Question
Are there any schedules available for drying 24/4 white pine? This material will be used in log home construction. I was told the desired final MC is 18%. Also any indications on how long from green this will take to dry?
Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From Professor Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
Any chance you could drill a large hole lengthwise through the center to make drying easier and reduce weight? Are a few checks okay? Or maybe you can kerf it? Do you want 18% MC in the core, so that the shell will be somewhat drier? Or is 18% an average?
As 12/4 would take around 3 months, I would guess that 24/4 is no less than 7 months for a quality piece and possibly longer. For that reason, we would expect to air dry first for nine months or so before going into the kiln.
The core target is 18%. I don't think drilling out the core would be an option but it might be worth asking. We need to go visit these people and see the condition of the material they already have. Also do some sampling while we are there to confirm MC.
They should be dried in 1-1/2" stickers. The usual standard is 15% at a depth of 1-1/2". Several mills dry in two weeks and sell all they can produce. Others take 4 weeks and the longest I know took six weeks. The pine is going to check any and people don't seem to mind. One mill pressure treated logs with PEG and didn't dry. The logs didn't shrink. I think they are closed now.
