Questions · sawmill & kiln near Syracuse
Questions about sawing and drying wood
The things people ask us most, from what a board foot is to whether that tree in the yard is worth milling. If yours isn’t here, call.
Call (315) 412-4007Wood, moisture and milling
- What is a board foot?
- A piece of wood 12 inches long, 12 inches wide and 1 inch thick, or 144 cubic inches any other way you cut it. Lumber and kiln space are both figured in board feet. Length × width × thickness in inches, divided by 144.
- What’s the difference between air-dried and kiln-dried?
- Air-dried lumber sits stickered under cover until it stops losing water to the weather, which in our climate is somewhere around 15–20%. A kiln takes it the rest of the way, down to the single digits that indoor furniture and flooring need, and does it in weeks instead of seasons.
- How dry does lumber need to be for furniture?
- For anything that lives indoors, 6–8% is the usual target. Wetter than that and it keeps shrinking after it’s built: tops crack, joints open and drawers stick.
- What does heat-treated mean?
- At the end of the cycle our kiln climbs toward 165°F and holds there. That kills insects and their eggs in the wood, so what leaves the yard is dry and sterile. Nothing comes out of the wood into your house.
- Will you saw logs I bring in?
- Yes. We saw customer logs on our Wood-Mizer into slabs, boards or timbers, cut the way you want them. Call first with the species, length and diameter so we know what’s coming.
- A tree came down in my yard. Is it worth milling?
- Often, if it’s a good species and the trunk is straight and sound. Walnut, oak, cherry, maple and box elder are all worth a look. Yard trees can hide nails, fence wire and old clothesline hooks, so tell us what you know about its history. Send a photo of the log and a tape measure across the end and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth hauling.
- What kinds of wood do you have?
- Black walnut, box elder, oak, ash, pine and hemlock come through the yard most often. What’s dry and on hand changes with every log we open, so call and ask what’s here today.
- Why do live-edge slabs cost more than boards?
- A wide slab comes from the middle of a big log, takes the longest to dry, and has to stay flat the whole way. Fewer pieces come out of each log, and each one carries the grain that makes a table.
Drying your lumber in our kiln
- When should I bring my lumber?
- When it’s air-dried to about 20% moisture. At that point it goes straight into the next load. Green lumber has to sit for months first, and we don’t have the dry storage to hold it for you.
- Can you dry green lumber?
- For some species, yes, but it takes longer and risks cracking and warping. Lumber that comes in at 20% dries clean and predictably. Pine is the exception: bring it green.
- How long can the boards be?
- Up to 18 feet.
- How much fits in a load?
- Up to 4,000 board feet, but the real limit depends on thickness and species. The board shows how much of the next load is already spoken for.
- Can different woods dry together?
- Yes, but the whole load runs at the pace of the slowest wood. 500 board feet of white oak in a pine load means everything dries at white-oak speed. So we run hardwood loads and softwood loads separately.
- Why keep pine separate?
- We run pine hot, up to about 160°F. That pulls the moisture fast and sets the pitch, so the boards go through a planer without gumming it up. White oak never gets that hot. If you bring pine for a hardwood load, we’ll slot it into the next softwood load.
- How do I reserve space?
- Call with the species, thickness, rough board feet, longest length and how dry it is. We’ll tell you which load it belongs in.
- What does it cost?
- Board feet times the daily rate times days in the kiln. The calculator does the math.
More on kiln drying, custom sawing and live-edge slabs.
Get a quote
Tell us what you’re building.
Species, rough sizes and how dry it needs to be is enough to start. Or call.
(315) 412-4007