Spruce

[bulldozerjoe]

Just pulled the trigger on my first ever mill today, but it won't ship until September 31.. what should I do, wait until my mill comes to start cutting the spruce out back, or can I start cutting them now... don't know if it makes a difference if the wood saws better fresh or sitting all summer in a log pile. I could either cut them to length of leave them in tree length, i have a tractor with forks... thanks

[alan gage]

Just pulled the trigger on my first ever mill today, but it won't ship until September 31.. what should I do, wait until my mill comes to start cutting the spruce out back, or can I start cutting them now... don't know if it makes a difference if the wood saws better fresh or sitting all summer in a log pile. I could either cut them to length of leave them in tree length, i have a tractor with forks... thanks

The fresher the better. I'd wait.
And if your spruce is like our spruce find something else to practice milling with so you don't get discouraged.
Not sure what species most of ours is. It's not native and is planted as wind breaks and is knotty right down to the butt. Hardest thing I've sawn.
I can't recall ever hearing anyone here talk about how much they enjoy sawing spruce. Lots of complaints though.
Enjoy the new mill!
Alan

[bulldozerjoe]

I think is Norway, there tall with not a lot of knots

[WV Sawmiller]

   Doesn't sound like Norway spruce to me if there are no knots. I have a stand of overaged Christmas trees that are Norway spruce and they have a row of limbs/knots about every 2'. Sawing can be a challenge as the wood is soft but the knots are rock hard. I use a 4 degree blade. The smaller hook angle helps prevent waves in the wood.

   This may be heresy but I am not sure I would be opposed to cutting and bucking the logs now. If it were pine I'd wait due to worms and I understand blue stain but I don't know of that being a problem with spruce, or at least Norway spruce which is all I have sawed. If anything you might have less sap issues if you cut them now. What is your schedule in October going to be? Would you still have plenty of time to cut and buck and move them then or do you have excess time available now? If you have beaucoups time on hand now, start dropping and dragging trees. 


 Everything in this picture from the chainsaw down is Norway spruce. Note the location of the limbs/stubs.

[barbender]

Bugs get into spruce pretty quick, don't delay sawing it longer than necessary.

[Andries]

The more I mill, the more I realize how little time the milling really takes. It's all the rest that really chews up your time: waste sawdust and slabs, sticker, stack and cover, etc.
Here's thread that will cut down on wasted time, will get you better lumber and keeps your  mill site looking pro.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=108743.msg1699255#msg1699255 
Your wait will seem shorter by getting ready for the arrival of your mill.

[WV Sawmiller]

Barbender,

   Thanks for that tidbit. I'll  be sure to process mine quickly in the future. Come to think of it - the only spruce I let sit a while before sawing was in the winter so your observations continue to hold water. ;)

[barbender]

It's been my experience that nothing good happens to softwood sitting around (well any wood, really, unless you are going for spalting or bluestain). I don't make a lot of noise about this, but I am running long term research on the effects of weather and insects on a wide variety of wood species. I have been able to stimulate defects of all sorts in my research- checking, rot, borer damage, fungal staining. My conclusion- you don't want any of it😁 

  Spruce is a challenge to saw straight, the bigger the knots are the less joy you will have. I don't think it is the hardness of the knots that causes the most problem. The grain of spruce really gets wild around the knots, and it "fuzzes" as the blade is essentially cross cutting instead of ripping at times. It saws better frozen. If you are sawing stuff that has big (1" plus) knots, you'll be better off sawing wide boards. Narrow stuff like 2x4 or 1x4 will fall right in half around knots.