# Kiln drying olive wood



## Whatever5784 (Dec 31, 2020)

Hey all! Just finished building a kiln and and I’m trying to dry 8/4 slabs of olive wood. Anybody know what temp and relative humidity, or dry and wet bulb temps I should be shooting for? I tried a small batch and it cracked REALLY bad! (See pic). 
i got my fans and stickers ready, any advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## Mike1950 (Dec 31, 2020)

I would not put olive and certain other woods in kiln. some woods like to air dry very slowly. B&W ebony for instance. 
a vacuum kiln may be different

Reactions: Agree 1 | Useful 1


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## Nature Man (Dec 31, 2020)

Might be a good question to pose to Hearne Hardwoods in Pennsylvania. I know they have a huge commercial kiln operation. Chuck

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Mike1950 (Dec 31, 2020)

Nature Man said:


> Might be a good question to pose to Hearne Hardwoods in Pennsylvania. I know they have a huge commercial kiln operation. Chuck


the might not tell you though. that kiln info for special woods came to them with a high price attached-years of failures...

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Nature Man (Dec 31, 2020)

Good point about trade secrets! Wonder if @FranklinWorkshops could ask the question since he lives closely to Hearne and has a good relationship with them. Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nubsnstubs (Dec 31, 2020)

Nature Man said:


> Good point about trade secrets! Wonder if [B]@FranklinWorkshops[/B] could ask the question since he lives closely to Hearne and has a good relationship with them. Chuck


hehehe, So, you're gonna ask Larry to become a double agent?? This is the second mention of trade secrets I seen today. Spy business is gonna pick up where it left off back in the James Bond days...... Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Funny 4


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## barry richardson (Dec 31, 2020)

I agree with Mike, a kiln will wreck your olive. In my experience air drying it is the best option, but it dries very slowly...

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Whatever5784 (Dec 31, 2020)

barry richardson said:


> I agree with Mike, a kiln will wreck your olive. In my experience air drying it is the best option, but it dries very slowly...





Mike1950 said:


> I would not put olive and certain other woods in kiln. some woods like to air dry very slowly. B&W ebony for instance.
> a vacuum kiln may be different



Air drying them was my first thought as well, but I'm currently located in a VERY dry climate. Lost quite a few slabs when trying to air dry them outside with a tarp thrown over them. within a week they had massive cracks running down them. humidity around here is about 16 to 18 percent outside and they were drying way too fast. so I built the kiln so I can control the temp and humidity. not expecting to dry them super fast, (2 months maybe?) and avoid the catastrophic cracking I've seen so far!


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## Whatever5784 (Dec 31, 2020)

Nubsnstubs said:


> hehehe, So, you're gonna ask Larry to become a double agent?? This is the second mention of trade secrets I seen today. Spy business is gonna pick up where it left off back in the James Bond days...... Jerry (in Tucson)


I don't know Larry but it sounds like I could really use a double agent! either that or I'm gonna have to head to Pennsylvania and try to infiltrate Hearne Hardwoods my self :D


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## Mike1950 (Dec 31, 2020)

try boiling a piece for 24hrs. works with many hard to dry woods.
I sticker and hide my hard to dry woods in a cool dark spot in my shop. when I find again- usually they are dry. There is also a freeze thaw method.

Reactions: Like 1


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## rob3232 (Dec 31, 2020)

Might be here somewhere?


https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr57.pdf


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## vegas urban lumber (Dec 31, 2020)

Whatever5784 said:


> Air drying them was my first thought as well, but I'm currently located in a VERY dry climate. Lost quite a few slabs when trying to air dry them outside with a tarp thrown over them. within a week they had massive cracks running down them. humidity around here is about 16 to 18 percent outside and they were drying way too fast. so I built the kiln so I can control the temp and humidity. not expecting to dry them super fast, (2 months maybe?) and avoid the catastrophic cracking I've seen so far!


in my experience olive will do that in just about any climate, my only recourse was to boil the blanks in a mixture of wax and mineral oil right after cutting them, that drove off the moisture and impregnated them with what is essentially cutting board preservative.

old washtub or big tamale pot over turkey fryer burner, also have a steel pipe with a flange cap on bottom/end for boiling long pieces


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## vegas urban lumber (Dec 31, 2020)

you'd also be well served quartering logs and or removing pith, or at least splitting slabs with pith in half at the pith

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DLJeffs (Dec 31, 2020)

Mike1950 said:


> try boiling a piece for 24hrs. works with many hard to dry woods.
> I sticker and hide my hard to dry woods in a cool dark spot in my shop. when I find again- usually they are dry. There is also a freeze thaw method.


