Trees are the prime source of raw material for making lucrative furniture. As the species are natural, you have to make them suitable to manufacture furniture. Also, you have to kill insects, fungus, bugs from the woods to get a durable construction.
To make woods suitable for manufacturing furniture, you have to make them dry. Air dry and kiln dry are such a kind of wood that removes the natural wet from the timbers. Thus the article is all about the process of drying wood to manufacture sustainable furniture. Let’s explore Air Dried VS Kiln Dried to understand the method of drying woods and their differences.
Difference Between Air-dried And Kiln-dried Wood
Air-dried wood and kiln-dried wood are the same in quality but different in the drying process. Generally, you will not find too much difference between the two types of dried wood. But the performance and durability may vary as per the drying process of the wood.
To understand the superiority of these two types of wood, you need to know their features. In the next part of this article, we will share with you the detailed features of the air and kiln-dried wood. From the below information, you can identify the core difference between them.
Characteristic of Air Dried wood
Air-dried wood comes from natural treatments like drying them in an open space. The timber workers bring the wood log to an open space to dry them from the sun heat. Also, they keep the wood logs on the top of the hills or in the open space to get air.
This way of drying wood takes a longer time than kiln-dried wood. But, the natural process of drying helps to develop the durability of the log. In this process, you need to wait 12 to 18 months to dry the surface and internal area of the wood.
Moreover, the duration of drying wood naturally depends on the type of the species. Many people like to dry the woods before sending them to the mills. Also, many people want to dry the wood after cutting them into pieces.
Characteristic of Kiln Dried wood
As per the drying process, kiln-dried woods are different enough from air-dried woods. Kiln-dried woods do not take a long time to dry like air-dried wood too. In this process of drying, you need to put the logs into a large-sized oven.
This process of drying wood is also known as force-dried wood. As the oven generates warm air to dry the wood, the process takes less time to dry logs. Around 170 degrees Fahrenheit heat can make the wood dry in a short time.
The most attractive feature of kiln-dried wood is the capacity of killing insects. By generating heat inside the oven, you can make the logs weed-free too. As a result, the woods become more durable and fungus-free for the furniture.
How To Make Furniture With Dried Wood
Air drying or kiln drying, you have to reduce the moisture of the woods to make furniture. Without drying wood, your furniture may damage by getting the fungus on it. So, what should you do to make the woods dry?
Let us discuss the tips regarding drying woods to manufacture furniture. These tips will help you to maintain your logs before sending them to mills. Also, the guide will ensure the long-lasting capability of the wooden furniture.
Tips To Make Furniture With Air-dried Wood
As air-dried wood is part of the natural process, you need to know the changing time of the weather. According to the change of the weather, you have to maintain the logs. Let’s know the tips regarding air-dried woods below:
Tip 1: Keeping Woods Into Open Space
You can not manufacture furniture with wet and moisture woods. So, you have to keep them in an open space to dry. If you keep the logs in a garage or a basement, the wood logs will not dry properly. So, keep them in an open space in the dry season like the winter.
Tip 2: Keeping 7 To 9 Percent Wet
The dry woods are always the best choice to make furniture. But, it is good to keep them 7 to 9 percent wet. A little moist wood is suitable to make furniture by avoiding cracks. Also, due to the light moisture in the woods, you can smoothen them quickly.
Tip 3: Drying Both Sides Of The Logs
Keeping the woods in an open space is not enough to dry from both sides. To solve the problem, you can use an electric household fan. In this way, one side will dry from a natural source and another from an electric source.
Tip 4: Using Moisture Meter
Naturally drying to remove moisture from the woods is a simple way. But, you have to make sure that your woods have prepared enough to go for the final steps. So, you can measure the moisture level of the woods by using a meter to confirm the condition of the wood.
Tips To Make Furniture With Kiln-dried Wood
So far you know that kiln-dried woods are force-dried wood. In this process, you need to generate heat or warm air to make the moistened wood dry. When the woods become dry, you will get the freedom to use them for making furniture. Let’s know a few secrets behind kiln-dried wood to make beautiful furniture.
Tip 1: Keeping Moisture Free With A Kiln
First of all, you have to make the wood moisture-free to make durable furniture. To make moisture free you can use an oven. Or you can make a kiln at your home. Making a kiln at home is not too costly and is a difficult task. You just need to use electric fans and plastic covers to dry logs.
Tip 2: Killing Insects And Weeds
Growing insects and weeds is a common problem of any kind of species. To kill them permanently, you can force heat on the raw logs. When the logs get warm air and heat, they become insect-protected.
Tip 3: Tie The Logs With Rope
The wood surfaces may bend after getting 150+ degrees Fahrenheit temperature. So, you need to tie them with rope before putting them into a kiln. Additionally, you have to keep the load over the woods to avoid changing shapes.
