I am building a live oak sandbox for my kids, due to its rot resistance, but have two questions:
1) Is its rot resistance predicated on being dried down before being placed in ground contact? I am planning to cut some 3" x ~8-9" x 7' sections, sink them 2" with the flat dead edge (all heartwood) down and a live edge up (maybe an inch of sapwood), and fill with 4" sand. I've seen live oak branches in the woods, but I don't know whether those died and dried on the tree before dropping to the ground; if it were rot resistant in all cases, I would actually expect to see more live oak skeletons in the woods.
2) If they do need to be dried first, would just throwing them in a conventional dry kiln with a couple thousand feet of 4/4" pine at 140 degrees completely destroy the wood? It's a sandbox, I don't mind significant checking, but I've read descriptions of live oak "exploding" upon drying, which I take to mean being rendered virtually useless (plus it sounds as though it involves lots of splinters, not great for a sandbox).
On the remainder of the wood (2" and 3" x 12" - 22" x 7') I am just going to end-seal, sticker, and stick in a dark corner of the warehouse for a year or two, maybe even drape with a canvas tarp. Is that the best approach? I assume even after that time it would still require a bit of drying to really get it down. Is there a threshold at which it could be put in a conventional dry kiln without significant damage?
Many thanks.