So haven't cut much cottonwood, like why wood I want to it smells like cow poo! But hey there is nothing else in North Dakota to cut. Got to make do with what ya can get. I'll be happy to be back in Washington where the trees smell better.\
Jason
where abouts in ND? Got a brother in Kenmare. new to this sight (more or less) really want to know about sawing cottonwood, got a lot of that down here too.
pat
Wait till the wind changes and you get a mouth full of sawdust smiley_tom_dizzy01
Tony 8)
Sandhills, Welcome to The Forestry Forum. Tell us a little about yourself.
Could be thats why horses won't cribe on it....Tim
Welcome to the forum, Sandhills. I'm from the northern edge of the sandhills. We have our share of cottonwoods here too. They do have a distinctive smell, I kind of like it. But, then again, I've been around cattle all of my life, so cow manure doesn't bother me much either. ;D We mostly use cottonwood for firewood, although it can and has been used for lumber in a lot of the older houses and barns in the area, because of availability. It just generally isn't as good as pine or fir. I live close to a river, so I have some selection, but out on the plains the only trees you see are around farm houses, or old homestead sites, and they are mostly cottonwood, and cedar, with a few ash and elm mixed in I've never been to North Dakota but from your description, it must be similar.
And don't take this the wrong way, I've just got to ask. What would you be doing in North Dakota sawing cottonwoods for if you could be in Washington sawing good trees? ???
Well, I guess you can start cutting black cottonwood as soon as you get to Washington. :D
We cut cottonwood just about every day. Get the right log and the smell is just awful. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how often some customer comes in, breathes in deeply, and says "I just love the smell of this place". Go figure.
I'm about 60 miles south of Bismark in Leith. We spend summer out here running bee's making honey, about 5000 hives this year. Boy is the honey coming in already 6 supers on some of the hives. I like the smell of Doug Fir and Cedar which is what I cut in Washington. I could cut cottonwood there but hey I got cedar and fir there so why wood I.
Jason
I farm in central Nebraska, but a couple of buddies and I went together on a 52 inch circular mill this spring. Was just researching it a bit (have absolutely no idea what we're getting into!!!!!) and ran across this forum. You guys can't believe how helpful this sight has been. I will get some pictures posted as soon as I figure out how to. I'm pretty sure it's a belsaw but the serial tag is worn off. This is strictly just a hobby for us we have'nt been able to set it up yet, it's been quite a summer so far.
I am in Southwest Nebraska, so I am very familiar with cottonwood. Cut up two cottonwoods today on my Norwood MX34. Going to use them for interior paneling in my saw shed. What other uses are there for cottonwood, other then pallets?
RD
We cut cottonwood for pallets, skids, dunnage, horse stalls, barn boards, rafters, nailers, kiln dry a little of it for a specific market, to name a few. All the additions we did to our building were done out of cottonwood. That includes 60 ft trusses.
Sometimes Walnut smells like hogs to me.
Sandhills, good luck with your saw set up. I just went through that last winter myself. It was and is a very rewarding experience, finally got the thing cutting nicely, still have a few bugs to iron out though. Of course you've already found that there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum. Post some pictures of the mill when you can.
I have heard that cottonwood can make nice trusses, as it's strength to weight ratio is pretty good when dry. However, it is hard to find cottonwood without flaws in it. I have cut a few cants to use as beams for a timberframe and what looked like a small flaw might go clear through if I chiseled it out. So, I just didn't trust them so, I cut most of them up for firewood, the others are stacked and stickered drying in the barn, but they have bowed badly enough, I probably will cut them up for firewood as well. I have seen a lot of cottonwood framing lumber used in old buildings and as long as it has been kept dry and has dried straight, it has held up well. I have heard from several old timers to nail it up green. Its a viable wood for several applications just not my first choice as a building material. Still, sometimes it's best to use what's locally available.
If you saw beams, use a straight log and center the beam around the heartline. Also doesn't hurt to oversize it a bit, then resaw down. If you are sawing small beams and can't center the heart, just saw some extra. Oversize maybe, then resaw, green or dry. It seems like you can take three boards one after another off a cottonwood log. One might move around a little, one will stay perfectly flat no matter what you do to it. And one will get up and walk out the door. The old timers built so many of these barns and farmhouses across Kansas and Nebraska out of cottonwood. As long as moisture doesn't get to it, it lasts.
