iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

So what to do with Aspen logs?

Started by 2StateTrigger, November 09, 2015, 12:09:37 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

2StateTrigger

Kinda wondering what I could do with a ton of Aspen logs. 
Molon Labe

OneWithWood

Big tooth makes great dimension lumber and ceiling t&g
make cants and sell to pallet mill
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Frickman

I used to leave it lay in the woods. Aspen has absolutely no value in my area. It came in handy for the ruffed grouse to use as drumming logs.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Firewoodjoe

Brings $130 a cord here to the Amish.

grassfed

I sell it mostly for pulp I get about $110 a cord here in NE vermont. I have sold logs to sawmills when they are asking for it. There are markets for veneer to make plywood. It all depends on what is going on when I cut it and how much trucking will cost. I have made some good dimensional lumber with it and when I test it against spruce and fir I find that it will bend more but break less. It makes the worst firewood in the world unless you can dry it AND store it in a dry area. It has a tendency to suck any moisture back into the wood. If it is not in contact with the ground it does not rot very quickly. It turns gray and seems to "case harden" in that it gets very much harder on the surface after it dries. It is tricky to saw and can warp quickly. A ton is not very much I sell 500+ tons a year and a 10 wheeler load is about 15-16 tons It weighs about 2.6 tones per cord in this area.
Mike

woodmills1

It makes nice wood for painting for inside trim boards.
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

Puffergas

Makes nice boards but I don't use it for 2x's because of poor nail holding.
Jeff
Somewhere 20 miles south of Lake Erie.

GEHL 5624 skid steer, Trojan 114, Timberjack 225D, D&L SB1020 mill, Steiger Bearcat II

Ljohnsaw

Quote from: grassfed on November 09, 2015, 04:39:47 PM
<<snip>>
It turns gray and seems to "case harden" in that it gets very much harder on the surface after it dries. It is tricky to saw and can warp quickly.
Quote from: Puffergas on November 09, 2015, 07:18:41 PM
Makes nice boards but I don't use it for 2x's because of poor nail holding.

Hmmm, I plan to use my Aspen for my cabin 2x floor because I heard that it was reasonably hard.  I'm nailing into pine joists so I think it should "hold" in my application.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

grassfed

Based on my experience it is easier to nail when it is still green. I did not have problems with it holding nails but the things that I built I used ring shank and or galvanised nails. It can split off the nail hole near the end of the board. If I was going to do a floor with it I would saw it and sticker it good then when it was dry I would drill and then nail. You have to be careful if you saw it because the boards on the outside of some logs have some tension in them and can really warp as soon as they are cut so expect to have some waste . You should put down a vapor barrier if it is going to be over dirt in a cabin; that would probably make too much moisture and you might start growing some mushrooms ;D.
Mike

Firewood dealer

A ton of Aspen logs??? Sounds like you only have about 400bft!..............Sorry  :D

Ljohnsaw

Quote from: grassfed on November 09, 2015, 08:26:15 PM
Based on my experience it is easier to nail when it is still green. I did not have problems with it holding nails but the things that I built I used ring shank and or galvanised nails. It can split off the nail hole near the end of the board. If I was going to do a floor with it I would saw it and sticker it good then when it was dry I would drill and then nail. You have to be careful if you saw it because the boards on the outside of some logs have some tension in them and can really warp as soon as they are cut so expect to have some waste . You should put down a vapor barrier if it is going to be over dirt in a cabin; that would probably make too much moisture and you might start growing some mushrooms ;D.
Thanks for the advice/heads-up!  This will be over a 10' high concrete daylight basement.  It will be an insulated floor (non-heated basement) but I might go ahead and put vapor barrier down just keep the moisture in the living quarters up a little.  I want a "rustic" look to the floor so I'm headed towards nails rather than screws.  My floor joists are 24" OC but the flooring is at a 45° angle (per engineer).  Would you think 2x6 to 2x8s need to be T&G or Lapped for that span (34") to remain stiff?
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

azmtnman

  I believe our geographical differences have us talking about 2 very different aspens. I see your looking to move to CO. That aspen is quaking leaf aspen and I believe it is a very different from the poplar-like aspen of the east. (correct me if I'm wrong guys)   
   Quaking leaf is a very soft wood. I haven't had the chance to saw any for lumber, but I do know that it's used for that. It is a favorite firewood (after juniper) here as it is clean burning. My fly-tying table is made of aspen and it is a very white wood with a sort of maple type grain. 
1983 LT 30, 1990 Kubota L3750DT, 2006 Polaris 500 EFI, '03 Dodge D2500 Cummins powered 4X4 long-bed crew cab, 1961 Ford backhoe, Stihl MS250, MS311 and MS661--I cut trees for my boss who was a Jewish carpenter!

starmac

Since you mentioned the colorado aspen, does anybody know what type of aspen is in the interior of Alaska, it does not look like what I used to see in Colorado, New mexico and Arizona.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

Puffergas

My Aspen may not be the same as yours. Worked great nailing aspen board to hemlock but after a Aspen 2 x 4 dried I could almost pull the nail out by hand. Otherwise I really like it. Was used for children's toys because of the low sliver threat. Glues well.
Jeff
Somewhere 20 miles south of Lake Erie.

