Good morning everyone.
This is my first post, my first time working with slabs of wood (I normally just buy rough sawn boards) and I bring a problem to the experts...
I recently purchased 2 "kiln dried" cherry slabs for a kitchen table for my wife. She wanted a live edge cherry dining table. Not the sort of thing you can get at HD.
A friend who was a woodworker recommended a place to me. He only ever buys rough sawn boards, so he had no experience with slabs.
I was told they were out of the kiln for about a week and were at 8% moisture. Since my friend had good luck there before, I bought them (>$400).
They were 20-26" wide (each), about 2" thick, and 7.5 feet long.
Yahoo I thought....
So through the same friend I took them to a cabinet shop he had dealt with to be planed and made ready for glue-up. I do not have the 36" planer they did, nor the wide belt sander.
Everything seemd to be going well. We planed the slabs down, and then sanded them with the wide sander to 120 grit. Looked beautiful.
The slabs finished out at 22" wide (each) and 7.5 feet long, and about 1 5/8" thick. I have attached a picture of them being worked. We installed the long dominos every 8".
Then we ran into problems....
When we cut the one edge to joint, the wood felt quite wet! Using a moisture meter, we determined the face was 8%, but the core was 21%
So, $180 later I had two beautiful, wet, slabs.
I then took the slabs home to my basement workshop and glued them together to try to prevent as much warping as I could. Normally I would not try to glue wood this wet, but I knew they would warp and be unalignable if I did not get them glued. I attached a pic of this as well. They went together well, used Titebond III, and the long Domino "biscuits".
Now for the questions:
How long will they take to dry in my basement? It is heated with natural gas, as is the rest of the house (on a forced air furnace with A/C).
How long should I wait before finishing them ( I plan to oil them, then add a pour on bar epoxy coating).
What is the best way to dry the slab? Horizontal / vertical / ??? Right now they are just sitting in the basement on sawhorses. Tried to post a pic, but can't.
ANY advice would be most appreciated. Like I said they are now glued together and in my basement.
Just because I got flamed on another board when I brought this up .....
I was not trying to be cheap! I was trying to get my wife what she wants. Like I said before, this is my first time working with slabs like this (and after this mess probably my last).
I contacted the lumberyard, but they are not willing to work with me - no refund, etc. I feel like a fool, and feel like I got ripped off.
Help.
THANKS
Terry