Flat sawn or Quartersawn

[thmartin]

Hello Guys,
I need some help. I'm kind of new to the lumber making. But I got a sawmill about a year ago and I had always flat sawn oak. But it seems to always cup. I'm about to start cutting some pine trees to make a sawmill shed/shop and wanted to ask the best way to cut it before I waste a lot of wood. I have always air died my wood. And wanted to get started so it will be ready by spring. Any help would be great.

[Okrafarmer]

Welcome, thmartin!

So far I have not had much trouble with flat-sawn oak cupping, but I have not dried a whole lot of it. It may differ from species to species and with the specific condition of the log, and the methods used to dry it. Quarter-sawing the oak is more work, but may help it not to move as much when it dries.

Pine usually does not cup much if you sticker-stack it well.

Where do you live, and what kind of sawmill do you have?

[WoodenHead]

Welcome to the forum thmartin.  I cut mostly pine and I almost always flat saw (except for the odd board that is quarter-sawn in the process).  I'm assuming you'll need timbers and lumber for the sheds you are building?

In terms of the oak, how long are you letting it dry?  Oak can take a long time to dry and should be dried more slowly.  If it is allowed to dry too fast, you can get a variety of things happening. 

For the little bit of hardwoods I have sawn, I usually put the hardwoods on the bottom of the stack and pile a number of layers of pine on top for weight.  The pine usually dries faster so I end up replacing the pine layers several times before the hardwood is dry.  That might not be the right way do things, but it does seem to help keep the hardwood flat.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, thmartin.

For Pine framing lumber, I would just saw it and never split the pith.  The center splits always center the pith.


 
This will be 2X6's


 
And here is a whack of 2X4's.

[WDH]

I agree with Magicman.  Quartersawing oak is worth it, but not pine.

[drobertson]

MM, I was wondering how the rift sawn boards on the outer quadrants behave after drying? In the past I would make fast 2X's this way but ended up with many of the rift boards to crook a bit.  david

[isawlogs]

 you may get some crook out of logs with some internal stress but the time saved by sawing through and through in pine for construction lumber for a shed is well worth it. Those peices that do have a little crook in them can be cut shorter and used under windows for short studs. Or if you don't want to use any crooked lumber , they make really good kindling....   ;D 

[sawmiller7753]

I quartered all the oak on my trip to Ohio.  Just love the rays you get.  I quarter pine if I am going to use as furniture grade and flat if building for studs.  I love straight lines:)

[Magicman]

MM, I was wondering how the rift sawn boards on the outer quadrants behave after drying?

No problem with SYP, unless the odd tree had massive internal stress from growing beside an opening, etc. which made it "limb unbalanced".   Even then, as isawlogs mentioned above, any building construction needs shorts.  You loose far more 2X4's to knots than warp, but even then they are used for shorts.


 
How about this unstacked whack of 2X4's  ???   ;D

[thmartin]

 Thanks Guys. I appreciate the info. From now on I'll quarter saw my oak and  flat saw my pine. I'm beginning to think the the cupping was cause by the heat in the summer drying. But I'm about to start dropping some pine trees and start slicing. You guys have been very helpful . And for those who asked I have a Timberking 1220 and just got a New Holland 1510. Hopefully make things a little easier. But I'm really excited to get the sawmill/shop build. It's going to be a challenge.