Kiln Dried Beech Cracked Throughout Once Indoors

[HeathRobinson]

In an effort to refresh the tired wooden surfaces of my workmate I went and bought myself a length of 6"x2" beech wood from a mill on the other side of the county. It was stored in a large hangar / shed at the mill and I think it might have been kiln dried on site as they have the facilities.

I chose it from a pallet of furniture grade beech which was strapped as if for shipping, not stacked and stickered like most of the rest of the merchant's stock which might indicate I was the first person to purchase from this particular batch. The fact it was not stickered means I was probably bound to have moisture and movement problems too.

I have kept it in the house for about a week while I got on with other things and to let it acclimate before I commit woodwork upon it :twisted: but this morning I have noticed it has developed really long cracks along it's entire length. I have never had a board or plank crack to this extent before and I have used reclaimed beech without issues previously.

I suppose I'm at fault here, knowing only enough about selecting wood to be a danger to my wallet :lol: I'm pretty certain that my selection is the point at which things went wrong. I'm just a bit annoyed at having driven a fair way to select a board and have it do this.

Most of woodworking literature cover projects and tools but seem to give the raw material very little coverage. I have read as widely as possible on the internet, mostly from old books archived at the gutenberg project. Anyway, what are your tips for finding somewhat more obedient boards and planks? What about in the rough where it can be difficult to tell what your getting? Is kiln dried really superior to air dried? The authors of books around 1900 regard it with some sceptism. Is kiln drying nullified by subsequent storage in a building that is more or less open to the elements? After design, wood selection, seems to be the first step of any project. Perhaps next time I will take someone with more experience along with me.

Simon

 

[maltrout512]

Simon have a look at http://www.richardjonesfurniture.com/Articles/articles.html Richard is a member here and is always very helpful.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Simon have a look at http://www.richardjonesfurniture.com/Articles/articles.html Richard is a member here and is always very helpful.

It's kind of you to give me a name check, but I'm not sure I can help much in this case. Slainte.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

In an effort to refresh the tired wooden surfaces of my workmate I went and bought myself a length of 6"x2" beech wood...

The fact it was not stickered means I was probably bound to have moisture and movement problems too.

Not necessarily. Close stacking is a common technique for limiting change in moisture content after kiln drying. Dryer operators don't want the wood to regain moisture content rapidly which it could easily do if the boards are stickered up after drying, especially if the wood is stored in a high relative humidity situation.

I have kept it in the house for about a week ... but this morning I have noticed it has developed really long cracks along it's entire length. I have never had a board or plank crack to this extent before and I have used reclaimed beech without issues previously.

Without seeing the wood at the time of purchase it's impossible to diagnose the cause of this longitudinal split. It could be caused by a range of factors, but it would be a long exercise to describe all the possibilities I can think of.

I suppose I'm at fault here, knowing only enough about selecting wood to be a danger to my wallet I'm pretty certain that my selection is the point at which things went wrong. I'm just a bit annoyed at having driven a fair way to select a board and have it do this.

Every inexperienced woodworker goes through the same phase, unless there's someone knowledgeable with you to advise.

Most of woodworking literature cover projects and tools but seem to give the raw material very little coverage. I have read as widely as possible on the internet, mostly from old books archived at the gutenberg project.

There's a great deal of literature out there on timber technology or wood science, but admittedly most of it is a difficult read for the general reader, into which category almost all woodworkers fall, even professional woodworkers, quite a few of whom can be surprisingly unsure about the subject. This is probably because the subject is highly scientific, and mostly written by wood scientists for other wood scientists, or students of wood science. Books at Gutenberg are mostly out of date regarding current timber technology knowledge derived from modern research: I wouldn't give information in those old books too much credence, except mainly as being of interest to the historian. So, until I can secure a publishing deal for my own tome on timber technology (written by this woodworker for other woodworkers) probably your best softish introduction to the subject is R Bruce Hoadley's Understanding Wood published by Taunton Press and about £25- £30, but even that's not so easy to get your head around in places.

Anyway, what are your tips for finding somewhat more obedient boards and planks? What about in the rough where it can be difficult to tell what your getting?

Can't help much there in a succinct sentence or two, except to say the more you learn about timber technology the fewer mistakes you'll make when buying wood.

Is kiln dried really superior to air dried?

Yes it is, and no it isn't. It depends what you're going to use the wood for. For example, you'd be best advised to use air dried stuff at about 20% MC or so for building outdoor artefacts and for steam bending, but kiln dried stuff (kept at a low moisture content) would be advisable for artefacts destined for dry environments.

The authors of books around 1900 regard it with some sceptism.

A good example of hundred year plus old knowledge not necessarily being appropriate for today's conditions.

Is kiln drying nullified by subsequent storage in a building that is more or less open to the elements?

It can be, but that's where close stacking (and even plastic wrapping of the batch) comes in because it slows down moisture regain - see above.

After design, wood selection, seems to be the first step of any project. Perhaps next time I will take someone with more experience along with me.

Good idea, but note what I said earlier about the limited knowledge that even some experienced and/or professional woodworkers have about the subject. Slainte.

 

[HeathRobinson]

Well, to come back and see the sincere replies to my concerns puts a smile on my dial. Thank you. The expense and trouble has been accepted as the price of a lesson. Unfortunately the wood is still cracked so it'll eventually be cut into smaller parts tip toeing around the cracks.

 

[dzj]

It probably wasn't as dry as you thought it was. Wood usually cracks when it rapidly loses moisture.
But as said above, there can be other reasons.

 

[Ed Bray]

I'm curious as to why you bought solid wood to recondition a workmate, all the workmates I have had have had ply surfaces.

 

[HeathRobinson]

The original workmates had 2" solid beech tops. Not that mine is an original mind you but as I do all my work on the workmate and I only use hand tools I felt there would be some benefit in a thicker solid wood top. I can flatten it by planing whenever needed, I can attach a small vise level with the top without resorting to very thick spacers and the bench dogs would have that much better purchase in a thicker top. The clincher is that hardwood is cheaper than plywood of suitable grade and can be bought in reasonably small quantities. Made sense to me.