Time for pre-dried timber to dry out

[Pete_the_Architect]

Afternoon All,

A friend of mine has purchased a few old scaffolding boards which were left out in the rain for a week.

He is wondering how long / how to tell when they are dry enough to work upon?

 

[Nelsun]

I'd be surprised if they've only seen a week of rain being scaffold boards. They are the unloved and much abused of woods

I'm sure others will have better ways of telling but, without a moisture meter, one way would be to weigh them every few weeks. As the moisture dries out they will become lighter. When the difference in each weigh-in stops they're pretty dry.

They will split, shake, cup and all sorts. That's a certainty I'm afraid. They'll also likely be full of dirt, stones, staples, nails and other things that will ding blades in a blink. A metal detector (£15 security guard wand type) comes in handy for finding the worst of it. I certainly wouldn't be putting any good tools near it.

Also, eye protection is a must (minimum) for the sake of bits or metal or stone going ping at very high speed assuming power tools are to be used.

 

[Pete_the_Architect]

Thank you, Nelsun.

The boards are brand new but were stored outside, so (hopefully) they should not have too much muck in; however, he has just told me they are from B&Q!

Moisture reader and the weighing are both great viable options, I'll pass them on.

Cheers

 

[thetyreman]

if you can bring them indoors inside a building that'll dry them out fast, ideally leave them a few months in stick indoors and you can't go wrong. Make sure you seal the ends though with paint, I like chalk paint, helps minimise cracks n splits.