Sawlog storage degrade resource

[TBrown99]

Is there a resource on safe storage duration for sawlogs to avoid degrade issues? sawing issues? etc.

I've noticed that log buyers in the NE occasionally state that maple must be fresh though they don't state this with other species. Though with maple if you want spalted, obviously, storage last longer.

Particularly interested in white oak, red oak, maples, yellow birch, black cherry... hemlock & white pine.

Thank you.

[Magicman]

Under water is our only option.  The commercial sawmills use sprinklers.

[TBrown99]

Under water is our only option.  The commercial sawmills use sprinklers.

Great! Into the Browns River (Jericho, VT) they go then. 

[barbender]

 For commercial mills, "white" hardwoods have to be fresh other than in the winter. Birch, Maple etc up here, they don't want sitting more than a week.

 The simple reason is that the white woods stain more quickly.

 If the mill is being fussy, they will say they don't want the oaks sitting more than a week. But I've also seen them happily take red oak that sat all summer, when they needed wood. 

 Really, degrade for all species starts the moment it is severed from the stump. I don't know of a resource that can tell you how long it is safe to store them, other than to say some species do much better sitting in the logyard than others. 

 As mention, light colored hardwoods stain quickly. All logs will began to dry from the cut ends, and degrade and stain there. White pine will get bluestain in the sapwood, and borer insects will start chewing into the wood quickly in the non frozen months. 

 I guess, it depends😊 There isn't a standard number, because there are a lot of variables and you are basically taking chances with your log inventory every day it isn't sawn. 

[Percy]

This is probably not a solution to your situation but Ill share anyways. Several years ago, Western Red Cedar became very expensive compared to previous  years. Back when the wood(WRC) was considered a weed around here, a company with a log sort yard used WRC as corderoy to expand the log yard. The WRC was covered in gravel for many years. Fast forward to present times, log yard now defunct was dug up to retrieve the now expensive WRC. Other than gravel ground into the wood, it had not visually deteriorated at all. Perrhaps top soil might work and be alot easier on blades......

[esteadle]

Maple is full of sugar and starches. Fungus likes sugar and starches. Molds like them too. Bacteria feed on starches and sugars. Maple degrades quickly because it is food for everything sitting around it. 

Molds and mildews stain the color and it's worth the most if it's clean and clear. A lot of fruit wood (cherry, apple, pear) is similar. Lots of sugar. Insects and bugs love it.

Oaks and nut trees are full of tannins and those don't attract insects and they resist molds and mildews, so they tend to break down more slowly and can sit longer. Heart woods of most species tend to accumulate minerals and tannins so they usually remain viable even after a year of sitting.

Moisture helps with preserving the logs especially if logs are submerged. Logs are full of water when they are green, and keeping the moisture from exiting, helps prevent other things from entering and infecting the wood. Paint the ends if you can't keep them wet.

[Ron Wenrich]

Powder post beetle can be a problem with some species.  Most mills stop buying white wood in the summer.  Those that do cut it right away, or you'll get blue stain in the sapwood.

I know a logger that buried fresh cut ash for a summer and sold them in the fall as veneer.  I don't know how it works for maple, but keeping the air off of them would be key.

[doc henderson]

could wrap them in plastic and infuse carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen (N2) to exclude Oxygen (O2).  

[doc henderson]

Timber Storage – Log conservation under Oxygen Exclusion - waldwissen.net