Newbie has wood drying questions

[RedMist]

Hi all,

I am going to be making some painted art pieces onto wood blanks for a project.

The wood blanks are an attractive cherry hardwood, about A4 sized and about 2cm thick.

I am buying the wood as "rough" and then planing it down to expose the grain. The wood blank will be square and level/flat at this point. Then I am painting on it.

I just have a general concern about warping over time from drying or moisture content change in the wood? I'm fairly new to all this.

Do I need to dry the wood? When? After planing? For how long? And more importantly how would I do it (I have no specialist equipment to do so) on a budget?

Or could/should I just seal the wood all over after planing with a Danish Oil or other varnish?

All advice appreciated!!

 

[Beau]

Ideally you need to dry the wood before it's planed. Oils and varnish won't seal completely it. How long to dry it for is hard to say but until it's dry. Due to size of pieces it would be be very easy to pop them on some scales every few days/weeks and see if they are losing weight. When they stop losing weight it's safe to presume they are dry. Having said this if you are using imported American cherry it is usually kiln dried more than enough to begin work straight away.

 

[custard]

You say you're buying the wood "rough", but that doesn't mean very much.

It could be kiln dried, rough sawn. In fact if it's American Cherry it's very rare to buy it in the UK unless it has been kilned, in which case the moisture content is likely to be about 10%, maybe a little higher if it's been stored outside subsequent to kilning, maybe 8% if it's fresh from the kiln.

If it's English Cherry it could be fairly recently felled with a moisture content that's through the roof. Or it could have been air dried for a couple of years with a moisture content that's likely to be in the range 15-20%.

All of these might be described as "rough" even though the reality for your application is very different in each case. And that's before you consider the type of paint you'll be using, water or acrylic applied to one side of an unsealed wooden panel for example, is just asking for trouble.

Bottom line is solid timber panels are a can of worms if flatness is a consideration. If you just want a stable panel for painting would ply be an option?

Good luck!

 

[Dan j]

Where are you buying the wood from? It being rough sawn doesn't necessarily mean its still green.
Ask the person you are buying it from.
A 2cm board wont take that long to season. If you paint the end grain to stop it drying out faster than the rest of the board that will reduce the chance of splitting. Leave in a place with plenty of air flow but not too hot.
Either weigh as Beau said or you can buy a moisture meter for less than a tenner off eBay.

 

[Racers]

Is any of the cherry being left exposed? it not then plywood would be a better choice, of even cherry veneered ply wood.

Pete