We recently had the opportunity to have a load of our large slabs dried in a commercial vacuum kiln. Drying slabs so they are suitable for use in building or woodworking is typically accomplished by air drying the slabs for one or more years. Vacuum drying is a unique, and from what we’ve gathered, highly optimal way to reduce the time required to make green, newly milled slabs ready for use.
The nice folks up at PCS VacDry allowed us to use their facility to test dry a load of Cucumber Magnolia and Red Oak. The results look very promising and we’re exploring strategies to take advantage of this technology in the future.