Sound's all wrong to me Paul. First, they must not be in the sun. That causes rapid heating and will cause uneven drying. Second. You want air circulation and no humidity. You definitely don't want to trap humidity under that tarp as it will create mold and mildew. If you are trying to dry evenly and as slowly as possible, do it in the shade, with plenty of air circulation, and have the ends of the pieces sealed with end grain sealer like anchor seal. Make a roof to keep the rain off of them, not a tarp. Some people will screw building sheet metal to the top of the stack. The point is to force moisture out the sides of log/stick slowly so it will dry more evenly. Unsealed end grain will allow water in the end of the log to rush out quickly, whereas the center of the log won't, creating stresses which will cause big checking.
Some log mills keep logs out in the open and keep them watered with sprinklers to prevent drying out. The way they do it will not create mold/mildew and is meant to give them time to cut them without drying out and checking.
I thought you had posted this very topic before?
Last edited by brad_bb; 05/16/10 09:05 PM.
