Author Topic: Sun dried wood?  (Read 1112 times)

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Offline BarredOwl

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Sun dried wood?
« on: June 26, 2014, 01:33:36 pm »
Can anyone tell me from experience how dangerous it would be to put a piece of worked down hackberry, belly up, out in the sun on days there is no rain in the forecast?  I have a piece that is worked down to bow width and maybe 3/4" thick.  It has been drying in the house for a couple weeks like this and is still losing 3-5 grams of weight a day compared to 10 a day when I first worked it down.  I am making progress for sure but it is so humid here right now I am thinking even when it does hit equilibrium it will still be fairly high moisture content and I would think pushing it a little drier than equilibrium for my area won't hurt anything.

I am thinking it might be even be better than a hot car because the sun would be directly warming the wood and air flow would be much more than the hot car.     

The humidity even in an air conditioned building here is running mid 60's% up to 85% with all the rain we've been getting so I am looking for ways to accelerate the drying without jeopardizing the wood.  A hot car seems like it might be abusive to the wood but then again I can see where direct exposure to late June sun could put a lot of heat into the wood on a hot day with not much wind.  I am assuming laying wood out in the sun may not be a viable option since I have not found mention of it in a single post on here as of yet.   

Offline bushboy

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Re: Sun dried wood?
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2014, 02:27:29 pm »
It would likely crack and warp horribly!
Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline BarredOwl

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Re: Sun dried wood?
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2014, 03:07:33 pm »
I should have clarified one thing.  I was thinking of putting it in the sun after it has reach equilibrium for a week indoors to try to get it on down below where it equalized at in the house since equilibrium here may be higher moisture content than most other places.   It may not be worth worrying about because it will re-hydrate to our conditions anyways at some point down the road unless I keep bringing it back down by some kind of special treatment process. 

Offline Pat B

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Re: Sun dried wood?
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2014, 03:54:40 pm »
In your house with the A/C would be quicker. Slide it under the bed for a few weeks and see what you've got.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC