Is Kiln Drying to 7% Worth It? Why kiln dry wood to 7% moisture content when it will gain moisture in storage? Here's an informative thread about proper drying targets and storage based on the intended end use of the lumber. December 31, 2013
Dealing with Bowed or Warped Plywood Warped, bowed, cupped, twisted ?these days, plywood seem to lie every which way but flat. Here's a long and somewhat technical discussion of what makes plywood deform, and what can be done about it. December 28, 2005
Eradicating an Insect Infestation A load of insect-infested reclaimed wood may have contaminated a whole operation. What to do? April 20, 2011
Calculating moisture content Using a hygrometer and calculator to determine the MC of kiln samples. September 2, 2002
Twisted timbers Determining the cause of twisting in Douglas fir construction timbers. August 10, 2000
Air-Drying Big Timbers Over Long Time If you plan to air-dry posts and beams for a period of years, here's advice on stickering, sawing over-size, end-sealing, et cetera. October 26, 2011
Straightening Thin Dowels A woodworker struggles with a crooked dowel problem in a mass production setting. October 1, 2010
Ash, Pine, Bugs, and Borates More info on the insects that may infest hardwoods and softwoods, and on the use of borate-based controls. December 6, 2009
Regaining MC in overdry wood Is machinability lost when lumber has been overdried, then had moisture put back in? May 17, 2003
Storing Wood in a Subtropical Climate Thoughts on how to keep air-dried lumber sawn on site from decaying while stored for a season or two ?in Nicaragua June 22, 2012
Cherry Color After Aging When cherry shelves are constructed years apart, how dramatic will the color difference be? May 8, 2004
Drying Rewetted Kiln-Dried Lumber How to render kiln-dried lumber, which has been rewetted due to flooding or excessive humidity, useful once again. 1998.
10,000-Year-Old Mystery Wood Sawmillers try to guess the species of wood recovered after thousands of years buried in the mud. November 13, 2005
Bacterial Action in Wood Temperature and the availability of oxygen help determine which sort of bacteria can thrive in wood, and therefore how the infected wood might smell. January 27, 2007
Promoting blue stain How to promote this visual effect in a stack of red pine. March 21, 2002
Dehumidifiers and Lumber Storage A dehumidifier in the storage room will keep lumber at the proper moisture content, and will do no harm. December 6, 2012
Is storing cants feasible? Can large cants be stored until an order for custom-cut lumber is received? February 19, 2002
Re-Drying Wood from Outdoor Storage Advice on how to best restore wood to useability after it has been left partially exposed to weather in a shed. January 18, 2011
Treating Burls With Pentacryl Is pentracryl a proper treatment for burl wood, or are other sealers more suitable? January 6, 2005
Long-Term Storage of Air-Dried Lumber Air-dried lumber left in drying stacks for long periods without kiln-drying is at high risk for insect damage and spoilage. June 18, 2010
Wax to Seal Turning Blocks Thoughts on selecting and applying wax to preserve turning blocks during storage. February 8, 2008
Will Stacked Lumber Gain or Lose Moisture? Lumber in storage may gain or lose moisture, but very slowly. Wrapping the pile in plastic will slow or stop the moisture change. March 29, 2006
Managing Fungus on Cedar Advice on handling and cleaning a Cedar slab that wasn't properly dried and now harbors fungus. October 19, 2014
Minimum Sticker Thickness How thin can stickers be in order to maximize kiln capacity without creating drying problems? May 11, 2005
Bugs in air-dried ash Can a stack of ash be saved from an infestation of powderpost beetles? June 20, 2000
Glue failures Adhesive failure can usually be traced to one of two causes: overly moist wood or defective glue. December 6, 2000
Basement drying basics The Wood Doctor prescribes proper drying procedures for a small batch in a basement. June 21, 2000
Protecting Fresh Wood from Bugs Chemical means have drawbacks and are not very effective. So good drying and careful hygeine in the the yard are your best methods for keeping wood bug-free. April 20, 2011
Air-dried oak for casework? Air-dried lumber needs to live in the environment it will inhabit prior to fabrication. 1998.
Wood Storage: Vertical or horizontal? Truly dry wood stored under the proper conditions will not warp, no matter how you position it. September 26, 2000
Redrying 4/4 Hard Maple Tips for re-drying a load of wood that got wetted by rain, without incurring damage. December 31, 2013
Pith Centering in Cabin "D" Logs A sawyer wonders how best to avoid distortion as he produces wall logs for a cabin project. February 26, 2005
Smelly lauan The Wood Doctor is quizzed about bad-smelling lauan in a commercial bar. Diagnosis: anaerobic bacteria. Prognosis: terminal. Prescription: replacement. 1998.
Moisture transfer in humid climes Do tropical and sub-tropical species re-absorb moisture when left in their humid, native lands? September 6, 2000
Stained oak from supplier There are solutions for stained, milled, not-yet-dried oak lumber, but first , one must determine the cause of the staining. 1998.
Alder color The effects of age on the coloration of lumber cut from alder logs. August 10, 2000
Crack Prevention and Repair for a Large Wood Turning Here's a long, thoughtful technical discussion of humidity conditions, wood cracking, prevention, and fixes, focused around the case of a very large wood turning that has developed hairline cracks. January 20, 2011
Why Does Plywood Warp? An extended technical and practical discussion of dimensional instability in plywood panels. January 20, 2010
Setting up a milling business How much land, what equipment is needed, and in what order, for a startup sawmill. April 24, 2002
Static charge on wood Troubleshooting and resolving static problems on freshly planed boards. October 9, 2002
Keeping Plywood Flat Pros discuss causes, cures, and prevention of warping in plywood. July 9, 2005
Powder Post Beetles in Plywood Amazingly, the bugs are not killed by plywood manufacturing methods, and can lurk inside plywood for years. October 27, 2011
Getting a charge from melamine How to mitigate the creation and transmission of static electricity during the handling thermofused melamine. April 2, 2002