Our Most Unusal Wood Drying Project
We were contacted by a specialty lumber broker on the West coast. They had a special project for a customer in the Caribbean, one that required Teak Lumber. They had purchased a shipping container of Teak to be delivered to a custom wood working shop in Broken Bow. All but one stack arrived in good condition. The one stack, about 2,000 BF, arrived soaking wet, moisture content well above 40 %. They were in need of someone that could custom dry the wet Teak lumber as well as arranging for the pickup and return of the dried Teak.
After several e-mail exchanges and a couple of telephone conversations we took on the task. We were able to coordinate the delivery to our kiln, stacked the Teak in the kiln according to moisture content and start the drying process. By stacking the lumber with the highest moisture content on the bottom we were able to remove the dried boards from the top and send back partial shipments. This allowed the milling process to begin without waiting for the entire 2,000 BF to be returned.
Every couple of days the kiln was opened and a quick check done to see which boards could be removed and scheduled for shiptment to the milling plant. Once enough lumber was collected the Teak was packaged and delivered to Broken Bow.
Nyle L200 Loaded with Teak
Here the kiln is loaded with about 2,000 BF of Teak from Thailand. This lumber was shipped to Broken Bow, Oklahoma to be used in a project for an international builder. However, the lumber arrived soaking wet, over 40% moisture content. It was sent here via freight truck, dropped off at the highway. The teak was then hand loaded on a smaller trailer and moved here to the kiln. Three weeks later the teak was dry and ready to be used by the milling plant.