Wood drying
June 1, 2009 by blogtopia
Filed under Definitions
Wood drying (also seasoning lumber or timber seasoning) refers to reducing the moisture content of wood prior to its use. For some purposes wood is not dried at all (it is used "green"). Often the wood needs to be in an equilibrium with the air outside or the air indoors. Wood is either air-dried or kiln-dried. Usually the wood is sawn prior to the drying process, but not always.
Wood drying may be described as the art of ensuring that gross dimensional changes through shrinkage are confined to the drying process. Ideally, wood is dried to that equilibrium moisture content as will later (in service) be attained by the wood. Thus, further dimensional change will be kept to a minimum.