164 History of Drying Lumber

164 History of Drying Lumber

From Shannon's Lumber Industry Update by Shannon Rogers

February 11, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

This episode explores the history and evolution of lumber drying techniques, including innovations in drying technology and the observations that led to the need for drying lumber.

We have been drying lumber for thousands of years and in this episode I look into how it was done and how it evolved into the kilns we use today. Plus a look forward and innovations in drying tech. Most importantly though are the observations that drove the need to dry rather than any particular science. How did wood behave and how did we want it to behave is what started this whole idea of drying lumber.

People in this episode

Host: Shannon Rogers

Topics covered

  • history of lumber drying
  • evolution of drying techniques
  • innovations in drying technology
  • wood behavior
  • drying process

Keywords

  • lumber drying
  • kilns
  • drying technology
  • wood behavior
  • history of lumber

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