Budget DIY Solar Kiln

I got my hands on some tree parts locally that I want to use in a workbench later, but needed and cheap and easy way to speed up drying them.

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I want to build a hand tool workbench later this year, so I’ve been keeping my eye out for good lumber. A few weeks ago someone in my area was having trees removed from their yard and was kind enough to let me harvest some of the red oak left behind by the tree service company. The problem is this needs to dry before I can use it.

Fortunately, I have some raised garden beds that I think could make a good improvised solar kiln. My priorities with this are economy and efficiency over performance. I’m not trying to build the most effective kiln, just something that is quicker than air drying and inexpensive. That said, I may make improvements on this over time.

The two main things that would improve this kiln would be better insulation and air circulation. The way to improve the insulation (to hold in heat and keep the temperature higher) would be to replace the plastic sheeting with actual walls made from foam board or something like that, and adding another layer of the roofing material with a spacer block in between. The main way to improve air circulation would be to add a fan.

Materials:

Roofing Panels: http://amzn.to/2gYjXZG