In article , tiredofspam
wrote:

What is wrong with Air dried lumber?
I usually leave it for a year or so to finish drying. I have some wood
drying for 10 years... YEA it's dry. Just haven't gotten around to using it.


At the prices some of this wood is at, I can also consider it cheap
enough for utility wood, for the shop.

Wood is a dynamic material. It has a tendancy to absorb or desorb
moister that is present in it's environment. This is why certain doors
and drawers stick or bind in the summertime, yet work as expected in
the winter when relative humidity is at lower levels.

There is nothing "wrong" with air dried lumber. That said, one needs to
consider it's intended use. If used in a fine piece of furniture for
indoor use, it will be more prone to movement because air dried lumber
cannot be brought down to a moisture content comparable wood that has
been kiln dried. 7-8% moisture content is a number generally bandied
about for furniture grade lumber here in Pennsylvania. If you can get
your air dried lumber down to 10-12% you've done a good job. There is
some interesting reading at wikipedia. It get somewhat technical, but
some of it is understandable by mere mortals like us :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_drying

One generally accepted rule for air drying lumber is 1 year of drying
for every inch of thickness of the board. This assumes the pile of
lumber is prooperly stickered, covered, and with adequate air movement
over the pile. YMMV


Joe

aka 10x