AnchorSeal for pine?

[N80]

I am putting this post in the chainsaw forum because I don't know where else to put it. I hope we can get a sawmill forum here on TBN at some point. Anyway, just got a portable band saw mill. Total novice. I have cut up one log....and it went well. I've got a pile of pine logs ready to mill and will have some white oak soon. I have ordered some Anchor Seal but I read somewhere that it was not necessary for pine. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Thanks.

 

[marhar]

I am putting this post in the chainsaw forum because I don't know where else to put it. I hope we can get a sawmill forum here on TBN at some point. Anyway, just got a portable band saw mill. Total novice. I have cut up one log....and it went well. I've got a pile of pine logs ready to mill and will have some white oak soon. I have ordered some Anchor Seal but I read somewhere that it was not necessary for pine. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Thanks.

Best Guess: I think it is true: I have never seen pine crack as it dried like hardwoods. Another guess: pine has more resin in the "sap wood" than other woods and retains some moisture. I have seen oak and cotton wood have cracks that went about a foot into the board (In a furniture plant).

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use Anchorseal, but I don't use it on pine. I cut my logs 6" over length and trim the pine lumber to length after.

It's true pine is much more forgiving than hardwoods...

SR

 

[4570Man]

It’s not going to hurt anything but you probably won’t see a lot of benefits either.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys. At this point I agree. Even though all the pines in my pile were freshly dead the ends are running sap. I have also cut them longer than I need.

So we’ll see. For a novice like myself the learning curve with this sawmill and milling lumber in general is steep. I’m sure there are going to be plenty of mistakes to learn from. But, so far I am enjoying the process from felling to skidding to milling and my daughter and her husband (who are half owners in the mill) are enjoying it as well and it is quality time spent together.

 

[Jstpssng]

The biggest thing about pine is that it gets blue stains in warm weather. It's not a structural defect though, and for cabinet and interior work that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[N80]

On several of the larger pines you can see streaks in a star pattern on the butts. I've been told this is blue stain from a form of mold. In this case almost all of the pine is going to be cut into 2x6s for the shop I hope to build in the future so they won't be visible.