Do I give up?

[championyouk]

Spray them with Borate or brush it on -- they need to be treated to kill the bugs.

'Blue Stained Pine' and 'Bullet Pine' can sell well in the right environment and presented well.

Please show us pics -- hard to say what 'black' is or why it's that way without seeing the pic.

CustomerSawyer is 100% right (and sawn more lumber than most other 10 people):  air movement, air movement, air movement

I've milled old pine logs that were very stained, so much so they were marbled with it and they were AWESOME!  Dried them right and made all manner of beautiful things including window trim, doors, tables etc.

So, my guess is you need to treat the wood ASAP to kill the bugs, mill the logs asap in sellable widths and dry them PROPERLY (outside, on the shady side of a building in the summer, with LOTS of air movement running through the stacks both through the sides and the ends!  Only cover the top like a roof and sticker that above the last layer too.  I air dry all my pine and never have an issue even with beetles trying my patience ;)

Yellowhammer knows what he's talking about so I agree, watch his channel but remember he's mostly milling hardwoods so may do things a little different than what you might do milling softwoods (just bear that in mind).

Show the pics!

Also, you ain't getting rich owning a sawmill except maybe rich in lumber and sawdust.

I don't need to get rich id just like to make some money with it honestly man. The gold mine thing was just what my uncle said who has one up the road. He owned a power company and sold it so milling wasn't his priority as much as he likes to think.
I'm not very good at the site yet. When I try to add photos here I just end up reposting them to my album I think. I have pictures of a fresh tree I did today. Honestly a few of the people who have replied hit it on the head. Most people just assume I'm dumb and don't sticker wood lol 

[Magicman]

Borate products such as Tim-Bor are used to target Powder Post Beetles which should be of no concern with softwood species.  Hardwood and especially the sapwood can be very susceptible to PPB damage.  Oak, Ash, Sycamore, and Poplar are examples that need Borate as it is sawed.

Your lumber probably also has Ambrosia Beetles already which will leave small holes with a pyramid of sawdust as they exit the lumber as it dries.  Don't be concerned about them because heat/sterilizing is the only way to kill them.  They can not live in dry lumber so they are exiting.

[beenthere]

When I try to add photos here I just end up reposting them to my album I think.

Your pics are in your gallery, and you can access your gallery easily where you will see where you can link them directly to your posts. 

When you click on the blue highlighted bar, you will see in the heading "my gallery". Go there and get your pics. Give a shout if any of those steps don't work for you or you run into an obstacle. 

[championyouk]

Borate products such as Tim-Bor are used to target Powder Post Beetles which should be of no concern with softwood species.  Hardwood and especially the sapwood can be very susceptible to PPB damage.  Oak, Ash, Sycamore, and Poplar are examples that need Borate as it is sawed.

Your lumber probably also has Ambrosia Beetles already which will leave small holes with a pyramid of sawdust as they exit the lumber as it dries.  Don't be concerned about them because heat/sterilizing is the only way to kill them.  They can not live in dry lumber so they are exiting.

I'm going to have to look into those chemicals. I definitely come across some of the little pyramids with the holes. 

[OlJarhead]

I didn't know Borate wouldn't work on pine borders!  Home Defense max does but only once out of the wood.  Drying it fast has been the best for me

[barbender]

 Borate will work on anything that eats wood, to my knowledge. 

 20 Mule Team borax detergent mixed into hot water to dissolve it well always worked good for me. The only problem is it leaches back out of the wood if it gets wet.

[beenthere]

Home Defence .ax dies but only once out of the wood.

what is this doing?

[Ianab]

I think you need to get borate on the wood BEFORE the bugs move in. Unless it's applied as pressure treatment it only treats the surface layer of the wood. This is still useful because any bug eggs that are then laid near the surface get poisoned as soon as they hatch and start munching. If the bugs are already deep in the wood, not much use. Then you need heat treatment to cook them. 

[customsawyer]

I went and looked at your gallery. Those boards don't look to bad to me as far as black or blue stain. They have a little but not much. The small holes in the would is ambrosia beetles. They will leave as the wood dries. They don't like it when the lumber dries much below 30 percent. That big piece of fish bait will mostly be on the jacket boards and not much to worry about either. The only other bug that will get in pine is a termite. Don't know if you need to worry about that or not. I've never had PPB get in my pine.

[OlJarhead]

Beenthere -- lots of typos (dang phone).  Meant to say Home Defense Max DOES work on the surface.

I had some live edge stuff with bark on the edges still that pine boring beetles got into.  The wood dried, they didn't come out, brought it home (unbeknownst to me that they were in there) and my son-in-law said "what's that sound?" sure enough, they were finally eating there way out with plenty of chaff.  I sprayed with with HDM and it killed ALL of them.

Most of the wood was fine, I just needed to trim it back from the edges and lost the live edge.

That's only happened once to me and I later learned that I was milling in the perfect season for the bugs to lay there eggs.  I was also told never to leave pine slash piles in April or May in my area as they will move in. 

