Sawing the heart

[Angleblade11]

Some people have told me to saw around the heart and then throw the heart away? Is this true

[Jeff]

No.

[YoungStump]

Most hardwood mills will saw boards around the heart and make a pallet cant or railroad tie out of the lower quality wood in the center of the log.

[woodjunky]

heart wood is usually the good stuff. But the pith cracks up, the way I understand it.

[Jeff]

I saw this topic earlier and wasn't able to make a post any longer than my one word of No earlier.  Basically having someone tell you that is just so wrong in so many ways, that no was the perfect word.  Could they have meant the pith?  Even then, its pretty wrong.

[Ianab]

It's wrong terminology.

It's the Pith, or the very centre of the log, the first few growth rings that are low grade. It's probably got a split, it's full of knots, it's often unstable juvenile wood etc. It wont make "good" boards.

It may be OK left as a post or be usable as low grade pallet stock etc.  This isn't the same as throwing it away, but sometimes firewood is the best destination for that centre 2 -4 " of wood.

Exactly how the pith behaves depends on the species of tree too. Some you can include the pith and still get a usable board. Other types, it's pretty obvious when you saw a board from the pith area and it splits in 1/2 .

[Ocklawahaboy]

I was given an ERC board that was milled in the 60s.  the pith ran right down the center.  I made a canoe paddle with the pith running down the handle.  ive paddled more miles than I can count with that paddle.  no strength problems with it.  that is probably not the typical experience but I would have hated for someone to have thrown my paddle away at the mill, just because it was the pith.

[lyle niemi]

I guess I have lots to learn because my whole log gets made into lumber..lol

[red oaks lumber]

we thru saw all our logs, after drying, the low  grade lumber is sorted and used for certain jobs where more character is allowed. very seldom do i throw lumber away before it gets dried, i want to see what happens during drying

[drobertson]

waste not, want not, nuff said,  there is trim in most all applications,

[WDH]

The pith in some species does OK.  In others, it is a disaster.  Like in oak and cherry.  I have started leaving the pith centered as well as I can in a 4x4 from the center of the tree in oak, and use these as blocking or as foundations for air drying stacks.  It is amazing how much use you will find for these 4x4's.  Like has been said, the commercial guys make a cross tie or a pallet cant from the juvenile center. 

[cutterboy]

we thru saw all our logs, after drying, the low  grade lumber is sorted and used for certain jobs where more character is allowed. very seldom do i throw lumber away before it gets dried, i want to see what happens during drying

Well said, red oaks. I too saw my logs all the way through. After they dry I see what they look like. If the board cracks at the pith, you can often cut the center out and have two narrow good boards.

[WDH]

100% of my oak cracks at the pith. 

[Ianab]

I was given an ERC board that was milled in the 60s.  the pith ran right down the center.  I made a canoe paddle with the pith running down the handle.  ive paddled more miles than I can count with that paddle.  no strength problems with it.  that is probably not the typical experience but I would have hated for someone to have thrown my paddle away at the mill, just because it was the pith.

Cedar is a species you can usually leave the pith in and still get a useful board. Might have a bit of character, which can be good, and at least it will stay in one piece.  Pine is usually the same, may not be high grade or particularly stable, but you can use it.

Other species are like WDH says, you actually see the cracks as you are sawing. It's not going to look any better after it dries  :D
If you have a market for blocking or pallet wood that's what you make from it, as it's your best return. Even if you dry it then rip the cracked pith out later (Which is a valid method), you are still discarding that problem wood, just at a different [point in the process.

With the swing blade mill you are always taking dimensioned boards off the log, not sawing a cant. So it just makes sense to take that problem wood out in a couple of boards, which may end up on the firewood pile. I can see when you create a cant, then saw that down, that it's probably easier to keep all the boards and sort out the junk later. If you are sawing for grade and rotating the cant to recover the best boards, at some point you get down to a central core of low grade wood anyway. Up to you what you decide to do with it.

[4x4American]

 :P

[hacknchop]

When sawing hardwood you can salvage either 3a or 3b by finnishing with 1x4 the difference between getting 3a or 3 b  ussually is pith placement try to box your heart and the if possible split the pith some species such as maple and or yellow birch are prone to having unsound wood in the heart and these ussually would be your 4x4 and sold for dunnage for less pr thousand than the logs wheras low grade 1" still sell for a little more than the logs and for me thats just good bussiness.

[Angleblade11]

Thanks for the input. I always saw through the whole log. Just was curious what other guys were doing. Most of our sawing is done for personal use. I been finishing my basement and have been swing larch. We have a forest of it behind the house. I like character on my boards I love the grain of larch and if the heart holds up and it has character it's going on the wall.

[WoodenHead]

I saw mostly pine (Eastern/Northern White Pine) and slice completely thru and thru once in cant form.  Eastern White Cedar I tackle similarly.  I saw some hardwood (maybe 10k bdft a year), but not enough to bother with pallet cants or ties.  So I do what Jeff does and make 4 x 4's.  They have many uses and often someone will buy them from me or I use them myself.  Any lumber that has included the pith ends up splintering and simply not worth the trouble.   

[YellowHammer]

In red and white oak, hickory and split prone hardwoods, I'll keep rotating the cant until I get it down to a centered 3.5x3.5 which I sell green to folks.  If they won't buy them, I'll use them on the farm, they come in pretty handy.  Seems as soon as I use them up, somebody wants to buy a load....
Poplar, red and hard maple, sassafras, and others like that, I'll take all the way down to boards and sell as low grade. 

YH