Replies

1. 
   Joe Sullivan | May 12, 2007 06:15am | #1

   You must quickly seal the ends, and shade would be better.  Aging will not improve them.

   Joe

2. 
   user-114258 | May 12, 2007 01:53pm | #2

   Hi,

   Yes sealing the ends will prevent checking and splitting and maximize the amount of usable lumber you will end up with.

   Proper end sealers are wax emulsion based.  A company called Anchorseal sells a good one.  Also Bailey's sells one.  You can either spray or brush them on.  Soon after felling is the key.  If your logs are low grade and you are just having fun you do not need to seal the ends.  Your boards will just be shorter by 3 to12" because of splitting.

   Oak keeps well in the log.  Here are a few other options to consider for milling the lumber. 

   1: Find a local portable sawmill owner and have them mill for you. 

   2: Look into something called and Alaskan mill.  (Can find it at Bailey's online and other places on the net.)  Essentially it is an attachment for your chainsaw which allows you to rip boards.  Of course kerf and waste are issues with this method.

   Lastly, I recommend getting some training or at least reading the OSHA web site on proper logging techniques from front to back twice before felling any more trees.  Improper logging techniques are one of the quickest ways to get killed!

   Max

    

    

    

    

   
   

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   Edited 5/12/2007 7:22 am ET by Max Sawdust

3. 
   Jfrostjr | May 12, 2007 04:14pm | #3

   I tried what you are thinking about - and came away dissapointed.

   First, I could not believe how HEAVY even the short logs are. I can't imagine 6' or 7'. These are a real problem to manhandle and control on a BS table.

   Second, I was disapointed to find only a very small portion of the log was heartwood at this stage of growth.

   Good luck.

   Frosty

1. 
   edsea | May 12, 2007 07:47pm | #4

   Thanks for all the responses.  Would a few coats of latex paint (or a penetrating deck type stain/paint) help to seal the log ends--- this would allow quicker sealing than trying to find the specific products you mentioned.   This wood is heavy so whatever I do I will have to have manageable lengths.  I did see a portable sawmill setup on a property near me so I will check that out also.  Thanks again.   Ed

1. 
   Joe Sullivan | May 12, 2007 08:49pm | #5

   A coupld of coats of shellac will be almost as good as the wax stuff. Just paint on some zinsser out of the can.

   Edited 5/12/2007 2:00 pm ET by Joe Sullivan

2. 
   mapleman | May 13, 2007 07:33am | #6

   ed,

   Latex will work fine, and will be a better product to use if the logs are going to be kept outside while waiting to be cut.

   The live oak is going to be tough to cut. This oak is extremely hard, much more so than the regular red and white oaks.

   Lee

1. 
   oldusty | May 14, 2007 05:06pm | #11

    Hi Lee ,

              I have to agree with you about the Live Oak . I've had some in the firewood pile that still is growing leaves after 3 years .

                        dusty

4. 
   mike4244 | May 13, 2007 04:41pm | #7

   Paint the ends with any paint you have, double coat. Debark ,get off the ground and cover until you can saw the logs. While it is possble to resaw 7'-0" x12" logs, better to cut them down to 4'-0" long. If they are knot free and straight grained,you usually can tell this if the bark is not spiraled in the length of the cut, then you can slab the log with steel wedges and a mall. Slabbing the log takes some work, but will get longer lengths down to managable sizes. Saw while green if possible, sticker the boards and cover the top. Air dry a year per inch of thickness is standard. Then move inside and sticker again. Depends on where you live, dry anywhere from 10% emc to 6% before maching.

   mike

   mike

5. 
   JeffHeath | May 13, 2007 09:15pm | #8

   edsea

   After all is said and done, you are about to find out that Oak logs (and many, many other species) are not worth milling when they are 8" to 12" in diameter.  Those trees are very young, and the rings are very tight.  The boards you get will move a tremendous amount during the drying process, and you will probably be left with a rather time consuming and expensive pile of firewood.

   In my sawyering experiences, I learned early on that young trees aren't worth the effort, as very little useable wood remains for a woodworker when they are dry.  I no longer bother with anything less than 18" (cherry) or 20" for all other species.  In the last 10 years, I milled approx. 30,000 bf, which is not alot at all, but still enough to discover what I am telling you is correct.

   If you're in it for the experience, than forge ahead.  If you're in it for the wood, than find a larger log.

   Jeff

   PS  There is a fantastic forum for sawing and drying lumber at http://www.woodweb.com.  Their archives are easy to access, and there are many discussions regarding this very topic, if you do a search.  Good luck.

