HOW THE DRY KILN WORKS
Ozarks Fine Lumber offers the service of having your own fresh cut lumber kiln dried to safely bring it down to the proper moisture content so it will be ready for you to use in your next woodworking project.
Contact us for information on availability in our dry kiln. Space in the kiln is constantly shifting as we remove dry wood and replace it with fresh cut wood.
Our dry kiln is located on our family farm in Mansfield, Missouri. We carefully and closely regulate the temperature and constantly remove humidity from our dry kiln in order for your wood to be dry to the core and prevent cracking, warping, and shrinkage in your lumber. We check the moisture content of wood throughout the dry kiln every day until it is ready to be removed.
STICKERING
All lumber must be stickered. You can bring your lumber already stickered and we can put it in the dry kiln. We recommend using 1x1" by 50" long stickers. We sticker all of our lumber 16-18" apart. The stickers you are using must be previously dried. If they aren't, they can leave stripes on your dried lumber. Using the same type of wood stickers as your lumber will also help prevent any staining of your wood. We would be happy to sticker your lumber for you, which means we would also need to un-sticker it before you pick it up. Due to the amount of labor this takes we add an additional charge on your project for stickering.
COST
The cost of getting your lumber dried varies greatly depending on the species, the thickness, and the length of your lumber. Give us a call to get a quote on putting your lumber in the dry kiln. 417-812-5022
WOOD IS A NATURAL PRODUCT
As wood is a natural product, we cannot be held responsible for any warping, twisting, cracking, etc. before, during, or after the dry kiln process. We do our very best to properly stack and dry your lumber, but we cannot control what the wood does. We will treat your lumber with respect and take care of it just as if it were our own. We DO NOT have indoor storage for your lumber after it is out of the dry kiln. If you do not want your wood to get rained on, or to start absorbing moisture from the humid Missouri air after it is removed from the dry kiln, you will need to arrange pickup quickly.
As far as moisture content goes, every species of lumber has a different starting percentage of moisture content. Some woods are more on the dry side, some have a higher moisture content. How long your cut lumber has been air drying will also determine it's starting moisture content. If you can sticker your wood as soon as you get it back from the sawmill, that would be ideal. Allow it to start air drying before it goes into the dry kiln. If you bring us fresh sawn lumber, we will sticker it for you right away until we have a spot in the dry kiln. Once wood has been in the dry kiln (length of time varies by species and other factors), we check the moisture content every day, and in the end and most species will get down to 7-9% moisture content. We use a prong moisture content reader. Once the lumber is down to the client's desired moisture content, we turn off the kiln and let it acclimate.
Wood is hygroscopic and will begin absorbing moisture from the air as soon as it is out of the dry kiln. We let clients know when we are pulling lumber from the dry kiln so they can arrange for pickup. Please let us know if you are worried about your lumber getting rained on or gaining moisture after it is out of the kiln. This is an issue that we do not have control over and you will need to arrange for pickup quickly.
DISCLAIMER
If you have Ozarks Fine Lumber dry your lumber, due to the inherent nature of wood as a natural product, we cannot be held responsible for the quality of your lumber while it is drying or after it has been removed from the kiln.
