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Old Logs

Started by SW_IOWA_SAWYER, May 02, 2006, 05:14:41 PM

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SW_IOWA_SAWYER

I have a chance to buy some logs that were cut by a logger two years ago stacked up and then left. They belong to the land owner now and I am thinking about buying some of them. It is a mix of walnut, oak and basswood. The logs were good two years ago because I bought some from the loggers. I really am not sure I want all that wood (gasp....) but I hate to see it go to waste.  I am taking my saw down to cut a walnut and an oak too see what it looks like. I guess I was just checking the vast pool of knowledge you folks have to see what you think.

It is a fair amount of wood for a part time guy like me but I hate to think of it being pallets or burned up.

Here hopefully is the walnut pile The oak pile is 3 times that long and at least twice as high
I owe I owe so its off to work I go....

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The walnut should be good. The oak, if it is red oak, may not be very good at all depending on the climate that they are in. White oak should be better except for some checking.  Basswood I have no idea.  If it were me, I would make the owner an offer based on what the wood turns out like after it was cut.  Chances are he could not sell it to any commercial mill at this point anyway.

Jeff

The basswood will be stained beyond any value. The Oak should be O.K. other then the sapwood, the logs on the bottom in contact with the ground may have further issues. We don't see much walnut here so I have no opinion on that.
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Larry

Walnut will be fine.  Oak may have few bugs and deterioration in the sapwood...heartwood should be fine.  Not for sure on the basswood, but I would suspect a lot of blue or grey stain has set in...think I would pass on basswood.

I might be interested in buying few walnut logs.  18" and bigger along with gunstock logs.  Send me a PM if there is going to be any extra.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

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Ga_Boy

I just finised sawing about 30 or so 3 year old oak logs.  This stuff was mean to cut, just about all the logs had tension in them and they were all dry making them harder to cut.

I would not pay that much for them.  You are better off time wise to buy fresh logs and cut them.  You will also get a better product assuming you are sawing grade lumber.  I was sawing fence and barn lumber.  The next job I get with old logs my rate will go from 30 cents/BF to 40 cents/BF due to the added time needed to mill logs that are old and dry and the increased ware on my equipment and me.

That was a mean job and I am glad to be done with it.




Mark
10 Acers in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Kansas

Looking at the pile of walnut logs, It appears they are mostly the  rougher logs, although that doesnt mean they arent worth cutting, they should make good lumber logs. Its odd that they were left, as there is a good market for nearly any walnut log.  As far as the oak logs go, when we get a call at the mill from a landowner telling us about logs that were left from a logging job, they almost always are pallet grade logs that were sorted out from the good stuff. I would look them over pretty carefully. From your description, that would be a lot of board footage of oak to be abandoned. I'm curious, do you know why that many logs were left?

SW_IOWA_SAWYER

I thought about that they could be leftovers. The walnut may be some of that, there are no veneer logs but some good quailty lumber logs. The oak is another story these are good quaility logs. I have heard some things about the company that cut the logs from different sources. I wouldn't want to guess why they left them although I talked to the guys that cut the trees and they were all down doing hurricane clean up. I really just hate to see the waste if they didn't want them they should have just left them in the timber.
These guys had probably 20 times this amount of walnut down there at one point. It all was trucked out and sent overseas.
I will know more after this weekend.

Here is the oak pile
I owe I owe so its off to work I go....

Gary_C

From what I see in that pile of walnut logs, the logger did a poor job of bucking for maximum value. A buyer for a large sawmill just told me they can only sell random lengths of lumber right now. It looks in the picture that everything was bucked to 8 ft lengths, regardless of knot placement. The logs were most likely the low grade logs that could not be sold to commercial mills.

However, there is value for you there if you are willing to spend the extra time and effort to saw them into lumber. Just be careful what you pay for them so you are working for yourself and not giving up your labor to the present owner.

A lot of it depends on the conditions where they were left such as sun, rainfall, and ground contact. In general the oak and walnut will be OK. The bark will probably fall off and there will be a lot of end checks, but you may be able to see the stresses better by the larger end cracks. The basswood will be very black on the ends, the bark may be all rotten, and the ends will be somewhat checked. The wood will be black stained but perhaps not all the way through.  It should make good stickers. Basswood logs on the ground will probably be worthless. In short the Basswood has some value, but not much. Should be free for the hauling.

Find out what the pallet log buyers pay in your area and go from there.