And as a bonus, when you find wood you forgot was there, it's like Christmas all over again.

Reactions: Agree 2 | +Karma 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Dec 31, 2020)

DLJeffs said:


> And as a bonus, when you find wood you forgot was there, it's like Christmas all over again.


At my age, I am having Christmas year round as I'm always finding wood I forgot I had. I'll be up at Hearne's next week and will see what they can tell me about drying olive. I know they sell some but don't know anything about how they dry it. They might tell me since they know I'm not in that end of the business.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | +Karma 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 1, 2021)

Here is a long discussion on drying olive wood. I noticed this morning on Herne's wood description for olive that it is very difficult to dry. 






OLIVE WOOD- how to get it to not crack in Drying and Processing


I have loads and loads of large, old (200 year old) olive wood. The trees went through a fire and were cut down about 2 years ago. I have milled a b



forestryforum.com

Reactions: Like 1 | Useful 2


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## Mike1950 (Jan 1, 2021)

we did inside and outside of a 15,000 sq. ft. 3rd house. Had a 2 inch thick with 4" rolled edge serpentine 13' bar top. It was beautiful. Gut that built it imported wood from italy. said for the most part lumber was pretty solid. He was told they dried it slowly in caves. Do not know if that is true....

Reactions: Agree 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 1, 2021)

Mike1950 said:


> we did inside and outside of a 15,000 sq. ft. 3rd house. Had a 2 inch thick with 4" rolled edge serpentine 13' bar top. It was beautiful. Gut that built it imported wood from italy. said for the most part lumber was pretty solid. He was told they dried it slowly in caves. Do not know if that is true....


The caves reference makes sense. Can keep temp and relative humidity constant to avoid stressing the wood. Lots of caves used in Italy for wine and cheese aging so why not wood drying.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (Jan 1, 2021)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> The caves reference makes sense. Can keep temp and relatively humidity constant to avoid stressing the wood. Lots of caves used in Italy for wine and cheese aging so why not wood drying.


That is what I thought. Slow is good for some woods. 
Bar was incredible...


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## Whatever5784 (Jan 6, 2021)

FranklinWorkshops said:


> At my age, I am having Christmas year round as I'm always finding wood I forgot I had. I'll be up at Hearne's next week and will see what they can tell me about drying olive. I know they sell some but don't know anything about how they dry it. They might tell me since they know I'm not in that end of the business.


That would be awesome! Thanks! I look forward to hearing what they tell you :) I’ve attempting, through trial and error, to find my own way but any hints would be greatly appreciated!


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## Whatever5784 (Jan 6, 2021)

Out of curiosity, would you guys consider this piece to be a failed attempt at drying olive wood or an acceptable piece you be happy with?


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 6, 2021)

Whatever5784 said:


> Out of curiosity, would you guys consider this piece to be a failed attempt at drying olive wood or an acceptable piece you be happy with?
> 
> View attachment 199392



It has artistic possibilities....

Laith,

You have a kiln. In your area a kiln is not to dry wood, but keep it moist and shelter from the sun. Your boards have the ends sealed, Anchor seal or waxed, often good to go an inch or two onto the face & edge grain from the edge. When placed in the kiln, air moisture is low. Balance drive is from high concentration to low concentration. Do you have a moisture gauge for the kiln that can be read without opening the kiln? It would help greatly. You can follow the slow schedule for white ash, likely without needing to ad any heat for a long while. Look at your moisture gauge each day, it should rise to the 90's after a few days. Once it stabilizes for 2 days, open the door for air exchange, repeat the process for a few weeks. If you see any mold development, get your mister out and mist. Many use a 20:1 to 40:1 water to bleach. After a few weeks, just follow your kiln schedule. 

Temperature is another issue, not sure what peak temps work for olive. You really don't need the 140 F until the end of the process. But up to that point, I'd figure 100 F or less. How long is your stock? My recommendations are for stock a minimum of 4' long. Shorts are a bit different.

As for Hearne's Hardwoods, Rick is very reluctant to reveal any trade secrets. Good luck.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jan 6, 2021)

Whatever5784 said:


> That would be awesome! Thanks! I look forward to hearing what they tell you :) I’ve attempting, through trial and error, to find my own way but any hints would be greatly appreciated!


I saw Rick Hearne today and asked him about olive wood. He buys it from a wholesale supplier in Europe already sawn and air-dried. It is not kiln dried because, "It splits and checks like hell," according to Rick. After seeing your piece, I think we can all agree with him.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 1


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