Tip 4: Protecting Wood From Natural Sources
When you want to dry the woods with a homemade kiln, you need to manage shade for them. After getting full-time wet or sunlight, your log may damage. So, make a shade over the kiln and keep them for a few days to become suitable for the final process.
Advantages Of Air-dried Wood
As the air drying process of the wood is natural, you can save costs to make wood dry. Also, you will get several advantages in using air-dried wood for furniture. Besides, the air-dried process reduces the chances of wood damage. Now, find the significance of air-dried wood from the next.
Cost-Effectiveness
Though the air-dried process is lengthy, the woodworkers like the process for affordability. To dry the woods naturally, you just need to keep them in an open space for months. Additionally, you can make a shade with polythene to protect sun heat and rainfall.
Color Retention
With the following air-dried process, you can get the appropriate color of the wood surface. The dried color of the woods delivers a lucrative appearance for the furniture. So, you can get better color after re-tensioning the woods.
Effect Free Drying
When you dry the woods naturally, the possibility of cracking the surface reduces. In the process of kiln drying, your wood logs may damage the strength too. So, air-dried woods enhance the strength to make furniture.
Disadvantages Of Air-dried Wood
There is nothing, but the core disadvantage of the air-dried process is its durability. Generally, you have to keep your logs from 8 to 16 months to become dry. Besides, wrapping and shading also create hassle to protect woods from natural sources.
Advantages Of Kiln-dried Wood
When you talk about the advantages of kiln-dried wood, you will find a lot of positivity. As the process is called a forced process, you can imagine how fast it is. Thus, you do need less time to dry the wood and prepare for manufacturing furniture. So this is the time to know more about the benefits of using kiln-dried wood for furniture!
Killing Insects
To dry a piece of wood, you need to generate a warm temperature. The warm temperature helps to kill all the insects and weeds inside the wood. After killing insects, the logs of the wood become ready to deliver durable performance.
Time Consuming
Using less time to dry wood is another advantage of following a kiln-dried wood process. In the natural process, you have to spend more than 12 months making the wood drier. But, an oven of drying wood is capable of drying wood within a few days.
Hassle-free Performance
Wrapping multiple pieces of wood generates a lot of tasks behind drying wood. But, kiln-dried wood does not need to wrap or twist to dry the surfaces. Besides, you will get a smooth surface to use the wood in furniture construction.
Disadvantages Of Kiln-dried Wood
The common disadvantage of using kiln-dried wood is the unwilling cracks. As the process uses warm air to dry wood, you may find damaged surfaces. Thus, the excess temperature reduces the wetness of the wood in a quick time and creates stress on the logs. Otherwise, you can follow a kiln-dried process to make suitable wood for furniture.
Frequently Asking Question
1. Can You Use Air-dried Wood For Furniture?
In a word, you can use air-dried wood for furniture, doors, and windows. But you have to make sure that the wood is insect-free from the inside. Also, you should confirm the wood is fungus-free that you want to use in furniture construction.
2. Can You Use Kiln-dried Wood For Furniture?
Kiln-dried wood is the best choice for manufacturing home or office furniture. As the woods are insect and fungus-free, you will get a long durable performance from them. But, using kiln-dried wood may not be suitable, when you will find a lot of cracks on them.
3. How Long Does It Take For Dried Wood To Dry In A Kiln?
According to the wood type, a kiln takes time to dry properly. In an approximation, a one-inch wood takes 10 to 12 hours if you provide a high temperature. But, you have to increase the temperature in a medium range to get damage-free logs.
4. Is Kiln-dried Wood Better Than Air-dried?
If you compare the woods with affordability, we will say air-dried wood is better. But when you compare them according to processing duration, we will recommend kiln-dried wood. Besides, kiln-dried wood is insect-free, and air-dried wood delivers actual color in appearance.
5. What Is The Main Advantage Of Air Seasoning Over Kiln Seasoning?
The main advantage of air seasoning over kiln seasoning is its durability. Besides, it delivers a lucrative appearance to the furniture with fiber. When you have enough time to get the best output; you should go with air-dried wood for making furniture.
Conclusion:Is kiln Dried Wood Better Than Air Dried?
In the final verdict, we should accept any of the dry wood to make furniture. Air-dried and kiln-dried are the most popular processes to make wood suitable for furniture. But, you can say kiln-dried wood is comparatively better than air-dried wood.
Due to the quick-drying ability, and insect-killing capacity, woodworkers like kiln-dried wood. But, air-dried woods are a better performer, if you keep them 8 to 15 months to dry before starting work. We hope that the article regarding Air Dried vs Kiln Dried has given you an accurate idea about dried woods.
