What am I doing wrong?

[DixieReb31]

I would have posted pictures, but apparently not smart enough.  Can’t figure this system of posting pics.

Anyway, approximately 50-60 days ago I cut some 2x4 SYP.  They have been stickered, air drying in the shade, covered with tin with weight on top. The stack has about 100 boards. 50% of the boards are bowed, twisted, crooked and un-useable.  What a waste.  What did I do wrong?

[att_t_2d]

I just cut my first boards a few days ago, so I am just a beginner.  I have seen others post that this can happen when cutting branches due to internal stress from growing horizontally.

[btulloh]

Stress most likely. Were they leaners or off-center pith?  Usually stress will show up as you saw, but looks like it showed up later for your syp. Sawing decent logs but unbalanced grain from taking boards from the wrong orientation in the log can do it.  Post some closeups of your end grain could help diagnose.

Picture posting tutorial at bottom of forum list.

Oops. Lost my link. I’ll add it in a minute.

Ok. Here’s the link to the pic posting tutorial: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=100194.0

[doc henderson]

the pic process is a learning curve, especially if you do not do a lot of other computer junk.  was it a lot of weight.  I also use strapping, that will loosen over time but snugs stuff in place for moving by forks and the first 3 weeks of drying.

[Southside]

Plantation SYP or open / fast growing SYP is notorious for stress and movement.  Balancing the grain, centering the pith, working around or balancing the juvenile wood are all essential to getting it to dry straight. Even then, some will move.  

Did you roll the log and cant as you sawed it? Did you start with large or small diameter logs? 

From your description the drying isn't the issue at all. SYP can be dried fast, really fast and be just fine. Learning how to saw quality lumber from it - that can take a few tries. 

[alan gage]

Welcome to the club. You should always feel proud and happy when you're stacking and stickering freshly sawn lumber because you sometimes don't get a chance to feel that way when you're unstickering it after drying.

Did you notice boards moving (either crooking sideways or bowing) as they were being sawn on the mill? Usually that's an indication of stress in the log and problems to come.

Alan

[YellowHammer]

Sounds like you did everything right in the drying process.  

Generally, then defects such as you describe comes down to the wood itself, or the sawing, or both.
Sometimes, there's nothing can be done about the wood while sawing, sometimes there's things that can be done.

That's just part of the learning process.  However, pics of the boards and of the ends would be a help.  

[Stephen1]

I was amazed at all the lumber/wood I burned at the Sugar Bush when I 1st got my mill. I figured if I realized %50 useable wood after it was AD I was doing pretty good. No wonder wood cost so much!
I have a better % of good wood now after years of sawing, I still have loss maybe %90?  

[DixieReb31]

I’ll admit that I am greener than green when it comes to knowing how to rotate a log/cant  while trying to cut dimensional lumber.  I do center the pith or if the pith is not centered I try to find the center of the log so that the taper is considered.  I have seen boards move left, right, up and down occasionally, but not 50 times out of 100.  Maybe a dozen or so.  These trees came from a fence line that has not been maintained for years.  Some of the trees were 20+“ diameter.  I have not been rotating my cant.  Once I have my cant to my target size I drop down 3.625”.  I’ll cut that dimension then rotate 90 degrees and proceed to cut 1.625”.  That’s the way I have read many on here do it.  I think I’m doing it correctly.  Maybe not.
  I finally figured out how to post some picture.  Please look and tell me what I’m doing wrong.  




 
This pic is what I tried to load earlier.  These are jus some of the boards.



 
This is the pile of un-useable 2x4x12

 
End grain.  See how the board has bowed in the background.

 
Another shot of the end grain.  Am I too close to the pith?

 
I’m at a loss........

[Southside]

Ok - well chalk it up to experience. The last three photos show vertical grain or QS lumber.  "The best", stronger, better, more durable" - yup, all of the above - BUT - as you learned it will crook (side bend) - and that is what you are seeing.  In that case you would be better to plan for bow so the 2x's could be flexed into place if necessary.  

Being a fence tree it is likely that she was limb heavy to one side - that creates tension and compression wood, which will make the cant move and make lumber move as it dries.  

In the first picture the 2x on the left and the third one over appear to show the remains of some juvenile wood - the different colored, center part, of the log.  Juvenile wood will shrink in length while later wood will not - when the juvenile wood is all on one side of the lumber and it shrinks length wise it causes the lumber to crook to the side.  

