cutting logs for my home

[bassfishin79]

I'm new here and this is my first post.  I am going to build a log home in the next few months and i was interested in cutting my own logs.  I have a good stand of yellow pine.  i was wanting to cut my logs and take them to this company near my house that has the machine to cut them to the shape i want.   I was interested in the half D shape.  Do i have them cut to shape green and have them kiln dried, or do I have them dried before they are shaped?

Dereck Evans

[Zeke]

First, let me say I'm no expert on well, anything. Just have them milled green. Don't worry about the idea of kiln drying them.  Without taking a very long time or using an exotic vacuum kiln, you can't kiln dry wood the thickness we are talking about here reliably.  There is a company in Charleston, WV that does use a vacuum kiln of some sort to kiln dry timbers. Here's their website if you are interested. http://www.sundriedwood.com   Now, if it were possible to get the timbers truly dry, you would want to mill them after they were dry.

Zeke

[bassfishin79]

i haven't completely decided on the size of logs i am gonna use.  Not real big though. 6 x 8 or 4 x 6 in 8 foot lengths.  would that size be easy to dry.
thanks for the reply

[Don P]

If I remember right Sundried is using RFV?

This is a link to a local kiln dried log manufacturer explaining their feelings about drying logs. They are good folks and do good work, I was over there picking up some wood today.

http://www.turmanloghomes.com/index.php?cat=122210041108388&nav=Top

Yes, if you go that route, you do dry before machining. If you shed dry first and then kiln dry, it would take more real time but less kiln time.

Nyle has a number of kilns at log home plants. I think PC Specialties built the kiln controls at Turmans...The presidents of both those companies hang out up on the drying and processing board  ;)