thick oak slabs from 1840's plantation tree heading to kiln this morning

Much like life, it seems that there is much to learn about the drying process of all this unusually cut lumber.  My conservative rule of thumb in drying our very unique and valuable lumber has been to air dry it for almost one year per inch of thickness before it goes into the kiln.  We certainly aren't going to take chances with this historical lumber.  Actually, I think we might speed up the process a bit, but continue babying it through the process.  This morning I'll be delivering these 48" wide Barton Hall Plantation thick oak slabs to my friend that has a kiln operation in Tennessee, for our first pre-drying process.  We'll leave it in the pre-dryer for three or four months or so, and place it in the kiln when it's ready.  Oak is our biggest challenge to dry.  More about drying oak compared to other species in future posts