Spent the day sawmilling

[dooleysm]

It's a long story on how we got to this point, but me and a buddy spent yesterday cutting up logs with a local guy we met through forestryforum.com. We had quite a few trees down in our woods thanks to the winds we got back in September from hurricane Ike. We salvaged 3 16' pine logs, 4 10-12' maple logs, and 1 12' cherry log (which had been down since well before September) that we took to the mill yesterday.

These were all relatively small logs that I could lift with my 30 hp Kubota w/ FEL. We put all but the cherry on tandem axle trailer. We got 2" of snow dumped on us between the time we loaded them on Sunday and yesterday morning when we went to the mill. I was VERY glad we didn't put any more logs on the trailer. We were just about maxed out on what my Chevy half ton could pull through the slush. It was a long, cold, wet day yesterday, so I'm sorry to say we didn't get any pictures. We did, however, get waaaaayyy more lumber than I thought we would.

We got 24 16' 2x4s from the pine, along with maybe 50 board feet of 1x? pine.

I don't know exactly how much we got out of the maple and cherry, I know it's enough to keep my buddy (who is a hobbyist woodworker) busy for many years. Maybe 300 board feet of 1x?. We also got 3 2 1/2 thick slabs from the maple that another guy wants to use for gun stocks. We started at 10 yesterday and were finally done stacking it all in the second floor of my FIL's shed last night about 7.

I ALWAYS work harder on my days off then when I'm actually at 'work'. It was a good day and we learned quite a bit, which was one of the main reasons we got into this adventure to begin with.

 

[Stimw]

A saw mill is a DUDE Magnet! Did you ever notice that when you see one running on TV doing a demo the guys are all gathered around? I always wondered if there was a Hooters Girl off camera!
Just make sure you dry the wood properly, it would be easy to ruin it in the drying process. Just go by HD or Lowes and look at the junk wood pile that's all twisted up.

 

[dooleysm]

I'm hoping to leave it stacked where it's at for the next year or so and that it will dry ok like that. We have spacers between each row of lumber, but other than that, I don't really know how to dry it properly.

 

[charlz]

Just go by HD or Lowes and look at the junk wood pile that's all twisted up.

By junk wood pile I am assuming you mean the 'Top Choice' aisle Do trees not grow straight anymore? I don't remember having to go to 2 different stores to find 1 straight pine 1x6x8.

 

[2manyrocks]

After doing all that work, it is worth checking into drying it properly so you end up with something worth having. Someone else can say what they think, but the drying part adds a chunk of the value as does the planing part. I'm sure you could get tips on drying on forestyforum.com, but seriously, getting it dried properly makes the difference between ending up with something useable and valuable versus loosing what you've already worked for.

 

[john_bud]

Buddy has a sawmill. He has 10's of thousands of board feet in various stages of drying. He puts them on 4x4's on level ground and then makes 4' wide by what ever long by about 5' tall stacks of cut wood. Capped with some pole shed steel held down by what ever is handy and heavy. Wind isn't a problem as it is in the woods. He does get the outsides grey with age, but he mills them 1/8-1/4 thick to allow for planing down to size. The wood comes off the piles straight.

 

[dooleysm]

Sounds like about what I've got, except my wood is stacked on the second floor of a pole barn. The maple and cherry 1x? will be planned down to size by my buddy that does wood working. The 2x4's will be used for whatever around here, shelves, barns, etc.

 

[chipsndust]

It helps if you seal the ends, they make some stuff for that purpose called "PEG" (poly-ethyl-something) but even painting the ends with anything you have around will help avoid end checking (splitting). Also helps if the ends of the stacks are open, to allow air circulation. You said you have spacers (stickers) between the layers, make sure that what you use is not moldy, rotten, or insect infested. If you can add weight to the top of the stack, it helps minimize warping (the bottom layers are held straight by the weight of the upper layers). Just a few things I've learned about air drying lumber. If your buddy is a woodworker hobbyist, he probably knows this stuff.
Good luck, hope you end up with lots of prime lumber!