# which is better?



## LSCG (Jun 2, 2013)

I haven't had much experience with green wood, most of what I've used has been dry so i was wondering which place would be better to store it while it's drying.


#1 I've got an old shed outside, the wood can get plenty of air but the temperatures here in Texas are starting to get into the high 90's and it's only going to get hotter.

#2 inside the air conditioned house.

my main goal is to keep them from splitting as much as possible while they're drying. 

thanks!
Zane.


----------



## Kevin (Jun 3, 2013)

What species are you drying? No matter which, seal the ends well. If you haven't and it has checked, cut it back past the checking and seal it with wax. Forget about latex paint it won't work in the Texas heat. And don't store it in your house unless you potentially want bugs (that eat wood) in your house.


----------



## LSCG (Jun 3, 2013)

Kevin said:


> What species are you drying? No matter which, seal the ends well. If you haven't and it has checked, cut it back past the checking and seal it with wax. Forget about latex paint it won't work in the Texas heat. And don't store it in your house unless you potentially want bugs (that eat wood) in your house.



most of it is walnut I got in trade, but I've got some oak burl and buckeye burl too.

thanks Kevin!


----------



## Kevin (Jun 3, 2013)

Dry it outside. Sticker it in the shade, with decent airflow, about ~16" apart for 4/4 and at least a foot or more off the ground. Seal the ends well as stated. Walnut is nearly impossible to screw up air drying if you follow these steps. make sure you keep your stickers lined up well over each other. If you don't have much of it, you can also dry them upright. Just make sure to stand them on a platform off the ground (such as pallets) and stand them in a way that airflow can get through. You couldn't have chosen an easier species to dry.


----------



## LSCG (Jun 3, 2013)

Kevin said:


> Dry it outside. Sticker it in the shade, with decent airflow, about ~16" apart for 4/4 and at least a foot or more off the ground. Seal the ends well as stated. Walnut is nearly impossible to screw up air drying if you follow these steps. make sure you keep your stickers lined up well over each other. If you don't have much of it, you can also dry them upright. Just make sure to stand them on a platform off the ground (such as pallets) and stand them in a way that airflow can get through. You couldn't have chosen an easier species to dry.



many thanks Kevin! 

I'll work on getting it moved over today.


----------



## Wildthings (Jun 3, 2013)

Kevin you mentioned wax. What kind of wax and where can it be gotten in the Houston area?


----------



## Kevin (Jun 3, 2013)

I use anchorseal 2 (do not like the original formula) directly from the manufacturer - they have the best price with free shipping for 5 gallon buckets. I use the clear formula cannot tolerate the colored ones.


----------



## HomeBody (Jun 4, 2013)

5 gal. of anchorseal will seal a whole forest. A gal. will last you a long time if you're doing small time milling like me. Gary


----------



## Kevin (Jun 4, 2013)

When I mill regularly (like I am now doing) I will go through 5 gallons in 2 to 4 weeks depending on how much FBE I mill compared to other species. FBE has to be sealed on all surfaces though so it goes faster than for most sawyers. And you are correct it goes a long way. When I'm not milling much FBE a 5 gallon bucket will last me a couple of months or even 6 months if not milling much.


----------



## barry richardson (Jun 4, 2013)

Hey Zane, I have pretty good luck drying stuff in my shed here in AZ. Like Kevin said, allow room for air flow, seal the ends, and forget about it. Nature takes care of the rest. Don't know what your humidity is at your location, but here it runs very low, wood dries almost as fast in my garage as it would in a kiln.


----------



## LSCG (Jun 4, 2013)

barry richardson said:


> Hey Zane, I have pretty good luck drying stuff in my shed here in AZ. Like Kevin said, allow room for air flow, seal the ends, and forget about it. Nature takes care of the rest. Don't know what your humidity is at your location, but here it runs very low, wood dries almost as fast in my garage as it would in a kiln.



I was hoping I could use the heat to my advantage but I wasn't sure if it would dry out too fast and split, but if y'all have had good luck drying it that way then it should work for me too. 

at some point i'll have to build a little kiln, until then i'll just let the summer do the work for me.


----------



## Kevin (Jun 4, 2013)

Many high end furniture builders will not use kiln dried walnut. They say it lightens the color too much. It does lighten it, but I've kiln dried more walnut than anything else - and air dried more walnut second only to FBE, and while there is a noticeable difference naked, once finished it's not nearly as much of a difference, and really I prefer the somewhat lighter kiln dried walnut. In my book air dried or kiln dried, they are both beautiful and you can't go wrong. Those master craftsmen don't know nothin except how to build really cool stuff; but they don't have a good eye for walnut like hacks like me.


----------



## LSCG (Jun 4, 2013)

hey Kevin does FBE grow in Texas?


----------



## Sprung (Jun 4, 2013)

LSCG said:


> hey Kevin does FBE grow in Texas?



Kevin's got a magical forest of FBE! Whenever he posts pics of some of the wood he mills, everybody here starts drooling. The trees he cuts down and mills into lumber really is some beautiful, magical stuff! I'm really really hoping the next time he puts up a big sale of FBE here on WB my wife will let me buy a board or two.


----------



## JR Parks (Jun 7, 2013)

Wildthings said:


> Kevin you mentioned wax. What kind of wax and where can it be gotten in the Houston area?



Barry,
I mill small amounts of central texas wood and have very good luck with with titebond III glue on the end grain both for flat & bowl stock. Anchorseal is good, paraffin wax is good but messy but the glue is a good close at hand quick fix.


----------

