Seasoning and Drying

Question 1

What are the two ways to season wood?

Answer 1

Air Drying and kiln drying

Question 2

What is seasoning?

Answer 2

Seasoning is the process of removing moisture from timber

Question 3

How much moisture needs to be in the wood to be seasoned?

Answer 3

Newly felled wood has lots of moisture (at least 50-60%)
Known as green timber

Question 4

Why is green timber bad for construction?

Answer 4

It warps, twists, cups and shrinks in size when moisture evaporates

Question 5

What is air drying?

Answer 5

planks stacked outside with wooden spaces to allow air flow
placed in building with roof but no sides
air flow helps moisture evaporate and timber dries out

Question 6

Advantages of air drying

Answer 6

Cheap method
Moisture reduces to 20%

Question 7

Disadvantages of air drying

Answer 7

1 inch thickness of timber takes 1 year to dry
Moisture content can’t be controlled (depending on time of year or weather)

Question 8

What is kiln drying?

Answer 8

Timber mounted on a trolley and wheeled into a kiln. It is fully enclosed and fed steam.
Steam drives moisture out. As moisture content decreases, steam is reduced

Question 9

Advantages of kiln drying

Answer 9

Very quick compared to air drying (1 inch = 1 week)
Brought down to 8% moisture content - suitable for furniture
Temp and humidity are controlled - gradually changed (careful to stop cracks, warps and twists)

Question 10

Disadvantages of kiln drying

Answer 10

Costly
Powered by fossil fuels - bad for environment