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2 year old pine logs

Started by brdmkr, May 25, 2006, 10:02:02 AM

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brdmkr

A man approached me about cutting some pine (SYP) logs for him on shares.   The logs have been down for 2 years.  He told me he figures that they are stained pretty bad, but they may still be structurally sound.  He is willing to bring a couple to me to open up to see what they look like on the inside.  Do you think these would be worth salvaging?  My thinking is to pick a really nice looking log and one that represents maybe the bottom third of the lot for the sample logs.  That way, maybe we'd have a better idea what kind of yield we could expect.  If the better log seems OK while the other does not, then we'd know to only mess with the best.  If they both look bad,  :(, but if they both look good,  8).  Does this sound like a decent plan? 
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

treecyclers

If your area is anything like mine, figure out which side of the log was on the ground, and open that one first.
Pine here will soak up the ambient moisture in the ground and starte to degrade the log if it has been sitting for any longer than 6 months.
That's for Ponderosa.
Your idea of taking 2 samples, one nice one and one of the lower grade logs, and doing some test milling to determine their worthiness is a wise decision.
Go for it!
SD
I wake up in the morning, and hear the trees calling for me...come make us into lumber!

onionman

I cut a bunch this spring that had been on the ground for a year ,, bark falling off wet sap ect.
there  was not much stain but a lot of bug damage ( bettle) ran pretty deep. termites had found  3 out of the 60 logs that I found.Now these were up in the mountains of east TN. and it is cooler and dryer than it is here in Georgia.
I think I would give it a try..
Onion

brdmkr

I should have said that the logs are stacked.  Of course, there are some on the ground but most are off the ground.  Hopefully, rot won't be too bad.
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

woodmills1

I cut old pine all the time.  It is white pine up here.  All are stained but that doesnt effect the strength, some have worm holes that if real bad could effect structural use but wormy stained pine is a real "specialty " wood for the right customers.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Stephen1

I cut up 2 & 3 year old white pine full of beetle tracks and turn them into benches people will pay $200 a bench. The larvae do not seem to make it thru the cold winter up here. I took the bark off and burned it. The beetles do not seem to have come back this spring.
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

mike_van

I made thousands of bf of barnsiding for myself from e. ehite pine the grubs had got to - Once it's dried, latex caulk filled the bore holes, Cabot stain covered the caulk, over 10 years now, still sound.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

Don K

I cut some 21 month old SYP today that has been touching the ground the whole time. Sawed some good 1x12 boards to put up for board and batten on my woodshed. A little punky about 2 inches in with a lot of gray staining, but for the most part they were just as solid as newer log. Matter of fact most of the wood still has that new pine color thru the middle. :)

If the logs have been stacked I would think they would definitely be worth the cutting.
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jkj

Quote from: Stephen1 on May 25, 2006, 12:37:07 PM
I cut up 2 & 3 year old white pine full of beetle tracks and turn them into benches

Stephen1, I'd love to see some pictures of your benches.

JKJ
LT-15 for farm and fun

Rockn H

I cut a lot of SYP that has been laying for a year or two.  All the bark is usually gone and like Don K said, some of the logs may be a little punky on the outer 2 inches or so.  On the outer portions that aren't punky you will probably also find that beetles have been there, but the lumber is normally fine even for structual pieces.  I haven't found many SYP logs that were just rotten after 2 years of laying around.  Oh yeah, the resin by now should have started to harden.  Not nearly as messy, but you can still get sticky if you want. ;D

Stephen1

jkj, when my son the computer engineer gives me some software and a little education on how to shrink the photo's I will post some
Hopefully this week-end as he is home from school.
Steve
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

Snag

I cut up some 2 yr old (or older) white pine this weekend.  The lumber came out great, but it was the hardest sawing I have seen yet on my mill.  The 2' dia logs that had large knots were like cutting thru rock.  A lot harder than sugar maple.....  They werent all like that though.....

pineywoods

I cut mostly old syp, some blow-downs, some bug-killed, some lightening killed. I find old logs (or trees) are somewhat of a crap-shoot. One 6 months old may be worthless and another 2 or 3 years old perfectly fine. I haven't found any reliable way to tell except to put a sawblade to it.  Your idea of sawing a couple of sample logs is probably as good a way as you will find, but don't be surprised, I've taken some fine looking logs to the burn pile after the first few cuts.
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