Drying Ponderosa Pine in Okanogan County WA

[OlJarhead]

This is a split and merged thread.  the new thread starts 3 posts down. (Admin)

I'm new -- and in this part of the world too -- and am very interested in the drying time.

My question:  If I cut Ponderosa Pine on July 4th weekend and let it sit until Laborday weekend (about 8 weeks) would that be enough to begin using it for the interior of a cabin?

I realize a LOT of factors are involved but I'm looking for rough figures to see if it's feasible to start learning to mill with the hopes of using some of my own lumber rather then what I need to buy.

I'm looking at milling 1x6x8-10-12's for interior paneling.  I plan to cut it into shiplap on the table saw once it's ready.

Thanks!
Erik

[WDH]

It might air dry in that period of time, but around here, that would mean that the moisture content might be around 15% - 18%.  If used inside, it will dry some more and shrink some more, so if you put up the paneling on Labor Day, expect some shrinkage gaps to form between the boards.  If you reverse the shiplap where the smooth side is toward the studs and the groove is showing on the room view side, then the additional shrinkage will probably not be noticeable.

[OlJarhead]

It might air dry in that period of time, but around here, that would mean that the moisture content might be around 15% - 18%.  If used inside, it will dry some more and shrink some more, so if you put up the paneling on Labor Day, expect some shrinkage gaps to form between the boards.  If you reverse the shiplap where the smooth side is toward the studs and the groove is showing on the room view side, then the additional shrinkage will probably not be noticeable.

Thanks!  I need to LEARN a lot of course!  But here's a question:  if I went 6 weeks of air drying and then two weeks in the cabin would it make a difference?

[OlJarhead]

I thought I ought to start my own thread -- instead of hijacking someone elses -- so here goes:

My wife and I just bought a Small Log Alaskan Saw Mill and accompanying brackets and safety gear (I've cut firewood forever without chaps but recently decided that was dumb so bought some as well as head gear).  We also bought a Husky 455 Rancher with 20" bar and two ripping chains (I might also get a smaller bar - 18" - and chain for it).

I plan to mill smaller pines on our property which is at 3200 feet in the middle of the Okanogan National Forest (more or less).  Most of these will be around 10-16 inches in diameter and 30 to 60 feet tall -- I have 5 or 6 in the way of my solar panels which need to come down and those are all 16-18" at the base and around 50-60 feet tall.

I am hoping that I can mill them into 1x's over July 4th weekend and then set them for drying for the next 6 to 8 weeks.  Then I'd like to try to use them.

Questions:

1.  In our dry summer climate (it can be desert bone dry) is this long enough drying time or too long?
2.  Should I dry them another 2-4 weeks inside the cabin (which won't have much heat if any during September) before planing and using for interior paneling?

I was thinking of doing just a tree or two to start out -- to learn -- and buying what I need except for the lumber from these trees unless I find I can do more.

Am I too ambitious?

I'd love to mill enough wood to finish off the interior but I need about 1000 sq/ft of paneling but tend to get awful ambitious at times and don't want to bite off more then I can chew just yet.

I've got at least two weeks worth of exterior work to complete before starting to wire the inside of the cabin so figure I'm good until September before I can work on the interior trim.

Thoughts?
Thanks!

[Left Coast Chris]

Hi OLJ,
Im in the far northern part of Calif and have sawn pine in the summer.  Our humidity is often 10% or less with high heat.  This makes air drying very difficult.   Even with stickering and stacking with weight it just dries too fast and you will get a good amount of warpage.  You may loose 25 to 50% of the wood.   With small logs and knots it is even worse.    You are much better off timing your sawing in the fall or winter then using it in the summer.   

Another idea is to saw it thicker, let it dry and resaw after it is dry.     The thicker pieces will take longer to dry though but can saw some of the warpage out.  With 2-2/2" thich as an example it is likely to take 3 or 4 months min to dry.

Every case is unique based on the humidity, sun exposure, wind, wood thickness and density so you might experiment on a small amount first and see how it turns out.

Good luck.  Send us some pics!

[OlJarhead]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm thinking that I'll try some dry logs (I have a few) and maybe a small amount of green ones and see what happens.

Right now humidity is very high and unusual -- it's 50% at the nearest weather station and the weather is going to continue to be wet and cold -- VERY ODD for this time of year.

What would be the min humidity you'd dry in?

Redding is not far from what were in but I'd say Yreka is probably closer (if it's Yreka that's on the I5).  I'm from Grants Pass originally and this climate is VERY close to that.

[OlJarhead]

Just checked Republic weather history and it's low in July is 9% with an average of 40% humidity.

[Left Coast Chris]

I have never really paid that much attention to exact ambient humidity I just know I tend to have problems with drying too fast in the summer and our humidity can be below 10%.    This year has been different here also.   So far humidity has been pretty high.  Very unusual. If it stays that way that will help. 

If you have dry logs then you should not have any problems.   For the wet ones you could experiment with stacking and stickering in the shade.  You can also partially tarp them but watch out very carefully for mold.   Another method is to close them up some how.   I have a shop that is pretty tight and that worked pretty well with a stack of black walnut.  It gets to 80 or 90 degrees inside in late spring or early summer  but the moisutre stayed in the air.   It controled the drying time a little more and did not mold.  I did open the door at night for a hour or so to get some air exchange.   

I would say just experiment with what you have and do what you can to slow the drying time.  If you had a spot in the shade by a creek or pond that could even help a little.  A basement is good also.  If humidity is too high a fan may be needed.

Let us know how it goes.

[OlJarhead]

I have never really paid that much attention to exact ambient humidity I just know I tend to have problems with drying too fast in the summer and our humidity can be below 10%.    This year has been different here also.   So far humidity has been pretty high.  Very unusual. If it stays that way that will help. 

If you have dry logs then you should not have any problems.   For the wet ones you could experiment with stacking and stickering in the shade.  You can also partially tarp them but watch out very carefully for mold.   Another method is to close them up some how.   I have a shop that is pretty tight and that worked pretty well with a stack of black walnut.  It gets to 80 or 90 degrees inside in late spring or early summer  but the moisutre stayed in the air.   It controled the drying time a little more and did not mold.  I did open the door at night for a hour or so to get some air exchange.   

I would say just experiment with what you have and do what you can to slow the drying time.  If you had a spot in the shade by a creek or pond that could even help a little.  A basement is good also.  If humidity is too high a fan may be needed.

Let us know how it goes.

I have a cabin that sits in a bit of a bowl on our 20 acres.  It's oriented with the long walls on the South and North and the North side shades the ground almost 90% of the time.  It can be 20 degrees cooler there!

Below the cabin is a pond that will dry up by August or September....it's also cooler down near it.  I'm wondering if it might be worth stacking it down there and covering it with a tarp but leaving the sides exposed?

I was going to post some pictures of some dead and dry wood that I was wondering if it would be worth practicing on...I'll post some soon.

Thanks again!

[OlJarhead]

Here are two trees which fell about 10 years ago (my guess because they appear to have come down during a fire).  I was cutting them up for firewood but didn't finish on my last trip and was thinking that since they appeared to have no rot they might be good for making rough cut 1x6's out of for siding on a shed.

Thoughts?