Milling SYP

[Jimbob]

I have never milled before, but I am considering purchasing a Logosol chainsaw mill to cut mostly 2x8's from SYP. I was told that I should let the logs dry for several months before milling or else the lumber would warp badly even if stickered and weighted down. Elsewhere, I have read that I should mill the logs as soon as cut or that they would check badly all the way to the center. I would rather mill the logs green as I think that the lumber would dry faster than the logs would dry and therefore I would be able to use it sooner, but I don't want to have to work with warped lumber. Which way should I do it and why ?

[ely]

if i had my choice i would saw the trees down in dec /jan and wait a couple weeks for the needles to draw some of the sap out of the tree. then i would go back and limb them up and saw the lumber. usually i just go get the logs and saw them the same day. if you keep the boards stickerd and in the drying shed away from the sun they should not move too bad on you. it takes about 45 days for me to air dry pine to the point that i can nail it up for building purposes without it drying and pulling on me. around here i have been sawing up the drought/beetle kill pine as fast as i can and really can not keep up.

[DanG]

Sounds like your source of info "knows" some stuff that he really don't know, Jimbob.  Pine isn't bad at all about checking.  It is bad about staining, and attracting bugs, when left in log form.  It's best to cut it as soon as possible, but you can still get nice lumber from most of it after it has aged for a while.  Some logs will hold up better than others, and it is hard to predict which ones they are.  

I have noticed that lumber cut from dry pine logs tends to dry straighter, but the quality of the lumber, overall, tends to be lower.

There are basically two kinds of stress that causes lumber to be crooked.  Sometimes there is tension in the log that will cause boards to move.  Some of this can be corrected with proper sawing techinques, but some boards are just gonna curl up, no matter what you do.  The other is drying stress, where part of a board dries faster than another part.  You can avoid most of this with proper stacking and air circulation.  Some of this movement may correct itself as the emc of the 2 sides equalizes.

You'll want to flat-saw those 2x8s, so you'll need to turn the log/cant as you saw.  Be sure to get a mill that will allow you to do that.  Those little chainsaw mills are not expensive, but it still deserves a good long think, before choosing one.

[Raphael]

  I can't comment on SYP as I'm outside it's region.  I've produce quite a bit of 2x 'SPF' (mostly EWP) on my Logosol M7, works like a champ!  Like DanG said you need to watch for reaction in the log and turn as soon as the wood begins to draw (from tension) or curl (from compression).   EWP is so stabile you can pretty much saw through and through down to 2" off the pith flip it over and mill the other side down, but spruce and fir will move.
  As others have said get pine milled up fast or strip off the bark if you need to leave it sitting for more than a couple of weeks...  Unless you want wormy character wood. 
  A lot of the softwoods I've milled are free logs from the Arborist and some sat a long time before arriving here, I mill the wormiest into rough siding and wall planking.

 

Raphael's answer to this question on another topic board before it was merged:
admin
 I haven't milled any SYP myself, but what I've seen suggests that with proper drying it's pretty stabile.  My 2x8 T&G SYP flooring was definately milled green and I've had only one piece that I couldn't lay full length due to warping, given the price I paid there couldn't have much rejected material.