xt7cjs9h5k29 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7cjs9h5k29/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station.  journals kaes_circulars_004_501 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 501 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 501  2014 true xt7cjs9h5k29 section xt7cjs9h5k29 [ »  »>    **4    1  'T ·· L
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A D

 LUMBER SEASONING
l
By. O. M. Davenport n
Wise utilization of farm woodland products not only
involves care in selection of species and milling, but
also covers storage of logs and other round products,
and the seasoning of green lumber. Carelessness at this
stage may result in loss in quality and quantity of a
` valuable product.
Timber Cutting Season — Cut timber in late fall, or
through6H—\H1ExTb_r?ar_ly spring, and have it milled as
soon as possible. Logs are more susceptible to rot,
_ stain, and insect infestations during the hot summer
season.
Temporary Storage of Logs — Logs that are not taken
to a min- and-s—awed_Ti’E>—lH1Tnber or dimension before
early summer should be skidded to central, accessible,
and dry locations and rolled up in piles. The bottom
tiers of logs should be kept from contact with the
ground by putting them on pole-sized skids (Fig. 1).
For valuable logs it may pay to remove the bark and
to spray or paint the log ends and sides several times
with a 5 percent solution of pentachlorophenol to reduce
damage by insects and stains. Pentachlorophenol is a
wood preservative. lt may be bought in 5 percent
"Ready to Use" solution, or it may be bought in con-
centrated forms and diluted to a 5 percent solution with
#.2 fuel oil. Likewise if severe end—checking or split-
ting of logs may occur, painting of the ends with an
asphalt coating will hold down this type of loss. Any
asphalt roofing paint is acceptable or a thick paint of
white lead and linseed oil may be used with good results,
RQj@§Q¤ie_r: Care of logs in storage pays off in bvitcr
and jnorre usailgwlunib?i*i,TWT_T?+®`_ TA at Vw   WANT"
LLIMBER MUST BE SEASONED
Freshly sawn or "green" lumber contains a large
iimount of moisture. In this condition the lumber is
heavy and unfit for any but the roughest uses.
3

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• °
Q? ,   E
[V xz I
xw g , ` `· W
Fig. 1. — Logs in storage on skids
As the moisture in green lumber is reducedby season-
ing, the lumber shrinks in width, thickness, and length. 1
Lengthwise shrinkage is negligible and need not be con- I
. sidered in most cases. Shrinkage in thickness and width, (
however, may amount to 6 to 10 percent ofthe "green" `
dimension. Careless or improper seasoning methods I
invariably cause loss in quality of lumber through check-
ing, splitting, and the various forms of warping -cup-
ping, bowing, crook, and twisting (Fig. Z). In addition, E
during hot, sultry weather, improper seasoning methods E
favor stain in lumber, Stain reduces the grade and thus (
the value. (
I ·- ~:·w¤i.·<·r; E-”·`;*pi;l`lryNwsC;asoiigdrr liiixibrer \villr'.»;rtC1y iz; l
1 ~ . ~;;{.~§i E¥.U.VT..p~Y·I$&iilFeiiainC§¤iihi >%l¥IicYYBei.?éiYi·T€h`§i3, l
.*_. Vi ° ·?LL?·fS€)ili*?»l OT   TAC`?   C ;
_ SEASONING LUMBER AT THE FARM
n When "green" lumber is hauled from a sawmill to the
farm for seasoning and storage, certain preparations l
should best be considered in advance, These include:
_ I
_ Location of seasoning and storage area.
» Choose a site with both good soil drainage and good  
air drainage. Drying requires air movement. Don’t

 i
 
End ond `
Surface
 `,/ chem
  / /
Twist i/”
Fig. 2. ‘ Seasoning Defects
 
th` locate piles in building corners or in wet, low spots.
3; Put them out in the open and preferably on a gentle
y 1 I
nn s ope
if Pile foundations
tp` This structure is often neglected. Good pile found-
°;’ ations help to keep lumber courses in alignment and
’ S allow air drainage and movementpnder the pile; Posts
tus 0I' pier blocks of wood, stone or concrete are favored
over large, solid timbers since they (posts or piers)
bg permit air movement in all directions (Fig. 3). Slope
*7 the foundations from front to back at the rate of not less
in _
5}] than 8 inches in 16 feet, Have enough height for the boll-
rrre 4 tom course of boards to be not less than 15 inches from
the ground at the rear of the pile.
Space the cross stringers in accordance with pro-
posed sticker spacing -- that is, one for each tier of
stickers -— not more than 3 foot spacing with most
hardwoods. Make sure that foundation members are
the aligned. Misalignment in foundations results in twisted
ans or owed boards.
` Pile design
l;Vidtl1; of piles should be governed by desired drying
ra e. ig. 4 shows normal air drainage in a pile. Wide
Ood Pl1€‘S cause slow drying, with danger of stain, Wh€I°€&$
•t narrow Pll€S Cause rapid drying with the likelihood of
in
5

