Torrefied Oak Try Square
During one of my visits with Jim Tolpin a couple weeks ago, a student delivered a small board of torrefied maple to Jim for experimentation. Torrefaction is a process in which wood is heated beyond the combustion point in an anoxic environment (so that it doesn’t actually burn). This process is like an accelerated aging process by removing the volatiles that usually take many years to oxidize and mineralize. The natural mineralization of the volatiles inside the wood makes it so that so that moisture does not pass through as readily. This is the reason antique lumber is more dimensionally stable then new wood – it’s pores are clogged. Today, torrefaction is being used to reproduce this natural aging process...