Once in a while I have trouble with mold on the lumber that is air drying. It only happens when the weather is hot and humid when the lumber is sawed and stacked and stickered. Last August I sawed some Aspen (Poplar) and some of it had mold on it when I took the stack apart a few weeks ago. I have been told that the mold will come off when it's planed but I wanted to see for myself. I don't own a planer so I asked a neighbor to plane two of the moldy boards for me. He did and these are the results.....
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11157/DSC01926_opt.jpg)
The board on the left used to look like the board on the right. A light planing took the mold off.
In the next two pictures you can see that the board had a low spot in the middle and was missed by the planer but the outside was lightly planed and the mold was taken off.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11157/DSC01931_opt.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11157/DSC01932_opt.jpg)
I thought some of you might find this interesting especially if you sometimes have trouble with mold. Now I can tell my customers that the mold will come off with planing and I won't have to cross my fingers behind my back. ;D
Happy sawing, Cutter
If your milling Pine and not stacking it properly in our humidity.....you may want to cross all fingers and both legs.
Mold can go deep too. Not just surface.
Cutter,
That is not too bad, and it planed out nice. Unfortunately, down here it can get real ugly :). With some species, I have to use fans to keep the air circulating. Otherwise, the lumber can turn black.
I've also had "mold" so deep that I could not plane it out to make a clean board. Those are bay days. :'(
YH
Mold is indeed only on the surface, but other fungi that go into the wood, such as lue stain fungi, need the same conditions as mold fungi, so you easily have both. Blue stain is not a surface event. The reason mold stays on the surface as it cannot or does not use anything in the wood for its food.
Do I understand that you are not stacking the wood promptly? If you do not stack, tight pile lumber can stain within 24 hours in warm weather.
That's pretty much the way I see it. I've seen mold on red oak heartwood. Blue stain won't grow in the heartwood. Its possible to have both mold and blue stain in the same board.
We've also seen that when blue stain gets started in the log, its hard to control in the sawn lumber. Most of the wholesalers want to have the lumber treated to avoid blue stain, and sawn from fresh logs. It will keep for several weeks in a dead pile. We've found that spraying is cost effective.
Quote from: GeneWengert-WoodDoc on July 06, 2013, 10:38:48 PM
Do I understand that you are not stacking the wood promptly? If you do not stack, tight pile lumber can stain within 24 hours in warm weather.
Doc, I do stack and sticker promptly. My day's sawing is always stickered by the end of the day.
Could somebody post a picture of blue stain. I'm not sure I know what that is. Thanks
I just cut some live edge blue stain pine. Small trees but I have about 20 that the beetle has killed.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/30769/004.JPG)
I wanted to see what it would look like, The back of one of my sheds just had tar paper. Looks better now
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/30769/006%7E0.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/30769/008.JPG)
Thanks Kingcha. Now I know. Hey, it looks great on your shed. Good job.
I've cut white pine logs that have sat in the yard for a wile and the blues have invaded most of the log at least the sapwood part.If I want good clear pine I cut it in cooler weather.I've had some luck with fans on a well stickered piles. Frank C.
The bacteria caused blue stain in beetle killed pine is very different from mildew stain. The bacteria introduced by Pine Beetles is what actually kills the tree by preventing the flow of nutrients between the roots and needles. Mildew is just growing on the outside of the lumber and can penetrate but it starts on the surface.
Quote from: cutterboy on July 07, 2013, 07:23:15 PM
Thanks Kingcha. Now I know. Hey, it looks great on your shed. Good job.
Ditto. Did you taper saw the boards or just overlap them?
I did not taper the boards, I just overlapped them.
matt
Nice job Kingcha. When you put up the siding did put the outside of the tree on the outside so there no lip. The edges go down the wall and not go up the inside. I am trying to say this right :D So the sharp part of the edge is flat to the board under it and not an inch away. do you what mean. :D
It has been raining here for 4 weeks and I have some red oak that's has some mold on it . And it's inside too, all kinds of air, not rained on. I think you can cut the air with a knife :D :D the oak was cut 3 weeks before the rain came.
This is the worst air drying conditions since I started air drying lumber. Very high humidity with lots and lots of rain. A challenge.
A challenge :D :D :D :D I think Im making fire wood not lumber ;D
With this high humidity and daily rain it takes a lot of hot air to dry lumber fast enough to keep it from molding. ...So, Danny, why are -you- having a problem? ;)
Mark
Hey! I resemble that remark :D.
Quote from: WDH on July 08, 2013, 08:25:53 PM
This is the worst air drying conditions since I started air drying lumber. Very high humidity with lots and lots of rain. A challenge.
Same here Danny, the worst conditions I can remember. A challenge indeed! Mosquitoes, deerflies and ticks seem to like this weather. >:(
I have stack of pine that has mildew on some, it was clear with stacked but once warm wet weather hit some did mildew. I plan to use for board and batten on barn. Should this be sprayed with clorox before staining or just put it up and let it dry and stain?
Most times you can brush it off with a very stiff broom.
WDH! thank ya...
recon when i move to the location where the barn is to be located and restack I'll brush when I restack.