Kyle_in_Tex said:
My question is, Does the wood need to dry for a while prior to coating it with something?
Kyle, Yes indeed, it is best to let it dry thoroughly before building with it in situations where a good fit is important as the wood shrinks along and across the grain. Some guys say about a year per inch of thickness but that is a midrange rule of thumb that is not good for really thin or really thick pieces.
If you were building, say, stair treads bolted to steel frame with risers where shrinkage would not be visible then you could shorten the drying time but you do want to let enough moisture escape so the finish isn't hurt or rot isn't promoted by trapped moisture.
I use "OOPS" paint (mis-tint paint sold super cheap at the big box stores where the employees are not good color matchers) to coat the ends of my logs. Then when they are sawn up into individual pieces they are already painted on the ends (I don't have the ends cut square) You want to seal the ends of the wood ASAP after harvesting as the end grain dries much faster than the sides of the wood and the drying promotes cracks in the ends. Painting the ends before drying reduces the cracking considerably. I do it to the log as it is quicker and easier than painting all the individual boards.
If your rough cedar lumber is cut to 1" for planing to 3/4 later then if a little shrinkage is not a problem for your particular application then 6 mo should be OK. A lot of drying time depends on relative humidity, air movement, and temperature as well as species and thickness.
I have planed and used some cedar in less than a week after cutting the tree but you have to accept the risks and not require precision fits.
I have used both polyurethane and cab acrylic on cedar dried less than a year ( an inch or less finished dimension) and now a few years later it looks like it was just finished yesterday and no problems at all.
Pat
