Furniture making isn’t just a matter of slapping a few boards together. You need to pick the right wood for the job, and the best wood is often subjected to treatments that ensure it is safe, protected, and resistant to damage. Kiln drying is one form of wood treatment that uses a large oven to remove moisture and dry the wood to provide long-range protection for your furniture. Here’s why you should buy kiln-dried wood furniture.
It Resists Warping, Twisting, and Cracking
All wood retains some amount of moisture, even older, reclaimed wood. When wood is kiln-dried, most of the moisture is baked out. You can’t remove all the water in a piece of wood, but kiln-drying can take away up to 93 percent of it. This helps the wood remain straight and true, and when it absorbs the humidity of its surroundings, it’s less likely to bend and crack. Likewise, using kiln-dried wood ensures your furniture never warps, twists, or cracks. It reduces defects in the wood as well.
Kiln-Drying Kills Bugs, Fungus, and Mold
Because it comes from a once-living thing, wood has a tendency to house other smaller lifeforms. Mold, fungi, insects, their larvae, and other hard-to-spot living creatures can take up residence in lumber. Even after the wood has been turned into furniture, it’s not unheard of to have any of these things spring back to life, damaging damage your furnishings and invading your home. Kiln-drying eliminates this possibility by killing off invasive pests and infestations.
It Makes It Easier To Work With Wood
Kiln-dried wood is simply easier to turn into beautiful furniture and other projects. Wood deprived of most of its moisture is lighter and easier to maneuver and can be cut and planed down more easily. Removing water also makes staining and finishing the wood easier. It also helps the wood resist moisture later on, which is especially useful for wooden kitchen implements and tools that encounter a great deal of water and other fluids, such as live edge wood cutting boards.
Kiln-Drying Ensures a Long Life
Here’s one more reason why you should buy kiln-dried wood: it simply lasts longer. Not only does it reduce warping and the like, but it makes it more resistant to fluctuations in the weather and temperature. This also makes the wood stronger overall, helping it achieve a greater hardness and durability that results in a longer life. Check to see that your custom-made furniture uses kiln-dried wood, especially if it’s made with reclaimed wood, as this type of wood can experience all the above issues and more without proper treatment.