Framing lumber is typically sawn "horns up" or "horns down" so that 2x's bow rather than crook.  Balance juvenile wood on each side of a piece of lumber or eliminate it entirely to reduce movement - put the cant into a post or a beam instead.  Lastly - flat saw SYP with the grain peaks or cathedrals centered as you saw and movement due to shrink will be better balanced.  Watch for stress in the lumber and or cant as you saw - flip the cant to balance it and eliminate it from the remaining fiber.  Even if there is no obvious stress I always "balance saw" SYP and flip every couple of cuts to keep things from moving.  

With all of that - I still get stuff that moves when it dries - so I cut it shorter or rip it narrower to clean it up after it's done moving.  

[Don P]

Agreed, the top end grain shot looks like the release of growth stress, normal for that grain orientation. The next shows drying stress from the juvenile core shrinking lengthwise. The bottom shows what looks to be massed pitch, look for the cause, I see what looks like several bands of shake, an old injury or infection but perhaps an unhappy tree.

[btulloh]

Glad you figured out the pic thing. They really tell the story and Southsides explanation covers it. You’ll gain experience quickly, and the more you saw the more you’ll understand the answers. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that a quartersawn syp 2x will want to split when face nailed, so flat sawn is the better option for most framing lumber. So flat sawn, balancing the grain, etc. will work better for you and dry straighter in most cases. Then again, some logs don’t listen, but that’s part of the challenge. It takes a some time to get it figured out, but it’s a good journey. And none of us are ever through learning!

Looking good!  You’re making sawdust!

[DixieReb31]

Growing pains for sure.  Lot of effort for little reward. Thank you so much for the info.  I have not been looking for “horns”, but I will.  If I rotate horns up or down, do I still center the pith?  If I have a log where the pith is as much as 2 or more inches of difference do I just find the center of the log and ignore the pith?  Do you even use the center core of the log or try to cut around it?  So many questions!

[Southside]

For framing lumber I usually get the bark parallel to the mill, assuming the pith is somewhere near the center of the log. This should keep the pith on both ends within say a 4x4. Later on you can center the pith into a single cut, sometimes two depending on the log. 

This helps with keeping the grain cathedral peaks centered in your lumber increasing the odds of it drying straight.

If I am quarter sawing flooring then it's completely different as I center the pith and don't drop the toe roller when I roll the log. In that case the log is broken down into multiple cants with the vertical grain as my goal and I deal with the pith later. 

[YellowHammer]

What you did was saw out some excellent furniture grade quartersawn boards, which are always edged in a straight line rip saw or edger after drying to take out the crook.  

However, that’s the wrong orientation for framing lumber.  

[DixieReb31]

It may be QS, but it was purely by accident. I did not intend to do it. I made a cant and started cutting. I will surely rotate the cant next time. 

[YellowHammer]

A lot of times, you’ll get stress in one plane or another, either when sawing or when drying, or both.  So the sawing patterns are based on the intended use of the wood.

You did a fine job in cutting straight boards, but Mother Nature threw you a curve ball.  (Pun intended).

Sawing is a continuous learning experience, that’s what makes it fun.  

Most times, the center of a log is turned into a 4x4 or something.  It helps isolate the pith somewhat, keeps the grain in the piece balanced so it won’t bend too much when it dries, and since it’s pretty thick, the cracks it will develop aren’t too bad.  

[mike_belben]

I know the results are disheartening but the curvy wood isnt junk.  Its fine to cut short for furniture pieces, utility shelving braces, chicken coops, livestock shelters, jenga style jackstand blocking or concrete form bracing etc etc

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

As mentioned, this is somewhat normal for syp.  For the first 17 years of growth, the cells in the tree spiral instead of going straight up and down the stem...less at year 17 than at earlier years.  Then, at about 18 years, the spiral reverses direction, but is not as steep.  Slow drying and cool drying will have more warp than fast and hot.  Stacking sticks should be 24” apart and perfectly aligned with weight on the top.

[alan gage]

A post from the past that I found helpful with regards to framing lumber: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,99660.0.html

And another, perhaps more specific to hardwoods: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,90483.msg1392800.html#msg1392800

Alan