How to Dry White Pine Boards
- 1). Weigh a sample of white pine board. Typically, the weight of wood is expressed in the average weight of 1,000 board feet. To get a board feet value of a sample, divide its volume, measured in inches, by 144. For example, if the sample measures 10 by 10 by 10 inches, then the board feet equals 10 * 10 * 10 / 144 = 6.9. If the sample weighs, say, 100 lbs., then 1,000 board feet would weigh 100 / 6.9 * 1,000 = 14,490 lbs.
- 2). Place the boards of white pine on a dry base in the spring or summer. Ensure that the air can circulate around the stack.
- 3). Wait for about 60 to 200 days for each inch of white pine to dry to 20 percent moisture content, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The time needed to dry the wood depends on weather conditions, primarily humidity and temperature.
- 4). Weigh a sample of wood. Dry the white pine boards until the sample reaches a weight of 2,241 lbs. per 1,000 board feet, which is its approximate weight with 25 percent moisture content.
