One of my near future projects will be making some presentation boxes using figured walnut. Because the walnut will be anything but straight grained it is important that it be as dry as possible. After checking a few sources for this wood it has caused me to have some questions regarding how dry their wood is. I hope my fellow Creekers can help me out.
1. How much time is required to air dry this type of wood? I am talking about pieces approximately two feet long eight inches wide and two inches thick.
2. How do you know when it is completely dry?
3. Will kiln drying speed up the process and is it recommended?
4. What is the proper method to check how dry it is?
I would appreciate any comments from those that are familiar with this subject.
Thanks