Forced Air Drying Sweet Gum Furniture Billets in Solid Stacks

Green sap gum furniture billets, 2-1/4 inches in diameter and 3 inches long, were dried in solid stacks in portable cradles. The technique increased dryer capacity and simplified handling while maintaining a reasonable drying rate. There were two tests; one was maintained at 100?F. and 10 percent EMC, the other was maintained at 120?F. and 8 percent EMC. The solid-piled units were completely baffled to force air through voids parallel to the length of the billets. The changes were evaluated in terms of drying time, moisture content uniformity, degrade, and air velocity. Average air, velocity was 1000 fpm with a range of 500 to 1850 fpm. Billets in Test 1 were dried from 83 percent moisture content to an average of 19.4 percent in 8.8 days. In Test 2 the billets went from 100 percent to an average of 12.9 percent moisture content in 12 days. Moisture uniformity was considered good. The samples from both tests were practically free from seasoning degrade except for minor end checking.

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