Successful Kiln Drying of White Pine for Furniture Stock

The successful kiln-drying of white pine depends on an understanding of its characteristics and behavior while being subjected to varying conditions of humidity and temperature. Brown stain control starts when the log is cut in the woods often hundreds of miles away. Thousands of board feet of lumber cut and delivered in the winter stayed solid piled from 20 to 30 days before being picked up and placed on stickers without developing brown stain in air or kiln-drying. A low initial temperature of 110? or 120?F and a 12? wet-bulb depression prevent the brown stain extractive from concentrating on the surface of the lumber. Poor moisture uniformity conditions have a direct influence on the quality of furniture stock. A moisture meter equipped with insulated pins is used to follow the moisture loss in sample boards. The outside edge of white pine dries below 4 percent moisture content when a wet-bulb depression of 40? used. Sample boards with 15 to 20 rings per inch show little or no evidence of pitch; while sample boards with few rings per inch show patches of pitch oozing on the surface during kiln-drying. Since white pine loses its moisture in narrow streaks, the moisture meter readings are used to indicate when to set controllers to prevent over-drying and at what point the wettest section of the overall sample board comes within specified limits so that the kiln-drying can be finalized.

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