.
Put a 150 watt light bulb in bottom & a reused 120V computer fan in top left side to pull air through.

Kiln gets to about 110* or so. Mostly use it to dry roughed out box blanks.

I know people who've built kilns like you mention with foil backed insulation & 5 sheets of plywood. Size is 4' x 4' x 8' . some use dehumidifier & some use a light bulb & fan.


----------



## Ken Martin (Jun 10, 2017)

Thanks! I'll keep my eye out for something like that. The local recycling yard might come across one. 

I'm thinking that a shingle roof, well sealed corners and edges, and black paint on the sides should get the temps up pretty well. I can always add a lightbulb later. Might put one on a timer and only burn it at night. Planning on getting some solar panels to run a small fan for ventilation.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## rocky1 (Jun 10, 2017)

Bid on one like that on a government auction last week Lee, 2 bids on it, mine at $5, the other guy's at $10, 3 hours before it closed. Forgot all about it! But, I'd have driven all the way to Tampa after it for $5!!


----------



## Sidecar (Jun 18, 2017)

Spinartist said:


> Here's my kiln made from an old wine cooler. 7 pull out shelves. I cut hole in side near floor & covered with a heavy cloth like paper towel for filter since I use it to dry finished pieces I spray with Polyurethane which dries in 45 min instead of 3 hours.
> Put a 150 watt light bulb in bottom & a reused 120V computer fan in top left side to pull air through.
> 
> Kiln gets to about 110* or so. Mostly use it to dry roughed out box blanks.
> ...


Good idea ! 
Ya could even throw in some jerky , shop treats ya know

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Lou Currier (Jun 18, 2017)

http://www.australianburls.com/Tips4.htm

Reactions: Like 1


----------

