Drying Southern Hardwood Timbers, Crossties, and Posts

Seasoning of wood can be accomplished by the natural flow of air from the environment in which the wood is placed or by some artificial means which simulates the natural environment. This can be accomplished by accelerating the removal of moisture by increasing the flow of air or increasing the temperature and decreasing the relative humidity in well defined steps. The methods used to air season wood today have changed very little since man first recognized the need to season wood before placing it in service. Even the methods used to season wood artificially have changed very little in the past forty years. This paper briefly reviews both past and present methods of drying southern hardwood timbers, crossties and posts. More importantly, an extensive search was made of the literature by both the conventional method and by use of the Forest Products Research Society’s Abstract Information Digest Service. The brief references made in the paper are supported by a list of literature cited and by a selected bibliography, containing sources of detailed information concerning the reasons for drying, proper drying yard layout, methods of stacking for air seasoning and prevention of stain, decay, checking and splitting during seasoning.

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