What to do with white pine in the midwest?

[MrTjack]

Have some very large white pine trees (~75k bd/ft) some trees over 1,000 bd/ft here in southeastern mn... No where to go with them, any ideas?

[Gary_C]

If they are over 18" diameter, no.

[Fedge]

Look for a log furniture maker or chainsaw carvers. We log furniture guys love big slabs and chainsaw carvers are always looking for big logs. The carvers I know like to use pine. Too bad your not a little closer.

Geoff

[hacknchop]

Are they sound and free of red rot,if they are they can problably be sawn into 8x14 timbers for timber framing purposes.

[chester_tree _farmah]

None buys White Pine out there? Michigan? Are they mostly solid number 1#. 75k? Or do you mean 7500 bd/ft?

[beenthere]

Probably means 75 mbf, or 75,000 bdft.

Might look into one of the emerging biofuel operations that the feds are financing all around us for big bucks. They don't have an inkling where the material will come from, but that doesn't stop them from granting money to build the plants.
For awhile there was one being touted for LaCrosse, WI at a hospital. But it was very ill conceived by an engineering firm that had no idea what was needed or what was going to have to happen. If I recall correctly, designed for burning a dozen trailer vans per day of biofuel, but designed a small receiving center that could only unload one van at a time with storage capacity of two van loads.  :
Last I heard, it wasn't going to be built and the hospital was using by-products from the neighboring brewery for some fuel needs. Maybe that is some off-gassing as a result of drinking the beer ??   ;D

[Woodhauler]

Ran into this same problem in 1998 in west virginia! What  white pine that we cut and the over sized stuff in the pulp mill i bought and sent home to robbins lumber. Seemed odd that know one wanted pine logs down south.

[tj240]

if they are decent logs not junk canada buys white pine, lots of mills up there for decent money. they dont like anything shorter than 12 feet tho, really like 16s and 14s. check up there before you grind it up

[BargeMonkey]

 The mill that buys all my logs told me the other day no one out this way is touching white pine right now, first because its summer and it will blue mold, and the price has crashed because the chinese have a surplus right now. Your best bet is to try and find a local source, someone making slabs or custom furniture.

[MrTjack]

75mbf correct. Almost every tree would be over 18" in diameter most the way up.
No one in the area seems to want anything to do with it in the area. I would not have a clue where to ship them to Canada 14' 16' 18'  logs without much taper would not be a problem but the shipping would probably eat all profit. As for being sound I couldn't tell you although I cut some around the same size in the area a few years back very nice white wood.
I'm aware of the summertime staining.. Have had no where to go with these in the last year just trying to come up with a few ideas.
That boiler to heat the hospital it is operational! A sawmill we sell to chips all their slabs and sends them to Gunderson.

[beenthere]

MrTjack
I stand corrected. I was informed just this past winter that it was a no-go.
Thanks for the update.
Here is a link.

wood chip boiler in hospital

So have you checked out chipping the white pine, and what is its value if so?

[craigc]

I've been cutting white pine.  We are selling it as pallet material also selling some logs to pallet mills. Around here the pallet mills are starving for logs,  the crane mat business is putting the hurts on them.

[barbender]

There are markets in northern MN, it's nothing great but there are mills buying big white pine. Hedstrom lumber in Grand Marais is one, but there are probably mills in Wisconsin that are closer to SE MN. I know we had some sales where we had red pine logs going on rail cars, on to a mill in WI. I don't know which one it was, and that was red pine. Check with the DNR forestry to see if there are any timber frame outfits buying for timbers. There has to be someone if you scratch around enough.

[jdament]

Biewer lumber in Prentice WI will take random length white pine up to 20 inches.  Or you can cut it into pulp and take it to New Page in Wisconsin Rapids.  All the pulp mills in Wi are desperate for any pine right now and paying very good.