Kiln Drying,

[Kenny]

I just purchased a piece of Spanish Cedar 2 7\8" thick 10" wide and 137" long for 58 bucks. The thing is its been sitting outside for 4 years they say it is dried but was not Kiln Dried. Does that make a difference? If so, what is the best way to dry it at home. I plan on making all my shelving and trays out of this piece and should have plenty left over to make a desktop for my office.

I also purchased a piece of Honduran Mahogony 127" long, 9" wide and 1" thick for 30 dollars. Lining for thre humidor project and hopefully my next desktop humi.

 

[Donk]

I am not an expert on woods and Humidors, but the mahogony probably isn't the best for humidor linings. The reason for kiln drying in to get the moisture content way down. You don't want to build projects with wet wood, for when the wood dries out you run the chance of it shrinking. But with you using it a humi where the moisture content remains high you might be alright. The spanish cedar you have should work when you planed and cut down to the sizes you need for lining. But like I said I am no expert.

 

[ATCDub]

Spanish cedar that's been air dried for 4 years will be plenty stable enough for use in its current state. Keep in mind that sometimes wood in larger dimension will be under stress and after you re-saw the lumber to thickness you can develop warps and twists that were previously unseen. Personally, I would build my humidor out of the Spanish Cedar (Great price on that BTW) and veneer the exterior with the Mahogony. And you should also immediately post your lumber supplier here because that stock with those prices are pretty sweet.

 

[MCsommerreid]

It should be plenty dry, but you'd need to watch out for warping and splitting. Sometimes air dried wood can have wet spots in the center, but after 4 years it should be dry as the desert.

Kiln drying is mostly for speeding up the drying process so it will take weeks instead of years. Or in the case of large pieces of wood it's used to make sure the center is dry so prevent problems down the road.

 

[acaffey]

Damn you guys know your wood...