Best generic length for sawtimber?

[Saki]

Greetings from a very wet Indiana. My first potential job with my mill will be a salvage operation at a friends farm. Not a big job, but they have about 3000 feet of poplar that went down in the last big wind through here. We will probably end up cutting it on the shares with them providing the skidding, and me doing the sawing. They are looking at building a compact house on another parcel of their land, and my share will go onto stickers to dry for a work building on mine, that said, I would love some helpful advice on what to actually cut. Hopefully they will be able to tell me more of what they want based on what they decide to do as far as house designs. Me, I know I want a workshop, and I know I want it to have at least 8 foot sidewalls, and I want it to be stout, and to where I can readly insulate it so I figure 2 by 6 s for most of mine. The logs could be bucked into any length and there are a couple of trees that would have either 3 or 4 twelve foot logs ( doyle scale ) easily. these could obviously go longer or shorter. I know if you have a long board you can always cut it down, but there is additional work to handling longer, heavier stock, but then again, you won't have as many logs to handle. Anybody got a suggestion of either " do's " or " don'ts " they are willing to pass on? I am old enough to know I don't have to make all the mistakes myself, anybody got any advice? An old sawmiller in this area told me 3 things about cutting poplar. If you are not sure what to cut, cut it into 2X4s, there is always a market for 2X4s. If the log is not great for 2 by stock, cut 1 by randoms and you will always be able to sell it for barn siding. Cut all your dimensional poplar to match spruce pine, and fir 2 by stock. If you have to do remodeling in a building, this will match lumber that you may have to buy at the big box stores if your own isn't available.

[ibbob]

Ahoy Hoosier!  Good thing the temp has dropped 35º in the last 12 hours or this snow would be more DanG rain :

Seems that short logs are always easier to find than the nice long ones.  What length are you going to need for rafters on your shed?  I would saw them first and the rest to stud length.

[Tom]

Saki,
The most prudent thing to do is sit down with pencil and paper and design your building and record the spans.  Sawing lumber in "best guess" lengths will have you cutting good logs up into 2 x 4's and then finding that you need some 2 x 12's with only 8 inch logs left.

If you will create a "saw bill" for yourself,  you will be able to choose the logs that you need for certain spans.

Having said that, I find that I must buck logs with no purpose in mind, sometimes.  Aimiing for the longest log that my sawmill will handle insures that I don't end up with stuff too short to use.  It also wastes a lot of wood.

The log will dictate the lengths of lumber as well.  Look for crook and kink and limbs (knots) and scars and breaks.  Construction wood is created on 2 foot centers.  Eight foot is common but 16 foot is long enough for most spans and will make 2 eight foot pieces.  

I favor 2 x 6's over 2 x 4's  because the economics of having a sawmill means that I can have a sturdier building for little or no more money,

While 2 x 8's can be split into two 2 x 4's,  I prefer a 2 x 10.  It is more common for beams and can be split into a 2 x 4 and a 2 x 6.  2 x 12's are nice, but heavy.  That's where it's good to have thought out the building before-hand.

1 x 6"-8"-10" and 12" are almost equally usable. I prefer to cut my 1 x's either 10 or 12 feet long.  Either generally makes good siding lengths.   Fencing is the only time that I prefer to cut 1 x's 16 feet long.  If the posts are on 8 foot centers it allows you to span two posts alternately and makes a stronger fence.

What it boils down to is that you probably won't go wrong sticking with 16' lengths of anything.  You will get more lumber if you take the time to put pencil to paper though.

[Faron]

I would do it as Tom says.  I have sawed several barns for customers as well as an addition and garage for my house just that way.  With poplar, you will likely find some logs that want to bow on you, resulting in thick centers and thin ends.  The longer the log, the more pronounced that will be.  Often when I am sawing 2X material, after I get the cant down to size, I will take one cut off the top of the cant, and without releasing the clamp, take a second 2X off the bottom. Release the clamp, shove the cant off the 2X, then repeat the process.  I get much straighter material that way. It does take a little more time. (My 1995 mill has the old style clamp that doesn't pull down on the cant.)

[rvrdivr]

Saki,
I like to let the log dictate what it should be and how long it will be cut. I try to cut boards as long as possible, like you said, you can always cut them shorter. If the log is fairly straight but then has a major defect at 9 feet, I'll cut 9 footers to use later for a 8 foot lenth. Then If it's big enough for 2x10's, that's what I'll cut.
I like what Tom said about 2x4's. A 2x6 is a better choice.
If your customer is building a house, code may not let them use the wood for structural, so they may want it for trim or something. Like previously mentioned, It is a good idea to know what you'll end up needing first.

[Cedarman]

Hello fellow Hoosier.  If the logs will saw some FAS or #1common and not be stained from having been down for a while, get in touch with some furniture or moulding companies. This lumber can be sold for good value.  Saw your low grade heartwood into your 2x and 1x  For farm buildings I saw true 2x4 etc.  Stack and dry them.  They will bow or warp a little.  Then resaw them to get nice straight boards.  The longer the 2x the wider the other dimension because of board movement. Was that 2 cents worth?

There is another big project available near you. E-mail me for details if you like.

[OneWithWood]

Hi, Ibbob.  I be bob sometimes too  :D  I grew up down the road from you in Warsaw.

Tom's advice is right on the money.  Before I commenced to sawing out the lumber for my barn, kiln, and my wife's greenhouse I prepared a list of all the different dimensions of lumber I would need.  I was then able to sort it by length.  This will allow you to match the tree to what you need.  The tree will dictate what the best bucking lengths are.  The other advantage is if you have trees that provide you with longer lengths than you need you can go ahead and saw the longer lumber and then cull through the stack to eliminate bows and crooks while cutting out the shorter dimensions.  
Have fun!

[Saki]

Thanks for all the input folks, I sure appreciate it. Will proably end up going with 16 footers where I can, and not less than 8 everywhere else to get the most and best out of each log. Much Obliged. Saki

[bull]

Read the log and buck it properly !!!    May want to look for an old timer or a book to learn how to buck logs..... If a logs is an 8 footer it's not a 10 footer  and they don't make them board stretcher any more  ;)  Learn how to read crook and sweep and Know your knots. You can Loose or waste alot of money if you " buck up " a decent tree into the wrong logs.

I had a customer come in with 2000 feet of pine all 8'6" nice job! when I asked what he wanted me to cut for him he said he wanted all the logs cut into 2x4x10's. He looked at me kinda funny when i told him that I couldn't do that for him.... I said I would swap him what he brought in for 10 foot logs to make what he needed...  he wanted 1200 Bfd of 2x4x10. I loaded them right on his truck and he was down the road. Oh by the way those 8'6" pine logs were all but logs and the smallest tip was 22 inches.........boy Im glad that I didn't own a board stretcher. 8) 8) 8)

[DanG]

Only thing I can add to what's already been said: Cut them to the longest your trailer will haul, in even increments, plus trim. If you have a 24' trailer, and your mill will only cut 16, you can always get a 16 and an eight, or 2 12s, or a 10 and a 14, or 3 8s. In other words, if you don't have a planned use for them, keep as many options open as possible.  Just allow a bit of extra trim on those long ones.