Pine Drying Time for Milling: What You Need to Know

Pine is a common material for woodworking projects because it is inexpensive, resilient, and adaptable. To prevent warping, cracking, or splitting, the pine must be well dried before milling. How long must pine dry, nevertheless, before milling? Let’s look more closely.

Pine’s drying time is mostly influenced by the wood’s moisture level and the milling method you intend to use. Before milling, pine typically needs to be cured for at least 6 to 12 months. This enables the wood to attain the appropriate moisture level for milling and woodworking, which is between 6 and 8%.

The process can go much more quickly if you want to dry your pine in a kiln, though. Kiln drying can speed up the drying process and cut down the time required to cure wood to just a few weeks, but it can also be more expensive and the wood may lose some of its original color and character.

Due to the epidemic, there has been an increase in demand for wood in the sector. The need for furniture and home remodeling projects has grown as people spend more time at home. Due to this, prices have gone up and there is a lack of lumber.

Oregon is the state in the union that produces the most lumber, followed by Washington, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. Although Canada is the country that exports the most softwood lumber to the United States, the United States also imports a sizeable amount of lumber from Canada.

It’s tough to estimate whether lumber costs will decrease in 2021. Due to supply chain interruptions and an increase in demand brought on by the epidemic, prices have gone up. Prices, though, could stabilize or possibly drop as the world starts to recover from the pandemic.

Before milling, pine must be dried for at least 6 to 12 months, but kiln-drying can drastically shorten the drying period. The pandemic has raised demand for wood, and Oregon is the U.S. state that produces the most lumber. The United States also imports a lot of lumber from Canada. While it is unclear whether lumber prices would decrease in 2021, it is probable that they will stabilize as the world begins to recover from the pandemic.