Just found out most people over-dry their lumber

I was reading through some old trade reports from the 1940s (weird hobby, I know) and found a stat that shocked me. Apparently, lumber kiln-dried to below 6-8% moisture content actually warps faster in normal humidity than wood kept at 9-12%. Been in the trade 12 years and always thought drier was better. Has anyone else seen their joints shift after ordering supposedly "perfectly dried" wood?

2 comments

2 Comments

michael88024d ago

Wait, so you're telling me I spent the last five years bragging about my 6% moisture meter readings for nothing? Guess my perfectly flat table saw fence was really just hiding all the emotional damage my joints were about to do to themselves. Classic me, over-engineering my way into a problem that's been solved since my grandpa's time.

blair_davis5025d ago

Honestly, is this really that big of a deal? I've been using kiln-dried lumber for years on all kinds of projects and never noticed any crazy warping. Maybe it's more of an issue with cheaper wood or if you live in a really humid place. Tbh, it could just be that some people are way too picky about their joints shifting a tiny bit. Overthinking stuff like this just makes you paranoid.