A friendly place to talk about Henry Repeating Arms.....and just about anything else
https://henryrifleforums.com/
Cost to build anything is getting crazy!!
I agree with local timber, but drying it is another thing. I would be curious to know how you dry your lumber? Especially if you need to do some high quality workmanship?GunnyGene wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:31 amI rarely buy any wood at retail. Plywood if I have a cabinet project coming up or something like that, or an imported exotic (which is really expensive! ). There's a couple guys near me who run band mills, and occasionally some local land owner will have a nice tree they want to get rid of, plus I have about 20 acres of forest that I own with various hard and soft woods on it. Retail markup is ridiculous.
It's not that hard. Just properly seal the end grain (includng knots, or complex grain structure such as a burl), within an hour or 2 of cutting, debark, stack, sticker, and weight it down, out of the wind and weather, and check it about once a week with a moisture meter. Oak is the most difficult of the common domestics due to the grain structure and will loose moisture much too quickly if allowed to exit thru the end grain. The biggest mistake people make is trying to rush the process. Takes about a year per inch of thickness to air dry for most hardwoods before it can be kiln dried, but that will vary according to the local climate. Longer in high humidity like MS, much faster in places like AZ - where you may have to have an enclosed area to control humidity and temp, or wrap the stack with a tarp to slow the process. Drying too fast wll result in excessive checking, and internal damage such as honey comb, splits, or severe stresses. It takes a lot of experience to learn how to dry various woods and cuts of wood, since there are many differences between species and even individual cuts. Much of the retail construction timber is poorly dryed due to being rushed to market, which is why you often see warped and split wood in retail racks at home improvement stores.Cowboy Gun Fan wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:38 amI agree with local timber, but drying it is another thing. I would be curious to know how you dry your lumber? Especially if you need to do some high quality workmanship?GunnyGene wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:31 amI rarely buy any wood at retail. Plywood if I have a cabinet project coming up or something like that, or an imported exotic (which is really expensive! ). There's a couple guys near me who run band mills, and occasionally some local land owner will have a nice tree they want to get rid of, plus I have about 20 acres of forest that I own with various hard and soft woods on it. Retail markup is ridiculous.
I've never tried drying, but isn't that about a 6 month process, basically speaking?GunnyGene wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:49 amIt's not that hard. Just properly seal the end grain, stack and stick it, out of the wind and weather, and check it about once a week with a moisture meter. Oak is the most difficult.Cowboy Gun Fan wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:38 amI agree with local timber, but drying it is another thing. I would be curious to know how you dry your lumber? Especially if you need to do some high quality workmanship?GunnyGene wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:31 amI rarely buy any wood at retail. Plywood if I have a cabinet project coming up or something like that, or an imported exotic (which is really expensive! ). There's a couple guys near me who run band mills, and occasionally some local land owner will have a nice tree they want to get rid of, plus I have about 20 acres of forest that I own with various hard and soft woods on it. Retail markup is ridiculous.
I just edited my previous post on this to add some more info that will help you if you decide to do this.Cowboy Gun Fan wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:56 amI've never tried drying, but isn't that about a 6 month process, basically speaking?GunnyGene wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:49 amIt's not that hard. Just properly seal the end grain, stack and stick it, out of the wind and weather, and check it about once a week with a moisture meter. Oak is the most difficult.Cowboy Gun Fan wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:38 am
I agree with local timber, but drying it is another thing. I would be curious to know how you dry your lumber? Especially if you need to do some high quality workmanship?
