Press-drying plantation-grown loblolly pine 2 by 4’s to reduce warp

This study shows that crook, bow, and twist can be significantly reduced in fast-grown plantation loblolly pine 2 by 4’s by press-drying instead of kiln-drying. If lumber is presurfaced to a uniform thickness, it can be press-dried in 90 minutes or less without collapse, excessive loss of thickness, or checking. Warp was evaluated in terms of both the amount of warp in 1/32-inch increments and the percentage of pieces that would be downgraded because of warp. The results of the study indicated that presurfaced 2 by 4’s press-dried at 25 psi have less downgrade (< 4%) because of warp than kiln-dried 2 by 4 controls (18% to 29% downgrade). We also compare the effects of surfacing and not surfacing specimens before press-drying, sorting by weight for press-drying, and drying 1-inch-thick 4/4 boards.

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