Process for treating green wood and for accelerating drying of ...
A process for drying or curing green wood including the heating of green wood ... long between the layers (a process known as “stickering” in the industry). ...
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by DJ Elder - 2002 - Cited by 1 - Related articles - All 8 versions

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Note added at 13 mins (2008-11-19 15:37:48 GMT)
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There are a few different ways that moisture can be removed from green wood. A common method is air-drying. In this method, green wood boards are laid upon stickers, (wood slats) and stacked with a sticker between each board to keep them separated. Air can freely circulate around each of the board faces to draw moisture away. As the surface dries, it wicks moisture from inner cells to the surface. The moisture is drawn out in two steps. First the circulating air draws moisture from the cell wall fibers. Second, the sap from the cell cavity moves into the cell wall fibers to replace the drawn away moisture and it in turn is pulled out of the fibers by the circulating air. In our climate, it may take a year for the wood to dry and reach its environmental equilibrium moisture content.

To move the process along much quicker, the wood can be kiln dried. The stacked and stickered pile of wood can be moved into a kiln, an enclosed space in which the humidity can be controlled by modifying the temperature and amount of air circulated by blowers. Under the watchful eye of experienced technicians, the wood can be dried in a matter of days to the moisture content specified for its intended use. Home woodworkers can improvise their own kiln using fans and de-humidifiers or air-conditioners.

John mentioned another drying method from the past. Green wood had been dried by burying the timbers in animal dung. The dung chemically reacted with the moisture of the wood drawing it out and drying the timber.

Wood moisture meters can be used to measure the moisture content of wood. These instruments use a probe with two nail-like prongs that when jammed into the wood, measure the ability of the moisture in the wood to conduct electricity. Dry wood has little moisture and therefore is a poor conductor of electricity and minimally deflects the meter needle. Green wood having much more moisture is a better conductor and deflects the needle more. The scale of the meter is calibrated to read the percentage moisture content. The key to using the device is to get the prongs to penetrate beyond the dry surface into the interior so an accurate measurement can be taken. The prongs should also be aligned parallel to the grain of the wood. If a large timber needs to be measured, spikes can be driven into the interior of the timber and used as prong extensions.

John's presentation gave the audience a much better understanding of the cellular structure of wood and how the water in green wood is removed. We'll have to wait for another time to hear more about the twenty some boats John has built in different parts of the world. Made of wood, of course.



Reminders
SEPT 20,

Messabout at Mosquito Reservoir

Rt 305 Ramp
Trumbull County, OH
10:30 AM












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