Middleton High School engineering and technology teacher Justin Zander and his students are nearly finished building a solar kiln. Once they finish the kiln in a few weeks, they'll collect logs and mill them into lumber – after drying the wood in the kiln.
“It’s basically an insulated shed,” Zander said, explaining how the kiln operates. “You put vents into it, and it acts like a wind tunnel to dry out boards in the right way. It heats up wood to kill bugs and acts as a dryer to take the moisture out of the wood.”
Zander said the school spends about $6,000 a year on lumber. He estimates that the figure will be closer to $600 annually once the kiln is operating.
He said that milling their own lumber will reduce costs and, in turn, allow woodworking students to do more and bigger projects. Each semester, 100 to 175 students enroll in woodworking classes at Middleton High School.
Zander said if they’re able to mill enough wood, he’ll also share wood with MCPASD’s middle schools for their woodworking classes. He earned funding to build the kiln through a grant from the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Education Foundation.
Zander and senior Hunter Hull recently talked with Spectrum 1 News about building the solar kiln. As they near completion of the kiln, they're looking for tree and wood donations from individuals, businesses and municipalities.
Email Mr. Zander at jzander1@mcpasd.k12.wi.us if you have wood to donate.