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Offline Slackbunny

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Drying box concerns
« on: July 17, 2012, 04:46:45 pm »
So I've recently built myself a drying box for drying staves faster than nature intended, but I'm concerned that the increased drying rate will put my staves at increased risk for checking. So I'd like to get some opinions on how to properly use my new drying box.

Just so you guys know my situation, I'm running a drying box with three 60W light bulbs and a fan blowing from one end to the other, and I plan on drying out a few hophornbeam staves in the very near future. I don't know exactly how warm it runs, but I will know tomorrow sometime. I know it works quite well because it dropped a roughed out bow from 12% moisture content down to below 6% in about 24 hours.

So what are your experiences and recommendations for using a drying box? What precautions should I take to keep my staves from checking?



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Offline Pat B

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Re: Drying box concerns
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2012, 04:54:41 pm »
Don't put fresh wet wood in the hot box. Let it come to equilibrium first. Seal the ends and back well. I like to use shellac(I like a spray can) because it seals well and easy to remove later if I want to. Three 60w should get your box to at least 100 deg. You shouldn't need much more heat than that and especially if you are using a fan. One thing I did with my hot box is drill a 1" hole at the top of one end and another at the bottom of the other end to allow the moisture from the wood to escape. When I use the box bfor other stuff I'll plug these holes.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Slackbunny

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Re: Drying box concerns
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2012, 05:07:31 pm »
That was one of my main concerns was whether I could put fresh green staves in.  Thanks for clearing that up.

I have my lights and my fan on separate switches, so I can control them individually. I was thinking that it might be good to put a green stave in the box with only the fan going in order to get it to equilibrium faster. Is this a good idea, or should I just let the green stuff dry naturally for a while before doing anything to speed the process?



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Offline Pat B

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Re: Drying box concerns
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2012, 05:43:13 pm »
A green stave should sit in your shop for a month at least before putting it in the hot box. This amount of time can be reduced by reducing your stave to floor tiller stage first.  2 weeks should be enough at that point.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Slackbunny

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Re: Drying box concerns
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2012, 06:31:52 pm »
Okay great. That pretty much clears everything up. Thanks Pat.
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