Drying hardwood lumber is a difficult process and is often described as both an art and a science. The lumber being dried today is of lower quality than the material dried in the past because it contains more variability. Small changes in drying practices can have significant impacts on the final product. Poor drying practice causes degrade, which is not often noticed until further processing and value adding steps have been performed. Degrade leads to poor utilization of the resource, and causes companies significant financial losses. Extension activities focus on educating kiln operators, drying yard managers, and rough mill quality control personnel about the proper methods of drying

lumber and proven quality control methods that will improve utilization of the states resources, reduce material waste, and allow the lumber drying operations to be more competitive.

On February 16-18^th the 3^rd Basic Hardwood Lumber Drying Short Course was offered by the Univeristy of Tennessee’s Agricultural Extension Service and the Tennessee Forest Products Center (TFPC). Twelve participants from all aspects of the industry attended. The course was held in the Dr. Joe Johnson Research Center conference room and included laboratory exercises at the TFPC’s Mengel Lab and visits to both Havco Wood Products in Vonore, TN and Athen’s Furniture in Athens, TN. Thanks to all who participated to make this our best drying course to date!

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view short course descriptions.
  

For More Information Please Contact:

Dr. Brian Bond
Assistant Professor Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries
Agricultural Extension Service
University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
P.O. Box 1071
Knoxville, TN 37901-1071
Phone (865) 974-7991
Fax (865) 974-4714

bbond7@utk.edu