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logs cracking

Started by xlogger, August 04, 2015, 04:25:49 PM

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xlogger

Is the best time of the year to get logs during the colder months? I mainly get some logs to slab up and most of the time they have been cut a week or so before I get them. I coat the ends as soon as I get them home but most have some cracks starting. I want to get a few ahead but most logs I get are not fresh cut. Then sometimes its a few weeks before I get around to them. I'm mainly talking about oaks, walnut, ash and maple.
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Glenn1

After the log has been sitting for a couple or three days, it certainly can start to check.  My advice is to have the logs cut an extra 6" so you can trim them.  Then put on the anchorseal.  I gave my logger 5 gallons of anchorseal and he was very nice and willing to paint the logs while in the field.  I'm not sure if all loggers will be so accomodating.  Maybe I just got lucky.

I don't know the answer about what time of the year to cut.  I'd like to hear the answer too.
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sandsawmill14

logs will definitely last longer when cut after the sap goes down :)
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beenthere

Don't think the sap has much to do with it. Neither up nor down. 

Winter with less drying air, and cold temps for less stain are the reason for winter time cutting and keeping logs.

Some end checking can come from growth stress that is relieved when the tree is cut and log is bucked. It is not all from drying out of the end grain.
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Cazzhrdwd

Winter is a great time to cut but lumber orders come all year long. As others have said, cut the logs six inches over.

I'm not using Anchor seal because it is so expensive, I'm just using oil based paint, we'll see how it does. Logs are only sitting 1-3 weeks.
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xlogger

I've seen some cracks that 6" will not take care of. I was just thinking that maybe I would try to stock up more when the sap drops.
Timberking 2000, Turbo slabber Mill, 584 Case, Bobcat 773, solar kiln, Nyle L-53 DH kiln

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

The issue with storage of end coated logs is threefold.  First, chemical changes occur within the log that leads to color change and the risk of sticker stain when drying.  Second, stored logs lose strength.  For example, 90 days of storage of red oak logs in the summer increase surface checking in the lumber about 20 times.  Third,  Insect and fungal damage is also a risk, especially after four weeks

There are also risks of end checking, as you know; this risk is high after just a day or a few days.  Early end coating does stop checking, if put on thick enough.  Large end checks are due to stress in the tree and not drying, so end coating does not help prevent stress or growth stress cracks.

The best storage technique is heavy sprinkling with cold water.  Use about 2" of rain equivalent each day.  Wet the ends and faces.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

Kingmt

Sorry to hijack hijack.

You saying you spray the whole board down every day?

ETA: After reading more I believe you ment the logs & not the boards as I assumed before.
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YellowHammer

It sounds overly simple, but the best way to prevent serious end cracking is to not buy logs that have signs of cracking in the first place, especially ones due to internal stress, whenever possible.  These cracks, especially in some hardwoods, like cherry, will propagate many feet into the logs whether sealed or not, and will greatly devalue, and in some cases, kill the log. 

Cracking due to end drying is a whole different animal, and can be controlled reasonably well with sealer and timing.  I try not to buy and stockpile logs ahead more than a couple weeks of when they will be sawn, try to buy them long, then buck them to length and seal them just a few days ahead of sawing.  I buy a lot of Anchorseal, it's about $80 per 5 gallons, which is not much compared to paying for high value species of logs costing several thousand $$ per load. 

I have a buddy who rolls his logs into a pond, and says they will keep for many months that way.  I've never tried it.   
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GeneWengert-WoodDoc

A coating like Anchorseal applied correctly and applied to a freshly cut end will prevent virtually all drying related end cracks (but not growth stress cracks).

This means with proper coating that you can save perhaps 6" log length, so the second and third logs in the tree will be closer to the butt of the tree, meaning slightly larger in diameter increasing the lumber yield.

The sap does not go down into the roots during the wintertime.  The moisture in the tree is that same throughout the year.  Less cracking in winter is because the wood dries more slowly when cold.  Also, the humidity is roughly the same throughout the year, so wintertime is just as dry as summer.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

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