Like others have said on salvage jobs, or free trees, it is NOT a good idea to saw them on site as the owner will see the good boards you get and expect more money for your labors.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

SW_IOWA_SAWYER


I thought about not cutting them on site. I am not real worried about the land owner he just wants them out. The logger paid him for the logs so he already collected his money. I looked the walnut over real good, the pile has a lot of wood in it. The oak logs look good but some are big I mean chainsaw splittin big. Last time I had to spilt a log I got stuck with this ;D


Here is a another shot of part of the oak pile


If it doesn't work out I am out nothing, of course I will pick the two best logs to test cut.... :D

I think the pallet company is someplace around .03 to .09 per bdft.
I owe I owe so its off to work I go....

Gary_C

After your latest post, I can understand why the walnut looks that way. They were cutting for a standard length to fit into a container for export and what you have left behind are the culls.

The Oak is a totally different story. For the most part, those are some nice logs. Maybe he made more money doing Katrina cleanup to bother with the last of that job.

I would bet that if you do not want them all, there are others here that would help you to buy them all.

Just watch out for a guy from Arkansas with a red shirt, a small dog, and a pickup with trailer. I see he is out picking up unattended logs.   :D

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

sawguy21

Must be tough having to make something like that from a split log. ;D Beautiful work. Gary is right, sounds like you need to circle the wagons when Arky is about.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

lawyer_sawyer

I wish I had a sawmill more and more with every post I read on here.

I am not sure what the Tie market is there.  I haven't been able to find much information on it but on the forum.  there are several posts on this and if the hearts are good you might be able to cut off your edge boards and have a tie from each log at the end (depending upon the length of course) and be able to offset your cost by cutting a load of ties and getting all the edge boards as well for personal or resale.  the logs look pretty large and it might be another use.

L.S.
Jake
Love the outdoors, chainsaws, my 300 win mag, my wife and my son but not exactly in that order.

woodsteach

Just be careful, IF the logger paid for the logs, are they his or the landowners?  I don't know the story or the details of the logging timeline.  But make certain the landowner has the rights to the logs.  I'd hate to see you come out on the short end of a deal.

Woodsteach
Brand X Swing Mill, JD 317 Skidloader, MS460 & 290, the best family a guy could ever dream of...all provided by God up above.  (with help from our banker ; ) )

Don_Papenburg

The walnut should be great.  I had some walnut given to me that had sat on the ground for several years . They looked very sad . Infact everyone made nasty comments at the sawmill when I brought them in . then as they started sliceing them up everyone was clammering to buy them boards .  And the guy that gave them to me would not let me have the rest of the pile .
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

RichlandSawyer

SW_IOWA_SAWYER
  How far southwest are you? I would love to stop by and visit and take you out to lunch.
Every log i open up, a board falls out!!!

dail_h

   SWIS,
   I'm sawing on a job now,logs blown over by Isabell,oak 'n walnut. Finished the walnut,only thing I noticed was the bark all slipped off,and the sapwood was a little dark,like someone had tried to steam it. The oak,all red ,the sapwood is mostly shot,but the heart is fine,even has that nice" pickely" smell. Even the SYP was ok
World Champion Wildcat Sorter,1999 2002 2004 2005
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jpgreen

Awesome peice of furniture SW..  8)
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SW_IOWA_SAWYER

Well I went and did my test cuts on a walnut and a red oak.
It went pretty well took me a while to move the oak it was pretty big. I was a little disappointed as the log yield was abouy 60% of what it should have been. The center had ants and was checked bad, it also had a green stain in it. It is sad that all this wood will be wasted well not all  :D. The plan is to go and cut what I want and I will cut some for the farmer and will call it good.

I will get a few photos of the process but these will have to work for now.







I have to laugh when I cut this lumber up I can see all kinds of projects in the wood I cut. I will continue this once I get back to the pile.
I owe I owe so its off to work I go....

Tom

That's a good lookin' model you have holding that board.   :)

SW_IOWA_SAWYER


Thanks Tom

I think she is a keeper. I am not sure what she thinks of my sawmilling adventures but like a good wife if she thinks "I AM NUTS" she keeps it to herself......well most of the time :D

She is always willing to help is I am in a pinch.
I owe I owe so its off to work I go....

Gary_C

Looks like a good job. With Oak you can cut it all up and use the poor quality stuff for ties, blocking or firewood. However that is a lot of work without hydraulics on your mill.

Looks good.   8)
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

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