How I Dry Wood Fast // Tips and Tricks

Once you have fresh wood sliced down into slabs it can sometimes take years before it dries down to a workable moisture content. As the second part of my 3-part lumber milling series I wanted to go through the methods I have successfully used in the past to drastically cut down on the dry time; in other words this is how I dry wood fast! Let me know if you have had success with any of these or how you have found to effectively dry wood quickly.

[hopingtobewheatnotatare]

Finally, a video that short sweet and to the point! I didn't think there was anybody that didn't just live to hear themselves talk. Thank you, it descriptive but not to time consuming!

[chadporter]

Am I the only one who seen that magic when he dropped the spacer at 1 minute? 🤯

[jasonmayne]

Strange phenomenon; I’ve had several hundred pallets (unwanted) to deal with, and the ones close to my building rotted to nothing; like, full rot to where I used a shovel. Some of the same exact pallets in a well-lit sunny open area in the back away from the building are almost petrified gray with no rot at all. Intriguing. I’m planning to put my 8’ hickory 2” slabs near that pile. 120 lbs each, I probably won’t flip them often though… :-) thank you for the video and ideas. Jason

[MrGarvey]

Brand new to this.Your video easy to follow helps alot Thank you

[Lexidezi]

Everything is great her. I would just mention that the probe style moisture checkers only check down a half inch or so. Maybe a tad more. With any slabs that are 3 inches you may want the other style

[jetklein]

Are we going to just ignore how this man defied gravity 0:58 to 1:01

[edwinkidambu]

Great video, though you need to specify if the degrees are in Fahrenheit or Celsius. 150 What?

[ginaland]

Thank you so much! I have been clearing out a few trees & then it hit...why don’t I try to save the wood for some projects!
I’ve just been stacking them for firewood but it’s starting to really pile up on me.

Very helpful!

[ducatistas]

That mildew is coming from your stickers. Those look like home depot Whitewood? Which is wet and resinous. The stickers should be kiln dried first. Framing fir 2x4's below 20%mc works well in my experience. Just avoid the knotty or sticky (resinous) boards.

[MrOakley]

Hi mate great video really appreciate,


question I run a oak beam, fireplace business I have lots of stock that I’m trying to dry

I have a big barn with lots of wood inside I see that you didn’t have the garage isolated that well or maybe I’m wrong ?

My barn is around 32 foot long 17ft wide 10ft high if I had two big industrial dehumidifiers you think this would work ?

Average size is 8x4 x 8ft long most probably 300 in total

Or you think I would be better to make a smaller room that’s well insulated


Some of the big dehumidifiers say they can take 50 litres a day not sure how true that is

Any advice would me much appreciated

[beaverdog]

Apricot slabs... 2" by 12" . Do you think oven method would work? They are a year old outside in 12" rounds. I cut them 2" thick and are cracking, immediately. Need advice. Thank you

[DennisKenneybees]

When moving the stack; do you place the stickers in the same location as before? Does it make a difference?

[ZawalichWoodworkandDesign]

I really appreciate that so much of your house is full of lumber. Awesome tips!

[ibeauf]

This is a space constrained idea, but to flip all the boards and even out warping you could take the top board, flip it over and place it next to the pile you have on supports, and do the same with the rest of the boards. This would eliminate the step of moving them all outside and putting them back flipped

[SF-fblv]

Attic + fan (no dehumidifier, but I have a digital temp/humidity meter up there)

[MysteryBiker]

Hi I've literally just researched tonns of stuff on air drying live edge slabs as I bought two beech live edge slabs 2 weeks ago, ones very flat and the others slightly warped, no idea when tree was felled however they're damp just to the touch and the warped one has black mould on it on one side (not gone through yet) I've used white vinegar on it to kill it at the root. I've got a compact de humidifier for drying aiding with the drying out process as well as a fan I already had, keeping them both going overnight with my wood stacked properly with lots of weight on top to hopefully push the ends of the one slab down and push it back flat again, anyway I digress, should I keep fan and DH on as much as possible not just on a night? I'm mindful of electricity bills haha. any pointers / tips would be useful thanks? Also I've not sealed the ends as I didn't think it would dry out quick enough to cause any Halm. It's in my dining room out the way, radiator is at the other side of the room.

[johndeaux]

When using the moisture meter, isn't it just measuring 1/4 inch deep or so? How do you determine when the center of the slab is dry enough to work with?

[sitka]

Great information, I surely needed it

[manchesterrecovery]

Brilliant video. I was wondering, when you have the timber drying in the garage and the spare room, do you have an additional heater along side the de-humidifier? If so what temperature do you have the rooms?

[LindyLooo]

So I got two cookies, approx 35" x 3" and I set them up outside next to an area that blows HEAT like crazy. IT's got AIR between EACH piece and THEN a Black plastic cover to not only gather MORE heat but to keep them dry.