RESEARCH SUMMARY 



One of the Rocky Mountain area's major problems is the utilization 

 of insect- and disease-killed timber. More and more of these trees are 

 being harvested as a part of green timber sales. The efficient handling 

 and processing of this material depends to a large extent on its moisture 

 content. 



In the two studies reported here, the moisture content of lumber 

 sawed from dead western white pine and lodgepole pine logs was determined 

 using both a moisture meter and the ovendry test method. In both studies 

 the moisture content of lumber from dead trees was about half that reported 

 for green lumber of the same species. Test sections cut from a sample of 

 the boards showed that the dead log lumber had essentially no moisture 

 gradient and only a slight amount of drying stress. 



This information indicates the kiln drying time for dead log lumber 

 should be about half the time required to dry green lumber. A dry kiln 

 operator can determine the appropriate drying conditions for a charge of 

 dead lumber by measuring its moisture content with a moisture meter. 