   ® Posts or Piers
l-I-I o     i
  .
IIIII ®     "°°‘$ i
1
  I
  0 Ijlll `”
  i
Tgp view » Side View _
Fig. 3. - Pile Foundations
(
i
-11111
; 
wr; mm un 11 1 1 E
 
¤ 1 1 11 L il
 
“ -   jZ 11 1
- I- 1 1  - j -
  13  1- 1 1i
  jiijv
ni kn 11 _1 {A
1 i 1 1 1 1
  ; 1 1 1 ;
 1·1j;
11 C; H -_ H-
 
xn 1 1 11 nu
 
P _I _ -1  `
v.; tai 11 1
1 ;| 1 1 1 1
I I I
Fig. 4. - Air Drainage in File (Front View)
6

 too much checking and splitting. In general, pile widths
` of 6 to 8 feet are satisfactory. In regions of high  
humidty, chimneys (Fig. 5) improve drying. How high
to build a pile depends on ease of handling lumber and
the stability of the pile.
Pile spacing
Allow at least 4 to 6 feet between piles to facilitate
air movement.
Stickers
D0n’t rely on using narrow "green" bo ard S for
stickers. Stickers should be thoroughly air dried, all
of the same thickness (usually linch) are preferably
not over 3 inches wide. (l 1/2. to 2 l/2 inches is enough).
 
 
m m m m m 1
 
1 ml 1 1 I
 
1 m m 7 1 =
I   I ( _ Y
 
_ -- _ #
 
YQ_ Z] I
 
(_1 Q
 
m 1 1 1 m m
mm 1 1 1 m
1 1 1 1 1 I
 
_ _ _ _
 
1 1 7 1 1 X
 
E 1 m m m
 7 T Z
Hd.!
Fig- 5. - Front View of Pile, Showing Chimney
7

 Piling techniques
gegregation of lengths. - Whenever possible, segregate
lengths within l foot over or under the designed pile
length. Long boards in a short-length pile warp and
check badly through the exposed portion — often making
that section worthless (Fig. 6).
  jj r··—       ( T   ..·_.s  
»¢    · er  E`?    "' ' q   .i’‘..  
“’* - 1 i=»?`L ~<~>Z   ·    t ·» » r »·».     s
  / * =   ii ..  §i§.e$?“ .  ° .ie‘   . —~¢¤FrT5tes bowingrE_ the boards.
ng W" "*"‘—"‘mr“——rmr_m*r"m*“_‘*s
be Spacing Qing?-_ds in courses. — Keep boards at least
to- 1 inch apart in theiiourses. —_
:he
i€T  . — This is the angle at which the front of
  We Pllé leans forward. One inch to 1 foot of vertical
lid distance is adequate in most cases. The pitch and slope
I - I-
 
1*  
I; l_-j*;""'-
 
 
.  
lc;]  
to n _ I
eei
`or Fig. 8. - Sectional view of side of pile shOW-
ing lineal distortion of boards caused
by improper sticker alignment,
9

 of the pile from front to rear help to keep the pile dry
and drained of any standing water from snow or rain.
Place front sticker on each course of boards so that it
overhangs the board ends slightly, Place next course
of board end flush with outside or front edge of sticker.
Repetition of this practice through successive courses
will result in the "pitch." Front stickers so placed
also minimize end -checking in the boards.
Pile roofs
Covering the pile top with two overlapped courses of
old or poor grade boards will protect the top courses
from direct drying action of the sun. If boards that are
long enough to extend about a foot or two over both
front and rear of pile are available, added protection is
A gained.
Block up the roof at least 4 inches to allow air move-
ment. Anchor the roof by weighting it down with heavy
timbers or wiring it to lower stickers (Fig. 9). This
action also helps to prevent warping in top courses of N
the pile. _
Pile sanitation
Since the drying rate depends in part on movement of
. air, good air drainage under the pile is essential if the
lower courses of boards in the pile are to be well é
seasoned. r
` geep weeds and grass from growing up around the
4 bottom of the piTeT
1
i S , , _ I
€3SOI1II1g lIIT\€ fOl’ VBTIOLIS $p€Cl€$ E
(
The time required to season green lumber differs (
according to species, thickness of lumber, and the E
weather. ln Kentucky, the equivalent of about four C
months such as May, ]une, july and August will season I'
i most boards enough for construction purposes.
A i
f
it 10