GEHL 5624 skid steer, Trojan 114, Timberjack 225D, D&L SB1020 mill, Steiger Bearcat II

barbender

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Quaking Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America. The Quaking Aspen in New York is the same species as in MN, AK, CO, or AZ. The form changes some based on location and environment, but it's the same tree. In the Lake States, we also have the aforementioned Bigtooth Aspen, which is very similar to Quaking and they often grow together. At the mill, they're both just "Aspen".
Too many irons in the fire

azmtnman

Quote from: barbender on November 10, 2015, 07:45:13 PM
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Quaking Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America. The Quaking Aspen in New York is the same species as in MN, AK, CO, or AZ. The form changes some based on location and environment, but it's the same tree. In the Lake States, we also have the aforementioned Bigtooth Aspen, which is very similar to Quaking and they often grow together. At the mill, they're both just "Aspen".
Looking at Wikipedia you are correct! I always thought the quaking leaf aspen was strictly a Rocky Mt. tree. Everybody that visits us from back east thinks our aspens are birch.
1983 LT 30, 1990 Kubota L3750DT, 2006 Polaris 500 EFI, '03 Dodge D2500 Cummins powered 4X4 long-bed crew cab, 1961 Ford backhoe, Stihl MS250, MS311 and MS661--I cut trees for my boss who was a Jewish carpenter!

chester_tree _farmah

Don't Forget the Big Tooth. They seem to grow bigger faster and are healthy up here in my part of Maine.  ;D 
254xp
C4B Can-Car Tree Farmer
Ford 1720 4wd loader hoe

beenthere

Quote from: azmtnman on November 11, 2015, 09:02:09 AM
.................
  Looking at Wikipedia you are correct! I always thought the quaking leaf aspen was strictly a Rocky Mt. tree. Everybody that visits us from back east thinks our aspens are birch.

And "everybody" seems to think if it is green-needled evergreen, that it is a "pine". 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Rocky_Ranger

There are two small aspen sawmills down southwest of Durango, seem to be keeping pretty busy sawing.  Aspen makes a great floor; I always thought it was soft -and it is, but seen it hold up well.  Siding (interior) or T&G ceiling is nice too.  I have a friend in the business going to peel it and ship to the Pac NW.  Don't know if it will pencil out or not.  Lots of aspen on the GMUG NF waiting on a good idea.....
RETIRED!

redprospector

 

 
I made this ceiling out of the last Aspen I got into.  ;D
1996 Timber King B-20 with 14' extension, Morgan Mini Scragg Mill, Fastline Band Scragg Mill (project), 1973 JD 440-b skidder, 2008 Bobcat T-320 with buckets, grapple, auger, Tushogg mulching head, etc., 2006 Fecon FTX-90L with Bull Hog 74SS head, 1994 Vermeer 1250 BC Chipper. A bunch of chainsaws.

barbender

Quote from: azmtnman on November 11, 2015, 09:02:09 AM
Quote from: barbender on November 10, 2015, 07:45:13 PM
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Quaking Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America. The Quaking Aspen in New York is the same species as in MN, AK, CO, or AZ. The form changes some based on location and environment, but it's the same tree. In the Lake States, we also have the aforementioned Bigtooth Aspen, which is very similar to Quaking and they often grow together. At the mill, they're both just "Aspen".
Looking at Wikipedia you are correct! I always thought the quaking leaf aspen was strictly a Rocky Mt. tree. Everybody that visits us from back east thinks our aspens are birch.

  I would agree that the Aspen out west has a bit different of an appearance, it seems to be a little shorter and the bark a bit brighter white. I figured it was just a result of a different environment, but I've been wrong before  ;)
Too many irons in the fire

2StateTrigger

Molon Labe

beenthere

Like everybody should know that one...   ;D

http://www.fs.usda.gov/gmug

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Decked

around here, it's just called "Beaverwood" :)

2StateTrigger

Quote from: beenthere on November 12, 2015, 03:19:21 PM
Like everybody should know that one...   ;D

http://www.fs.usda.gov/gmug

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests

BeenThere, I didnt know that, thus my question.....As you can tell I'm a newbie trying to learn.....Thx
Molon Labe

Thank You Sponsors!