I air dry my basswood and butternut cants outside in early spring and summer. This process allows the wood to air dry to the EMC of the outside air which here is usually around 13% or so. Once it reaches that point it goes into the solar kiln to be finished. While the wood air dries it gets discolored and will sometimes get a little surface mold on it. On the left is an air dried piece of basswood out of the stack. It looks bad doesn't it. On the right is the same piece after I cleaned it up with a hand plane. Once you remove the top layer it looks much different then the piece on the left. The wood underneath is bright white and clear.
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