Kiln-Drying of 1-Inch Red Oak

One-inch red oak lumber was kiln-dried to 8 percent moisture content in 17 1/2 days, using an accelerated schedule which produced lumber comparable in quality to that of a commonly used 20 1/2 day mild schedule. Drying degrade and shrinkage resulted in a value loss of approximately $40 and $25 per Mbf for No. 1 Common and No. 2 Common, respectively. Excluding the loss due to shrinkage, the degrade losses were only about $20/ and $14/Mbf for No. 1 Common and No. 2 Common, respectively. The cost of the net yield of furniture cuttings after drying was about 40 per board foot for No. 1 Common vs. 38 for No. 2 Common, not including the drying or rough mill cost. The addition of a transverse compression treatment (for two charges only) further reduced the drying time by 1 day, to 16 1/2 days. Also, the value loss due to degrade was reduced by about $2.50/Mbf in both grades. The yield in terms of small cuttings, such as in parquet flooring, was similar for both grades, with a resultant net cost of about 30 cents and 23 cents/Mbf for No. 1 Common and No. 2 Common, respectively.

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