nice pine log.....

JamieT · July 29, 2014, 01:12:43 PM

Picked up this sweet pine the other day. 24 inches wide, guy limbed it out and loaded my trailer. Got 2 8ft logs that are 24x24x8 before it started to taper, and even with the taper still got a bunch of nice straight logs! Best part....it was FREE!! 8)

JamieT · July 29, 2014, 01:19:37 PM

flipping this bad boy proved to be difficult 2 hooks and the tractor,got it turned!

Magicman · July 29, 2014, 01:33:05 PM

Those straight no taper Pine logs are what sawing dreams are made of. ;D

JamieT · July 29, 2014, 01:48:47 PM

yes sir magicman! These are what i enjoy sawing. I enjoy all of em, but the bigger the better if you ask me!! I had to take the stops off to trim it down. Also bent a stop turning it! Ive been wanting to beef up the stops anyways, now i have a reason to lol!

thecfarm · July 29, 2014, 06:33:21 PM

Those bigs one do turn hard on our manual mills.

drobertson · July 29, 2014, 07:08:40 PM

That's a big one for sure! makes for lots of flipping and edging as well. but well worth the effort at the end of the day.

Magicman · July 29, 2014, 07:30:43 PM

I love those big'uns. ;D

goose63 · July 29, 2014, 09:11:25 PM

That Woodland sure looks gooooooood cutten that there big ol log 8) 8) 8)
and free is frosting on the cake

francismilker · July 29, 2014, 10:49:09 PM

I'm not in pine log country but have recently been given some "nuisance" trees that folks planted 30 years ago and wanted them removed. They're 20+ inches in diameter and they're stacked by the mill awaiting my leg to heal from a 4th July injury. (atv stupidity!)

Problem is, I don't really know how to cut them. I'm an ERC miller. I cut some pine 2x4's last year and was mighty proud of myself. They could ALL pass for a longbow now after being carefully stacked to dry. Not sure if I cut them wrong or dried them wrong but I don't want to waste several hundred bdft of potentially good cabin framing lumber by cutting the logs improperly.

Lots of learning to do for me. ;D

Magicman · July 29, 2014, 10:53:25 PM

It sounds like you split the pith which will guarantee crooked lumber. :-\

5quarter · July 29, 2014, 11:23:02 PM

Most of the Pine I cut would be considered junk pine by those in pine country. Knots over an inch will warp a 2x4. I saw all my pine in the largest dimensions that the log will give me. I have about 20 2x16" drying right now, not that I need 2x16s, but I will resaw them into whatever dimensions I need when I need them. I also saw all my dimension lumber at a full 9/4. once dry, I can resaw them and they are dead straight and stay that way. Also, I will often leave a 5x5 in the center of really junky logs. after a year or two, I can resaw them to full 4x4 and they stay put.

BCsaw · July 30, 2014, 02:00:40 AM

Nice log there Jamie. You mentioned that you were going to "beef" up the stops. Without seeing the stops or how they are incorporated into the mill, you might take a long look at their attachment point. Sometimes strengthening one item can cause the extra stress or abuse to be transferred to other components. The ole chain reaction. The stops may be weaker for a reason. Just my 2 cents! Take care and happy sawing!! ;D

Magicman · July 30, 2014, 07:18:03 AM

Quote from: 5quarter on July 29, 2014, 11:23:02 PMbut I will resaw them into whatever dimensions I need when I need them. I also saw all my dimension lumber at a full 9/4. once dry, I can resaw them

Thankfully with mature SYP, I can saw the dimension that I need and it will stay that way.

I oversize only to allow for shrinkage. Properly stickered and they will stay straight.

WDH · July 30, 2014, 07:38:08 AM

MM,

Do you saw framing pine at 1 5/8"?

JamieT · July 30, 2014, 08:42:11 AM

BCsaw, the actual bar that does the "stopping" is fine. Its the holder that needs beefed up. I love sawing pine, knotty or not if you take your time and saw it right its really nice. Stacked and stickered ive had little problems with it. Pine and erc are what i cut the most of.

Magicman · July 30, 2014, 08:58:21 AM

Quote from: WDH on July 30, 2014, 07:38:08 AM
MM, Do you saw framing pine at 1 5/8"?

Actually I saw framing lumber at 1 9/16". The 2X4's are 3 5/8", the 2X6's are 5 5/8, but 2X12's are sawed at 11½" and will shrink to 11¼". I saw very few 2X8's and 2X10's but they are adjusted accordingly.

The only thing is that beetle/lightning killed Pines usually have partially dried by the time that I usually saw them and will not shrink to the degree that fresh felled Pines shrink. Even then, there is never over 1/8" difference between them after drying and caused no building issues.

On my Cabin Addition build, I had an assortment of logs from many different sources. Lumber thickness and width was never an issue or even a thought.

francismilker · July 30, 2014, 11:41:09 PM

Magic, as I've said many times, I'm a novice. Could you explain "splitting the pith" please? Thanks, Jamie

Ianab · July 31, 2014, 03:47:07 AM

Quote from: francismilker on July 30, 2014, 11:41:09 PM
Magic, as I've said many times, I'm a novice. Could you explain "splitting the pith" please? Thanks, Jamie

If you end up with the pith (centre) of the log on the edge of a board, it's likely to warp because of the juvenile wood around the pith. This shrinks a bit as the board dries, while normal wood doesn't. So a board like that is likely to warp. If you can keep the pith completely in one board or post, it's can stay stable, or at least you only get one reject board.

With some species that wood a couple of inches around the pith is just too unstable and is 100% going to split and warp as the board dries. May as well just cut that out and throw it on the firewood pile at the beginning. Other species are better behaved and you can get a usable (if low grade) board.

You can see on Magicman's picture above that he's tried to position the pith so that it's not on the edge of 4 different boards. This will result in more stable boards.

Ian

WDH · July 31, 2014, 07:39:34 AM

Francis,

Another way to think about it. Say you wanted 2x6 material. Say that you had a 12" square cant with the pith centered in the middle. You would think that the most efficient thing to do would be to split the 12" cant into two equal 6" cants, and saw the 2x6's from those. You would split the 12" cant in the middle right through the pith. On each board from each 6" cant, one side would contain the juvenile wood around the pith and the pith itself. The other side of each board would be mature wood. When drying, the mature wood will not shrink along the length, only across the width. The juvenile wood at the pith, however, will shrink just a bit along the length as well as across the width, and it will shrink more across the width than the mature wood will. This sets up some bad stress, causing the board to dry in a "C" shaped side-bend, and the more shrinkage across the width on one side versus the other will cause the board to twist and warp.

Always better to center the pith in a board, beam, or post.

Magicman · July 31, 2014, 08:05:58 AM

Francis, Look at my Reply#12 above and you will see that the pith is not split, but rather it is fairly well centered within the center stack of 2X4's.

Taking WDH's example above a bit further, remove boards from each side of his 12" cant until you reach your target of a 6X12 cant with the pith centered. Then saw this cant through to get your 2X6's. Also, the boards that you removed from the sides of the 12" cant can safely be split into two 2X6's each. Since they were on the outside and away from the pith, they will behave nicely.