Here's the deal.. I ran across an old unfinished pine dresser. Been
sitting in an attic for about 15 years in Colorado. Now we have
absolutely no humidity here, so being unfinished the wood has dried
out. I would love to take this thing apart and use the boards for
other projects. Thus the question.. can pine be rehydrated to a
workable moisture content? I thought just soaking them for a time but
waterlogging and warping seems likely.. steam? Appreciate any help!

LS

wrote:
Here's the deal.. I ran across an old unfinished pine dresser. Been
sitting in an attic for about 15 years in Colorado. Now we have
absolutely no humidity here, so being unfinished the wood has dried
out. I would love to take this thing apart and use the boards for
other projects. Thus the question.. can pine be rehydrated to a
workable moisture content? I thought just soaking them for a time but
waterlogging and warping seems likely.. steam? Appreciate any help!

LS


Move the dresser into the environment where it will reside for a few
weeks before finishing. It will equalize to the humidity of the room.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

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On 15 Oct 2005 13:32:37 -0700, scribbled:

Here's the deal.. I ran across an old unfinished pine dresser. Been
sitting in an attic for about 15 years in Colorado. Now we have
absolutely no humidity here, so being unfinished the wood has dried
out. I would love to take this thing apart and use the boards for
other projects. Thus the question.. can pine be rehydrated to a
workable moisture content? I thought just soaking them for a time but
waterlogging and warping seems likely.. steam? Appreciate any help!

Why would you want to rehydrate??? The wood has reached what is called
its "equilibrium moisture content" with the environment it's in, which
is what you want. So, unless you will be putting it in a considerably
higher humidity environment, it is just fine as it is, just use it. If
not, do what Jack suggested.

If you want more details on wood and humidity, you could consult
either Bruce Hoadley's book on "Understanding Wood" or the US Forest
product Laboratory's "Wood Handbook, available online at

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm

Chapter 3 deals with moisture and wood. The PDF is he

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch03.pdf

Luigi
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On 15 Oct 2005 13:32:37 -0700, wrote:

Here's the deal.. I ran across an old unfinished pine dresser. Been
sitting in an attic for about 15 years in Colorado. Now we have
absolutely no humidity here, so being unfinished the wood has dried
out.
no matter what pledge says wood does not dry out. it reaches a certain
point and then stops forever. it does not need moisturized or treated.
if it is cracked it is because of so much movement or unstable boards.
Knight-Toolworks
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