Building a Solar Kiln

Started building my solar kiln, lots of building, lots of cutting with the saw. We sawed the floor out of a big oak log.

[@davekraft5051]

Great to see you start your kiln! It will be nice to dry your own wood! All the hardwood should make it strong enough to handle the weight of all your slabs! That oak was huge! 15 inch boards were awesome! Can’t wait to see more.

[@tombooks1410]

George, really you’re killing me. Cabinet grade lumber on the floor of your new kiln? I know it’s what you had. Probably the best log that I’ve ever seen you saw. Great looking project. Probably should have one of those. Great video as always BIG THANKS!!

[@mcsawmill]

Think of it this way, that log would have made really boring slabs... Lol. Glad you enjoyed it. I gave Robert the extra boards to make cabinets or something nice.

[@southernadirondackoutdoors]

Good job George and Richard too! The first drying cycle (perhaps empty) will dry out things pretty good.

[@mcsawmill]

With the amount of sun it will dry before we do the walls.

[@okanagansawmill]

Looking good George, having a kiln is really nice.

[@mcsawmill]

Yours is way nicer. (Kiln envy)

[@okanagansawmill]

@@mcsawmill LOL I got lucky with that truck body for sure.

[@oldcharlie5533]

Prettiest floor for a kiln ever..that was a very nice oak log.

[@mcsawmill]

It was a really nice log. I gave the extra boards to Robert he'll make something cool with them.

[@andysmith8544]

We're still trying to pin down dimensions, glad we get to see your build first, lookin' good!

[@mcsawmill]

I was not at all ready to start this build but Robert had a couple days free so I'm winging it lol..

[@doughine7562]

Did you figure out what you saved in lumber by milling your own?? Looks great, I would love to start milling lumber , maybe one day

[@mcsawmill]

I had to buy the posts that went in the ground and the screws, so far everything else was free

[@jamesroettger3824]

How many spare belts do you keep around?

[@mcsawmill]

Enough to change all the belts and still have 1 of each. I just ordered more.

[@erikleorga]

I still want to build a solar kiln for myself. Can't stand the idea of paying for it. Did you have to audio censor what kind of oak it was? Looks like a southern red oak.

[@mcsawmill]

Yea I kept saying white oak. It was just a standard Ohio red oak. Yea my problem with kilns is power cost too... I mean it's just a hobby.

[@erikleorga]

@@mcsawmill I get that. I brought a load of white oak and cherry to a couple that have a sawmill and full scale kiln. It wasn't much, just enough to fill the bed of my truck, and it cost $800 for the whole load.

[@mcsawmill]

@@erikleorga kiln drying around me is $0.80bf, that can get real expensive real quick if you have a bunch of 3" thick slabs.