Press Conditions Affect Drying Rate and Shrinkage of Hardwood Boards

An electrically heated hydraulic press, equipped with a fine pressure control, was used to evaluate the effect of press conditions on drying characteristics of yellow-poplar and American beech sapwood boards. Two board thicknesses (1/2 and 1 inch), two platen temperatures (250? and 350?F), two platen prssures (50 and 150 psi), and two types of cauls (144 holes/ft2 and 245 holes/ft2) were tested to evaluate their effects on drying rate, drying time, and thickness shrinkage. Increasing platen temperature decreased drying time, but increasing platen pressure did not.. Increasing thickness of boards increased drying time more than the proportional increase in thickness. Both higher platen temperature and pressure caused greater thickness shrinkage. No difference in drying rate and time was found between the two cauls.

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