CL Air Dried Lumber--what should I look for?

[Matt Meiser]

I'm thinking of going to look at some air-dried cherry on Craigslist for my parents' laundry and bathroom cabinetry. The seller says the moisture content is 6-8% and it looks good in the pictures. What "gotchas" should I watch for?

[Jamie Buxton]

Look for the same things you'd check in a lumberyard -- too much sapwood, twists and warps and endchecks. Be alert for insect damage -- kiln-dried generally gets hot enough to kill bugs, but air-dried does not.

Quiz the seller on how he knows it is 6-8%. Does he have a meter? If it turns out he's guessing, he should at least be able to tell you how long ago he cut it.

[Richard Coers]

In your neck of the woods, it's impossible for the wood to be 6-8%. It takes heat to get it that low. So I guess not impossible, but it would have had to be in an attic or somewhere of elevated heat. If it has bark on it, suspect powder post beetles. Any bug holes in it at all, don't buy it.

[Matt Meiser]

It does appear he has a meter. I asked if it was kiln or air dried and how long. He responded that it was air dried, cut 7 years ago, and said he'd check the MC and then wrote back an hour or so later with the readings.

If its flat, can someone mess up air-drying?

[Derek Voigt]

Look for the same things you'd check in a lumberyard -- too much sapwood, twists and warps and endchecks. Be alert for insect damage -- kiln-dried generally gets hot enough to kill bugs, but air-dried does not.

Quiz the seller on how he knows it is 6-8%. Does he have a meter? If it turns out he's guessing, he should at least be able to tell you how long ago he cut it.

Ditto.

i usually find alot of sap, or boards that are short. Not that short boards are bad, but it can just make it a pain to match boards in a single project when trying be consistent. Check both sides too.

[Charlie MacGregor]

I agree Richard. It would be at whatever EMC is unless it's in a climate controlled building.

[Kevin Bourque]

Cherry has a lot of color variation as I'm sure you know. Some of it is natural, and some of it is caused by sunlight and exposure to the elements. Make sure you have enough similar toned boards to make your project.

[Cody Colston]

I'm thinking of going to look at some air-dried cherry on Craigslist for my parents' laundry and bathroom cabinetry. The seller says the moisture content is 6-8% and it looks good in the pictures. What "gotchas" should I watch for?

As a woodworker, you know quality lumber when you see it. What I would look for is any frass around the stack, indicating active critters inside. Small pinholes may indicate PPB infestation.

If the lumber is dead stacked, have the seller remove a board from the middle of the stack and check the moisture content. Chances are, it will give a higher reading. The core could also be much wetter than the shell.

If it's stickered in a heated building, it may very well be 6% - 8% if it's been there long enough. If you have or can borrow a good pinless meter or one with hammer probes, check it yourself. A higher MC isn't a deal killer but would affect the price, IMHO.

[Mark Largent]

Hi Matt

If you're still looking for cherry, not far from you (just on the north side of Lansing) is Raven Farm (check out ravenfarm dot com), which sells reclaimed and urban-harvested lumber. It's very nice stuff, and his prices are excellent. You can buy it at a shop in Ann Arbor, or you can go straight to the source and save some money. He had a bunch of cherry right and he's been selling it for about $3 a board foot. I bought a small load of it a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with it.

The owners name is Kelvin, and he's a very nice guy to work with.

Mark

[Jim Matthews]

As mentioned above, twist - cup - warp DQ's any stash.

If it's priced around retail, it's too high. If it's been in storage for this long, the seller is likely tired of moving it around.
Premium for wider boards. If it's 8" wide, or less - that's not likely from a large tree.

I just bought Cherry (12 foot lengths) that had been milled 10 years ago to make flooring.
Dead straight, no sap $2/bf.

[Jim Andrew]

A cheap moisture meter will give a 6 to 8% reading of air dried wood. Not that it's correct.

[Scott T Smith]

As a woodworker, you know quality lumber when you see it. What I would look for is any frass around the stack, indicating active critters inside. Small pinholes may indicate PPB infestation.

If the lumber is dead stacked, have the seller remove a board from the middle of the stack and check the moisture content. Chances are, it will give a higher reading. The core could also be much wetter than the shell.

If it's stickered in a heated building, it may very well be 6% - 8% if it's been there long enough. If you have or can borrow a good pinless meter or one with hammer probes, check it yourself. A higher MC isn't a deal killer but would affect the price, IMHO.

+1.

In particular, this would be my first concern: "What I would look for is any frass around the stack, indicating active critters inside. Small pinholes may indicate PPB infestation."

If you see any signs of frass in or near the stack, you definitely have bugs and it will need to be sterilized in a kiln, homemade sterilization chamber or an attic.

[Matt Meiser]

I decided to pass. My usual lumber supplier is going to be making a run over to this side of the state shortly and I (mostly) trust that what I get from him will be right and know that if it isn't he'll stand behind it.

[Mel Fulks]

Sometimes you see some tight grain nice reddish air dried walnut. When its just ordinary colored stuff I'd rather have the KD

[Isaac Fisher]

Look out for sticker stain, too. Take a block plane with you. If you see dark lines across the width of the boards that correspond to placement of the stickers, you may want to plane away a little (ask first) to see how deep the stain goes. It sometimes can be quite deep, especially in woods that have relatively high sugar content like cherry.

Isaac