[JesusLovesYou]

I just got some 1 1/4 basswood boards at a local sawmill here is southeast Ky. They gave me about 12 boards to try to see if it would work for me. My question is, is it alright to plane it before it completely dries or should I wait. How long does it usually take it to dry. The boards are from 6 to 10 inches wide and around 3 foot long.
Thanks,
Thomas

[slivers&dust]

I would wait to do the your milling until they are dry, otherwise you will probably be doing it again after they DO try out.

From what I understand the drying rate is one year per one inch in thickness.

[mark yundt]

In my experience ,, freshly milled lumber can be tricky..Besides the time it takes to REALLY dry, it ,cracks,splits etc. I 've come to the conclusion , even with how much wood I go through,it's not worth it.I did very early on think I was getting a deal. Over the long run though,with the time , wasted material,doing a carving and the center is still has too high a moisture content,, future splitting after the piece is done, to me it 's not worth it even if the wood was for free.I feel if you spend a coupla bucks for properly KILN dried wood, at a lower moisture content than you could ever get trying to "season " it yourself, which you can never really do,the cells themselves after Kiln drying tend to take a "set" and not want to take on more ambient moisture as wood that has only been seasoned will,,I personally dont think it's worth it.In my experience, wood that has only been seasoned, seems to get a shell of a coating of dried wood, the center is still able to move around once exposed after planing, again,, the cells in the center never really "cure and take a set" I've read many articles on this and it seem to validate my experience.Others may like the wood they end up with,, but I never have.

[Kenny_S]

Any wood that is freshly milled needs to dry out. Some likes the air dry method and some likes the kiln dried method. I have used both.
If you are going to dry it yourself, put it up off the ground, preferredly inside and spacers betwen the board to allow for air to circulate around the boards. I believe 1 " a year. I have a five foot by 8 inch cedar in the garage that has been there ofr about 4 years and I am thinking on cutting it up in to some 2x or even 3x(thickness) pieces.

[BobD]

A few members asked me to split Mark's gluing up blocks information into a different thread (so it didn't get lost). It's really good information. Here is the link to the thread!

Gluing up blocks

Bob

[mark yundt]

Since I never use seasoned wood,only kiln dried I can't really say for certain just how much harder one is over the other.To me it's all relative.With bass for example, I can just push a chisel through it .I'll use a mallet if I'm moving alot of wood in a hurry,getting big chunks out of the way,but to me it's never really hard.Yeah, dried wood has a certain "set" to it, but it's kinda' like hair. All the cells are dead.But if you take wet hair, wrap it around a curler and let it dry vs. drying it with heat,one will stay in shape longer than the other,,the hair isn't harder,,just "takes a set" ..LOL. now we're beauticians! LOL.Sort of like steam bending wood,,wouldnt' work without either water or heat,,but you'll agree the wood isn't harder when done and dry..maybe it's not the best analogy but somehow this makes sense in my mind.Yes the cells sort of collapse,'cause the wood does shrink, but not like pancakes,the cells are just less able to expand and contract like the little balloons they once were.The only thing though that's really important is you get enough of these little guys together to make a big enough chunk of something I can carve.If they dont' want to behave,then Ill just keep adding to them to make a big enough chunk.I'll keep them all going in the same direction,'cause if I dont' ,the oddball will definitly push the others out of line, and make a crack.Wood , even dried keeps moving,sort of a slow breathing in and out, expansion and contraction,you have to be aware of this,, and keep 'em all in line.

[mark yundt]

O.K. I'm lost ,,LOL,, where are we going now? Can I come too?

[Ron Davidson]

Mark Bob moved it to Glueing up blocks It's in carving wood and materials.