Air Drying and Specialized Posts
At 5:31 in
How Wood Fence Posts are Made
What happens here
Posts are left in large, open-air stacks to dry naturally until their moisture content falls below 30%. This crucial step creates empty air pockets within the wood's cellular structure. Every piece of wood is utilized in the mill; posts that don't meet the standard for fence posts (e.g., small off-cuts) are repurposed as 'dunnage' for stacking or are processed into bio-fuel. Additionally, the mill produces specialized posts like 'sharpened' posts, which have a pointed end for easier driving into the ground, and 'dowelled' posts, featuring rounded ends and pre-drilled holes for specific types of decorative or agricultural fencing where rails fit directly into the posts (similar to a log bed construction).
Goal: Dry posts to optimal moisture content and create specialized posts.
Tools and materials
- Dowelling Machine — Creating rounded ends and drilling holes for dowel-style fences
- Sharpening Machine — Creating pointed ends on posts
- Dowelled Posts — Specialized fence posts
- Dried Fence Posts — Posts ready for pressure treatment
- Sharpened Posts — Specialized fence posts