22 January 2005, 23:36
Mauser98Air-Drying Time for Walnut
From a green tree to a workable blank, what is the air drying time for a Black walnut blank of about 3" thick.
The
Goby Walnut site has blanks that are air dried for 3 years. Is that sufficient time or should the blank be allowed to dry longer?
I live on the Wet coast of SW British Columbia where the humidity is usually over 75% and quite often at 100%.(except today when it's about 1000%)

23 January 2005, 03:22
fla3006I've been told to allow about one inch per year at a minimum for walnut, which would be 2 years for a 3 inch blank. Humidity is high where I live too. Walnut blanks I've bought air dry completely within 2 years, mesquite dries more quickly.
23 January 2005, 04:29
vapodogI cut some walnut in 1957....(yea dad helped) and about 1970 I started sending blanks to Fajens for routing and the first thing they did was kiln dry them. I usually took six months to get the routed blank back from them. They wanted the wood to be 6% or less and the best I could muster after all those years of air drying in the haymow of the old barn was 10%
Based on that I don't use any walnut that hasn't air dried for at least three years and then is kiln dried. If it's kiln dried to 6% and sits in a humid area it will return to the higher moisture level so after kiln drying coat the entire blank with a good spar varnish unless you intend to use it immediately.