Milling Pine

JD350Cmark · March 21, 2004, 07:41:26 PM

Thanks guys for all the great info so far. Lots of reading to do on here, and for those of us with poor computer skills/knowledge it makes getting around in here a little slower.

I got 2 dumptruck loads of Pine delivered for free and I am thinking of milling it into 1/2" or 3/4" thick by 6" for inside ceiling or wall material. They range from 12" to 30" and are 16' long. I think I will T & G it or lap it on the router. When is the best time to do this? I like the way the bandsaw finish looks so I don't think I will plane it for looks. If I cut it all the same, it should all shrink the same, right; or should I mill it an 1/8" thick and then run it through the planer to get it all the same thickness? Are 1/2" stickers thick enough? I think it will turn out to be decent lumber, just hope I can process it correctly. Thanks, -Mark

FeltzE · March 22, 2004, 02:23:02 AM

JD,

I'd recommend cutting on the inch mark if cutting on a band mill. This will give you room to plane at least one side of the lumber to ensure uniform thickness when installing.

Lumber shrinks more alone the growth rings of a board than as opposed to the growth ring. Considering this a fully quarter sawn board will shrink less than a plane sawn board. It also accounts for the natural tendency for plane sawn lumber to cup when drying.

Knots are little wood galaxies...they shrink differently to often causing interesting changes to the profile of your lumber in the kiln. When dealing with knotty lumber it's very benificial to cut a bit wider than needed dry then re-edge your lumber or straight line rip the lumber to size prior to milling the T&G.

I would venture that most folks use 3/4 inch stickers. Remember you are trying to allow some free flow of air through the lumber stack for drying, any dead space will result in mold or stain. Use dry sticks to reduce sticker stain or shadow.

Eric

Fla._Deadheader · March 22, 2004, 03:48:10 AM

Just for some info, we just finished re-sawing a whack of Cypress. The bundles were banded and the wood was dry. The boards were a full 1". When we took them down to 3/8" thickness, I was amazed at how many boards became bowed.

  We have a customer that takes 3/16" pieces on a regular basis. Yesterday, we sawed some Brown Cedar for him. I started cutting at 3/16" and the boards went in all difections.

  We ended up sawing 1" boards, so they dry in a better condition. We can re-saw them later, for much better results.

  I showed pics of our re-saw attachment under sawmill's topics. We made it ourself, and that Cypress came out very even.

Norwiscutter · March 22, 2004, 04:59:12 AM

I have a hard time getting my T&G to sit flat against the wall if I don't at least surface one side of it. If I want to keep a roughsawn look, I would at least consider planeing the back side or sticking with just a lap. The boards that come out of the mill sometimes aren't as straight as they seam. You could probably get away with cutting at 3/4 inch without too much trouble. With pine it will depend mostly on the quality of the pine you are cutting and how much tension is in it. If it's some good pine, you could probably cut at 3/4 without too much trouble as long as you don't go wider than 6 inches.

JD350Cmark · March 22, 2004, 06:46:22 AM

So, I guess the best thing to do is mill it 1" thick in order to give me plenty of room to plane it and get it all the same. Yes, I am using a bandmill - good idea to mill on the inch mark, keeps the math simple. I have not got the accuset yet, should arrive any day. Will it help to put a few large beams on the stack or will it twist/coup anyway? -Mark

etat · March 22, 2004, 07:29:17 AM

And tie it down good!!! Them pine flooring I bought looks like from the rings it was cut pretty close to the inside of the tree. There's a big percentage of it that's cut with the grain kinda, and a big percentage of it that's cut crossways with the grain. When I got it what I carred upstairs I stickered and restacked and weighted down. I rebanded what I left downstairs. A couple of them boards I just laid down. They were quarter sawn, at least that's what I think. When I got em they were all straight, and almost no knots, all 16 foot long. Them quartersawn boards I laid down without banding or weighting, did a big loop de loop warping SIDEWAYS as they redried! . I've done put the flooring down upstairs. What I had weighted down didn't give me no problems.

Tom · March 22, 2004, 09:18:40 AM

Weight never hurt a thing.

I seldom cut anything less than one inch. Siding I cut on the inch mark to produce 7/8's boards because I don't want the extra weight on the wall and staying on an inch makes the math easier. Usually I cut a fat 4/4 and the reason is.....
Wood is a living thing. The stresses and grain and knots and wounds and scars and wetness and handling and all manner of things will attribute to it's final form. You can't say a tree will act a certain way, nor that a board will act a certain way. Most are fairly predictable but even a board can be different from one end to the other. Keeping the board thick enough to create your final product is the only choice you have. When you start skimping on thickness, you are throwing dice.

Treat your boards as if they were Fans at a ball game. They are as different as the people in the seats. Even if everybody wants hotdogs they might not want mustard. I have even run into a fellow that wanted butter on his hotdog. Every tree is different, even within the species. Every board is different, even from the same tree. If you try to use a "one size fits all" philosophy, You will find that a lot of your boards will not end up a good end-product. You have to always leave enough "kentucky windage" in every step to allow correction in the next.

Yes, I have cut 3/8 and 5/8 stuff on the sawmill but have lost a lot of product in the end. Sometimes I've just been lucky and gotten good results but I can't depend on that every time.

When I cut thin stock, I stack it with thin stickers, in narrow, tall stacks and weight it. Sometimes I have good luck because it dries slower. Sun is your worst enemy. Plenty of air movenment, your best friend.

JD350Cmark · March 22, 2004, 10:02:03 AM

Hey Tom,

You must have met my dad then. Small world, huh???

-Mark

Tom · March 22, 2004, 10:57:50 AM

???

JD350Cmark · March 25, 2004, 06:31:45 PM

Milled all of the 16 footers and stacked half of it with 3/4" X 3/4"ish stickers about 18" to 20" apart. Still have a load on the trailer to unload. I ended up with over 250 1X6's. (not sure on the board foot, still need to learn it) I guess not bad for free Pine, delivered, 7 running hours on the mill, a couple of skidsteer hours and about 2 days. Granted it varies throughout the country, what are some drying times before I can start to think about planing and T & G? I don't know much about the moister meters, is it something that may help me? Thanks, Mark