Sawing white pine

[Knute]

I am thinking about sawing some white pine for a shed. Will I have much of a problem with pitch buildup? Just looking for some tips those with experience. Thanks.

[fireman05]

I saw white pine quite frequently.  It is a softer wood and easily sawn/processed.  Stack/sticker right off the saw to prevent staining.  Haven't had problems with pitch build up.  If you do, put a little dish soap into your water for the blade lube syatem if you have that feature on your mill.

[Chuck White]

White Pine is my most commonly sawn logs.

If you saw the logs soon after the tree is cut you will have minimal pitch build-up.

When you're sawing logs that have been down for a while, or standing dead and the bark is falling off, then you will have pitch build-up.

If you have problems with pitch, put soap in your water lube jug.  I use "Mean Green", it's like "Simple Green" only it comes from the Dollar Store.  About a cup full to 5 gallons of water.

[Ohio_Bill]

White Pine is my favorite wood to saw, very little pitch, no stress, knots are tight and don't fall out. Makes good siding.

[bandmiller2]

Knute,white pine is usally delightfull to cut once in a wile you will get one with knots and grain that will give you fits but not often.I lube my band with oil/kero mix applied with a wick no drip just a sheen on the band no buildup of pitch.If you cut freash green pine check the ends of the logs for grit and small stones they tend to stick to the DanG pitch and will dull the band.I cut green but prefer to let the logs sit long enough til the bark loosens and I strip it off.Frank C.

[Jaybolicious]

Good point Bandmiller.  I let my logs sit for around a year and the bark falls right off.  I get hundreds of more bdft per band without that bark on it.  There may be some bugs in the first outer inch of the log, but never have I found them deep enough in the wood to cause a problem.  If you have a mill like mine, a manual 21 hp, you may notice the blade rise on really big knots, so if you slow down a bit on the really big knots you'll have no problem. 

[bushhog920]

I use pinesol or pine cleaner in my water you can use more or less depending how sappy the logs are. diesel/kero not too good for the belts on the bandwheels. must be nice to let the logs lay around for year, here in alabama with the worms and termites might not have any logs left.

[Chuck White]

I use water with a cup of Mean Green, mixed 4-5 gallons water with a cup of MG added.

On the other side of my mill is a "car" windshield washer tank with the electric pump, and a hose that runs right along with the water/soap mix line.  I have kerosene and oil mix in the tank.

I don't use the windshield washer much, only when I get a lot of pitch build-up when sawing a log that's been down for a while.

I also only use the oil/kero mix after the blade exits the log/cant.   I move to the end of the mill for cleaning.

[Tim]

Its coming to the end of the season where you would have to worry about the stain so much in your lumber Knute but... it's be better to sticker it as you go anyway. If you have some cedar kicking around, use cedar sticks, it prevents sticker burn.