 ‘i\ ..
I  
· »   
t = =_'E’
.  
. uv— _ *  
5  
3  
 
` ' 
 
 ' 
 ' 
  t 
’f    
 
S  
6  
§ §
 
S  
 
 
-  
’Y
LS
nf
Fig. 9. - Side view of pile showing forward pitch
of pile front. Note also pile roof with
wire hold -downs.
of
1e .The following table gives the recommended time for
gll alr-drying various species of 1-inch lumber 16-percent
moisture content:
he (Including Summer Months)
Ash 3 -5 months Hickory 3 -6 months
Basswood 2-5 " Maple, hard 4-7 "
Beech 3-6 " Maple, soft 3 -4 "
Cherry 3 -6 " Oak, red 4-7 "
TS Cottonwood 2-4 " Oak, white 6-9 "
he Elm 3-4 ·- Poplar, yellow* 3-4 "
.ur Gum 3-5 " Poplar, white* Z-3 "
.on Hélckberry 3-4 " Walnut 4-6 "
_ °:°Sam€ Species. In commercial terms, yellow pOpl&1‘
is predominately heartwood wnile white poplar is mostly
from smaller trees with little heartwood.
11

 Two -inch lumber usually requires from 1 1/Z -2 times
as long as l".
No wood will air-season dry enough outdoors to be g
used as finishing lumber, for flooring or for furniture,
Stack thoroughly air -seas0ned luiriber inside a warm
building for at least 6 months if it is to be used for such
purposes. Sticker as when air -drying outside.
Dipping and end racking
During seasons of high humidity and hot weather, the
"green" lumber of most species will stain badly if
A piled in the conventional manner. In this case, the
danger of stain may be minimized by dipping the green
lumber in Lignasan, Permatox 10-5 or similar prepar-
ations. After draining, the lumber can be piled in the
conventional manner. Lignason (DuPont), Permatox
10-5 (Chapman Chemical Company) and others of simi-
lar nature cost only a few cents per 1000 bd. ft. of pro-
cessed lumber and take little time for the dipping pro-
cess.
Another common practiceis end-racking (See Fig. 10).
Although this method reduces staining and cuts down
seasoning time required, it may induce considerable
surface checking, end-splitting, and warping. These
factors should be weighed very carefully in case of
high-grade stock. lt may be desirable to end-rack lum-
ber until danger of stain has been avoided, and then pile
in the conventional manner.
End coating
ln spite of correct piling procedure, wide, high-grade
boards will sometimes end—check severely. Shading
these surfaces from direct sunlight, or covering the
pile end with canvas to cut down the drying rate may
help. ln the case of valuable s to c k, as mentioned
previously with regard to logs, coating the ends of the
boards with an asphalt paint, or a thick p aint of white
lead and linseed oil is effective if applied shortly after
the green lumber has been stacked and before severe
Elgecking begins, “_‘_`__'¢——-W
12

 
 SUMMARY
1. Cut timber and have it milled during the late fall,
winter, or early spring.
Z. Don‘t leave logs laying on the ground in the woods
for an extended length of time during the warm
seasons.
3. Season green lumber before any but the roughest
uses.
4. Locate piles of seasoning lumber on a well —drained
site.
5. Build firm, well -designed pile foundations.
6. Use thoroughly air—seasoned stickers.
7. Be sure stickers are all of the same thickness, and
correctly aligned.
8. Use correct sticker spacing.
9. Don‘t make the pile too wide.
10. Segregate board lengths in separate piles, or "box-
pile."
ll. Space the boards at least 1 inch apart in the courses.
12. Roof the piles to prevent excessive seasoning defect
in the top courses.
13. Keep weeds and grass from blocking air drainage
under the pile.
’ 14. Season the lumber long enough to reduce moisture
content to approximately 16 percent. Little warping
or checking will result then when such lumber is
placed in service.
15. Dip or end-rack when conventional piling methods
will cause excessive staining of the lumbe r in
periods of hot and humid weather.
`— Remeniber: Bright, flat, well—seasoned lurriber is
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