In my gallery are a few pictures of last year's barn project, a significant amount of the lumber was cottonwood (Eastern that is).
The cottonwood here in NW Ohio is pretty clear, -tall and straight, but like Kansas says some of it will walk out the door. I experience a 15-20% fallout rate.
Joe
jwoods, love the barn-Nice 8)
jwoods and/or Kansas
In your experience what is the best way to dry cottonwood in order to use it for construction lumber?
A lot of what I cut as you say walks out the door. I have fairly good luck nailing it up green.
Thanks for your input.
I think a lot of it depends on how perfect you need it for construction lumber. We always used it green. Trusses and such can be a bit flimsy until they dry. Nailers can move around pretty good. For our purposes, it always worked fine. If you dry it, I would say oversize and then resaw. Or saw quite a bit extra.
It just depends on how perfect you need it. Do realize that trying to drive a nail in dry cottonwood is going to take a nail gun, or a drill. You might be able to use a hammerdrill and screws. I was suprised when they put down my white oak deck that way. That was put down green. But if a board is going to warp or twist, there isn't much you can do about it. I dont know if splitting the log in half, or quarters, then sawing those, would relieve the tension to help or not. We never really worried about it. Cottonwood logs aren't worth a lot, and we can always use shorter boards for pallet lumber.
Kansus,
What does your pallet wood look like going out of your lumber yard? Width,thickness,length? Is it banded? Dried? Trying to find a use for some of my knotty oak and poplar logs. thanks.
i cant say what theirs looks like but mine has to be 5/8 x4 x 40''. i bundle them in 300 banded together on 2- 40'' cants 3'' thick. we stack ours in alternating stacks 4 boards deep and 10 across. the top stack has 6 instead of 4. i have hauled 4 of those on my 1 ton pickup before. they are green. i have learned not to cut them and leave them sitting at home for more than a few days. the company i sell to buys 4 days a week so i dont really have an excuse not to take them on over. the ones i cut must be oak or hickory. i have slipped some elm in before and they didnt say anything. the only other thing they have told me is absolutely no bark. it messes up the kiln drying process for them.
carykong,
i cut my pallet stuff all with the sawmill. no resaw. i use a radial arm saw for a cutoff saw. pc
We custom cut a variety of sizes. The only ones we cut ahead of time are 1/2 x 3 1/2 x34, and 1 1/4 x 3 1/2 x 52. We cut a fair amount that is 3/4. The one custom cut skids that we do are all 1 1/2 solid tops and 4x4 runners. Have one guy that uses 7/8 x 2 1/8 and 7/8 x 7/8 4ft sticks. We don't kiln dry any of it. We did have one company that was building a government pallet where it had to be oak, dried down to 23 % or thereabouts. Just air dried that. We do have to heat treat some of those big skids. Best thing to do is look for some small pallet companies that build the unusual pallets with unusual thicknesses and lengths. You can get better money that way, because a lot of the big sawmills don't want to mess with smaller amounts of unusual size.
RD,
I sticker and dry, have never put up green. The MC content is really high, in some cases the chainsaw bar will steam while cutting down a tree; -or in the cases of bad windshake, water will physically run out.
Depending on the application, I may re-saw or use as-is. Girts around the outside of the building need not be re-sawn for straightness, but something like a laminated pole (treated in the ground and cottonwood tops) I will saw to 5-1/2 inches wide by 1-1/2 thick to make them the same as dimensional lumber.
Joe
OK Carpenter here I go again, I know you didn't see the first attempt so we'll try one more time! :D I tried earlier to put some pics up but to no avail, this isn't even close to your mill but fun for us to tinker with. Here goes nothin I'll try again. Never mind, did'nt work that time either. anyway looks like you have a really nice setup-and a lot of work into it!(jus goin by your photos) you saw many cedars too?
Well, I just started sawing, ( I think I have most of the bugs ironed out of the mill now) But I did saw about 100 bdft of cedar last sunday. Beautiful stuff.
Pictures aren't all that hard. The hardest part is to upload them into your photo gallery. you pretty much have to put them in the photo gallery first, I use the Java uploader. And I'm so computer illiterate I really can't explain the process but I know somebody probably can better than me.
There is a tutorial on posting a photo in the behind the forum section.