    

1. 
   mapleman | May 13, 2007 09:44pm | #9

   Jeff,

   As a side note, and not to hijack this chap's thread - what are you doing with all that lumber, fella? Do you sell it, or are you one of those hopeless wood hoarders (like myself) that keep it all in a barn somewhere? Reason I ask, I am about to order 200 bf of cherry for a couple of kitchens that I am doing back to back. I would rather help a fellow knot head than the local lumberyard. Just thought I would ask...

   Lee

1. 
   JeffHeath | May 14, 2007 11:18pm | #13

   Lee

   What's up there, fella!?  I have been hoarding the lumber until quite recently, using what I mill.  I have had several sell-off's of lumber over the past few years, and have listed them both here and at Woodcentral.  I sold about 3000 bf of red and white oak about 2 years ago, some to Highfigh from this site.

   I'm presently in the process of adding sawing and drying as an additional profit center to my business, but I'm not ready yet.  I wish to get everything set up before dealing in any volume.  As I stated in another post, I have good access to logs, and will be purchasing a larger swing mill for milling the logs this month.  In my opinion, a swing mill is ideal for milling logs for use in woodworking, because quartersawing or flat sawing can be done without turning the log.  Some of the larger logs can weigh in excess of 3000 lbs..

   Anyway, not wishing to hijack also, I'm not ready to serve your hardwood needs yet, but I will be by the end of the year, and I'll post when I am.  I just got sick and tired of seeing quality maple, walnut and cherry going for over $5 per bf, and my neighbor has been hacking the stuff up into firewood for two years now. 

   Talk to you soon.

   Jeff

    

1. 
   mapleman | May 15, 2007 03:00am | #14

   Jeff,

   Sounds fascinating. Sawmilling is one of those things I find to be incredibly interesting, although I don't own a mill. I have read up on it extensively, and almost even bought a small circular mill a few years back. I changed my mind after researching what was available around me (mostly oak and so. yellow pine). Not that there is anything wrong with either, but they are both readily available for pennies on the dollar near here.

   Please keep me posted on the milling business. Most of the kitchens I do are maple, and a few are cherry. I am buying about 100-200 bf a month on average. Finding a small mill that cuts and dries their own wood would be a plus, in my opinion. It is rare to find a cabinetmaker sawing logs nowadays.

   Good luck,

   Lee

2. 
   user-114258 | May 14, 2007 03:49am | #10

   Jeff, I do not agree with your 20" rule.

   Sure I do not think he should mill it on a Resaw but what the heck.  20" or less not worth milling...Holly Cow!!!!  Are you milling with a chain saw?  If so that could be the reason for this statement. (Real wide kerf.)

   With a  bandmill  you can make a nice stack of flat sawn with a little QS Oak in 3-6" widths out of trees over 8" at the top of the stick.  I know fire wood is high and all but geeez....

   In my opinion straight branch-less sticks over 8" at the top end of the stick is well worth milling. (Yes you get waste, but that is the way it goes when working raw materials.) 

   No need to debark Oak, for the sake of rot, at least Red and White. I have no experience with live.

   As far as forums on logging/drying and processing go, I find WOODWEB full of good info but STUFFY.  Try the FORESTRYFORUM for lots of good info on the subject.

   Max

   Edited 5/14/2007 7:29 am ET by Max Sawdust

1. 
   JeffHeath | May 14, 2007 11:08pm | #12

   We'll agree to just disagree, then.  The wood from an 8" to 12" log is too close to the pith, is loaded with early wood, and after it dries, typically has many checks and splits in it. 

   Looks pretty when it's milled, but works like hell after it's dried. 

   I have a bandmill, and am in the process of cranking up the milling business that I presently do.  I have great access to large logs, as my new neighbor is in the tree cutting business, and I have another good friend who is an excavator (I just got a 35" cherry 12' long from him), and I'm in the process of purchasing a swing mill.

   Most of the small logs that I have milled have yielded very little in the way of useable lumber compared to the amount of work they require.  If your results are different, then I take my hat off to you.

   Keep sawing and smiling.

   Jeff

1. 
   user-114258 | May 15, 2007 03:35pm | #15

   Jeff,

   I hear what you are saying!  When I am buying logs, I do not buy buy anything under 18" in Red Oak.  But if it is a logging job I am doing myself, I will mill down to 8" tops.  Yes the work and waste ratio is higher.

    

   Max

6. 
   kenshep | May 18, 2007 11:49pm | #16

   Live takes a long time to dry.  The primary use of it was as keels and ribs in wooden ships.  This eliminated the need to dry it prior to use.  It also tends to bend and twist as it grows making it tough to mill.  Use I may have for it for are for mallet heads and plane bodies.  I have a live oak 'querkus virgiana' in my back yard with a fair bit of trimming to do on it.  It is extremely heavy when green.