[Hilltop366]

Greetings from Nova Scotia!

A link on posting photos https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=100194.0

[terrifictimbersllc]

Wait.....  Is @YellowHammer the guy on Hobby Hardwoods?  I looked at profiles and they don't make that obvious, but I'm a blockhead, so it needs to be made obvious.  Both are in Alabama, so that's a big clue.

Yeah, it's me.  Since I'm a naturally shy, quiet and "blend into the crowd" kind of guy, I get embarrassed by all the Paparazzi that follows me and Chip everywhere.  Thanks for watching my videos.  

We can't believe it either.

[GAB]

I see you been a member for 10 years.
And have spent 19 minutes on The Forum.  :(  

I have a sawmill, but do not sell lumber.
I have sold logs to the sawmill. I have a tractor with a 3 pt winch and I use to cut down trees and sell logs.
But that is hard to do too, if cutting a truck load. Those mills like the logs fresh and when I was cutting logs and working a full time job, does not leave much time for the wife.
There is a member that trucks his own logs to the sawmill. That would work better for me. Cut 10 trees and haul it to the mill.
But there are members that sell lumber and make money at it.
Just like all walnut trees are worth $10,000.  :

I signed up when I was enquiring about sawmills but yes i am new. I've cut tractor trailer loads of spruce and sent them to the mill. They give 1500 dollars for 15 cords. I figured the sawmill should make a few dollars more.

Per the computer (when I typed in cord to board feet conversion factor) I got 1 Cord = 1535.99999993911 Board Feet.
So if my math is correct that equates to .0651 canadian $'s per board feet or approx. .0475 US $'s per bdft.
Does that pay for the maintenance and depreciation on the machinery to harvest it?
GAB

[barbender]

No way 1500 board feet will come out of a cord. 500 is the standard estimate.

[ladylake]

Doing the math there would be 1536 bf if in a cord if there was no slabs, no saw kerf and no air gap between the logs. Around here it's 500 bf per cord or close.   Steve

[Ventryjr]

Maybe try some of the better stained boards to a local auction house and auction them on consignment. That way your name isn't on the sale. Some guy gets a good deal on lumber for a chicken coop and you get 1/2 what it should be with, but it's better than nothing.  Not to mention it puts money back in your pocket to keep moving forward.  I don't saw for income. It's a hobby for me. But I did under estimate the amount of effort it takes to go from tree to 2x4.  4 years in it's been a lot of learning. Good luck and keep investing back into equipment.  It pays off in the long run. Even used stuff. 

[Douglassawdust]

Borate will work on anything that eats wood, to my knowledge.

20 Mule Team borax detergent mixed into hot water to dissolve it well always worked good for me. The only problem is it leaches back out of the wood if it gets wet.

Ive also had good success with borate-based treatment (Tim-bor) to get some wood munching beetle/insect colonies under control over the years. The carpenter ants & carpenter bees don't like it either. I treated several thousand bdft (hardwood, spruce and pine) both sides and edges right before stickering stacks. It added some additional expense and handling work but it seemed like a necessary step for my situation and was effective for remedial treatment as well as preventing further infestation.

[longtime lurker]

Use regular borax - disodium octoborate tetrahydrate (and hey I typed that from memory) - mixed with Boric Acid. You want about 2/3rds borax to 1/3 boric acid by weight.

Dissolve both in water until you have a saturated solution

(( And check the borax is that chemical composition because some of the EU compliant borates are different and not as soluble ))

Borax kills pretty much everything that chomps on wood.
Boric acid is an antifungal and will help with black stain and mould.

Keep sawing, perfect your craft, keep the quality up and the lead times down, and work will find you. It just doesn't happen overnight 

[burdman_22]

I can't believe this thread is three pages long and there aren't any pictures of anything...

[moodnacreek]

Attractive pine lumber, air dried no fans etc., Is cut from live trees felled and sawmilled in the fall and winter. That is what everyone told me when i started. Why is this not offered to beginners here?

[barbender]

I don't know- why didn't you offer it, Mood?

[moodnacreek]

I don't know- why didn't you offer it, Mood?

I am still a new member and expect you old guys to cover the basics .

[chet]

After being here for 6 years and nearly 5000 posts, I think ya lost da new guy defense.     :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Moodnacreek you ain't no greenhorn. We only got room for one old greenhorn here! ;D You coulda chimed in.

[AndyVT]

I had a lot of white pine logs that sat in an unstickered pile for 3 years. The bark had sloughed off and the beetles had been working on them. Nonetheless since I had just gotten my mill I decided to practice cutting them. Some of the logs had bore holes pretty deep in the wood but quite a few logs were undamaged after removing the slabs. I sawed them all into boards and advertised them for what they were and priced them accordingly. Amazingly I sold them all and folks were thrilled to get cheap locally sawn boards. You just never know how things will turn out till you give it a shot. They were all also well dried which folks like.