Hi everyone. I'm new here and of coarse I have a newbie question. I was hoping you all could tell me if something ive been told is true or not. I live up in new hampshire if that makes any difference. I was told hemlock is best for floor joists rafters and and stud walls. But my big question is I was told red pine is almost as good as hemlock for building is this true??
Also if any of you would like to give me advice on what wood is good for what I have mostly white pine on my land hemlock and some spruce. I am asking about all of this because i'm planning to spend my winter sawing lumber for me to build my house next summer.
I'm new to sawing lumber i've done some but i'm used to working with other people that have years of experience just starting out on my own on 12 acres I bought last year.
Thanks much everyone.
chrissheerman:
First of all - Welcome to the forum.
The suggestion I have for you (this is assuming you are going to build with 6" walls) is to saw your material a full 6" wide and stack it to dry. When you get ready to build since the windows and doors are manufactured for 6" studs purchased in a box store which are actually 5-1/2" then resaw your material to 5-1/2". This will help you get a much straighter building as you will have removed a lot of the defects that occur(ed) during drying.
Gerald
chrissheerman,welcome to the forum. Red pine,also known as Norway pine?Pinus resinosa
I had some Norway pine close to the mill. I thought it would work out well. I cut a few trees for 8X8 beams and they started to twist on me. I went back to the hemlock that was way up in the woods. Hemlock I feel is better to be used green. I had some that was somewhat dried and they wanted to split on me. All this is what happened to me,you may not have any trouble. White pine is kinda on the soft side. Maybe use it for roofing boards and sheathing?
By the way,what kind of mill you got? Been sawing long?
Red pine is stronger than hemlock, if I'm not mistaken. And welcome to the forum ;)
Welcome to the forum. Hemlock is hard to drive a nail into once its dry, the other problem is that it gets shaky with larger trees, which will impact the soundness of your lumber. That having been said I have used both hemlock and red pine in building a post and beam barn and was very happy with both species, the red pine was sawn into 6" X 10" beams and the hemlock was milled into 2" T+G flooring for the hay loft, just have to be selective with how you use it and what you use it for. White pine is best as a trim or paneling wood most of the time. I looked at a house where they used white pine for the counter tops and flooring - big mistake, huge. It probably looked really nice the day they installed it, but not when I saw it, pretty sure it was a homeowner job as there were more than a few other issues with the place. Good, clear, spruce will make great stud wood.
White Pine is fine for studs and sheathing but lacks the strength for joists and rafters unless it is significantly larger than what is called for in SPF framing lumber.
Given a choice, I would use the Red Pine for studs and the Hemlock for joists and rafters.
I've found that on the outside (exposed to the weather), the Hemlock will outlast the Red Pine!
Almost forgot, Welcome to the Forestry Forum, chrissheerman. 8)
Thank you everyone for all the info. Helped me to decided to buy some red pine off a job my friends doing he says there only able to sell the red pine as pulp so when im ready he will cut them and get them loaded on my trailer. Thanks again very much.
:) 8) :snowball: ;D
Old natural red pine is better than plantation red pine. More stable. I saw some plantation red pine sawed and stacked and it stayed there until it turned black.
Quote from: thecfarm on October 05, 2014, 07:38:41 PM
chrissheerman,welcome to the forum. Red pine,also known as Norway pine?Pinus resinosa
I had some Norway pine close to the mill. I thought it would work out well. I cut a few trees for 8X8 beams and they started to twist on me. I went back to the hemlock that was way up in the woods. Hemlock I feel is better to be used green. I had some that was somewhat dried and they wanted to split on me. All this is what happened to me,you may not have any trouble. White pine is kinda on the soft side. Maybe use it for roofing boards and sheathing?
By the way,what kind of mill you got? Been sawing long?
Thats another subject lol. Ive been running a Thomas 8020 I think the model is. This week im buying a mighty mite with hydraulics its not that popular of a brand from what I've seen but it seems like a good machine and a good price .
Eastern Hemlock is better in every way that I can think of over that of plantation Red Pine that we have around here in central Vermont. Red Pine seems to move, twist and be very weak at the knots. Also, the knots are so much harder than the surrounding wood that I have to saw it slow to avoid the waves. It would probably saw better frozen.
If I had spruce and hemlock on my land that is what I would prefer for structural lumber. White pine will make good siding, furniture and trim as previously mentioned. Actually I would prefer white pine for studs over red pine as it would be more likely to stay straight.
Good luck with the new mill.
Wayne
Quote from: chrissheerman on October 06, 2014, 07:03:44 PM
This week im buying a mighty mite with hydraulics its not that popular of a brand from what I've seen but it seems like a good machine and a good price .
If it's the one I'm thinking of it's a
very good price! ;D I've never seen a mighty mite in person but like em a lot. If it's practical I'd keep the Thomas for cutting 1x material out of the cants off the MM. Maybe that's too many steps with a MM (?) but I know I'd like a small band mill for doing that with the Lucas.
Congrats and welcome to the forum, Chris!
Edit: Maybe I assumed too much and it's not the circular saw MM? :-[ I just remember seeing a CL ad recently for a MM or Mobile Dimension mill, not sure which but it was a good price. :)
Its not a circular saw its a band saw mill. Also this rig was never on craigslist private sale from a co worker. Might pic it up tonight when I do ill post a picture.
8)
Well heres my new to me mill.
(photos must be entered into the Forestry Forum gallery)
This will help out on pictures.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,61788.0.html
The 8020 is the wide one. Seem like Thomas has been busy building that size.I think a couple members just brought the same one.
Quote from: thecfarm on October 11, 2014, 05:18:14 AM
This will help out on pictures.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,61788.0.html
The 8020 is the wide one. Seem like Thomas has been busy building that size.I think a couple members just brought the same one.
It'd be good to see some more green & yella fellas on the forum....those orange dudes kinda steal the limelight.... ;D
The 8020's a great mill, but I'm constantly thinking of ways to make it better / more productive......
Alright a couple of you are a little mixed up ive been using my friends 8020 and I have just purchased my own used mighty mite it's kinda old takes 2inch blades which I think im gonna have trouble finind but everything works hydraulic up down and foward back of the head wish it had a log turner. I plan to do a little tinkering do a little upgrade here and there. Right now its on the back burner. I finished filling in my well pipe line today now its time to start digging and installing the septic system. I do believe I found a good spot today at my place to setup the mill gotta clear a couple trees and dig it a little but I think it will be a good setup. Right now its sitting in my foundation hole as you can see in the picture.
(photos need to be uploaded to Forestry Forum gallery)
2" bands shouldn't be too hard to find. I think WoodMizer offers them, and will cut to length. I bet Kasco can get them also.
Quote from: FarmingSawyer on October 12, 2014, 06:54:38 PM
It'd be good to see some more green & yella fellas on the forum....
I'm a green and yella fella. ;) ;D :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/17161/Copy_of_P1000556.JPG)
I know what you mean ::) all those daggone Kabota guys :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/17725/IMG_0084.jpg)
M A N !!!
Looks like you've been sawing in that spot for a while BWS. 8)
Kubota might be nice by reputation, but their paint jobs on attachments suck and all kinds of welding slag not removed. And the paint on one tractor is a different orange than the next. Ever look close to them on a lot? We bought a new one plus attachments, and now they have to do a paint job on the works. And stuff is brand new. Not only that, the fellow putting the attachments on, obviously don't know how. My brother had to remove all hoses and put them on right. Seat belt wasn't even on right, had to do that over to. Kids. ::)