Now, What To Do?

[tcsmpsi]

Now that I have made the coporate  ;) decision  on a bandmill and have it ordered, and in looking around trying to figure where to set up operations on the place (like a cat looking for a spot to drop kittens), I find that I am going to have to do a lot more felling of bigger trees than I had thought.

That, coupled with the trees that are going to have to come down for the house additions we have laid out (and material on the ground to dry in)(later today will be digging the other piling holes and setting the concrete for pads in them), I find that, however I go, I am going to have logs setting that I will not be able to mill right away.

Let me explain a bit about the primary logs I will have right away.   I originally purchased this property as a secondary place for shooting, hunting, storing building material/equipment, and general hanging out far away from other human creatures, out of a rather large tract of land purchased from a timber company.  It had most all been cut, planted and when I put my heel mark by the 'road' (dirt, two rut) marking the first piece cut out of the tract, these little yellow pines were 5-6' tall.  That was 23 years ago.  Of course, having daily interaction with lumber market, I certainly knew the potential of having all those little rascals reaching to the sun, and never touched any that I didn't absolutely have to.

Time flies, don't it? 

What I will be having, for the most part, are logs with 18-24" butts, with limbs generally starting 20-30' above ground.

I am not planning on stacking them any longer than absolutely necessary,  and we've been together so long, I hate to fell them anyhow, but they and many others on the place are going to need it.

Any thoughts of wisdom I could generate in keeping the logs in good as shape as possible for milling, would be tremendously appreciated.

[Minnesota_boy]

I'm at the wrong edge of the US to be a good resource, but if I had pines here that had to come down and I couldn't mill them within a month or so, I'd sell them and buy replacement lumber.  Pines do not store well in warm weather.  They blue stain first, then the bugs start their work followed by fungus that weakens them.

[Texas Ranger]

Michalel, call Glenn Evans out at Soda and see if he'll haul some logs for  ya, like Minnesota said, be bad to store them this summer.

[woodmills1]

the blue stain is really a problem if you are intending to use the wood for finished unpainted appearance wood, but will not affect the strength for use as construction wood.  The stain will appear when logs are stored when the temp is over 70 degrees.  The hotter it is the faster it will stain.  The bugs will take more time, and again unless the bug damage leaves swiss cheese wood the wood can still be used for construction.  If you do cut lumber from stained wood make sure you sticker well and orient the piles so the prevailing winds will blow through the piles.  Also use narrow stacks.  Bothe of these are to reduce the formation of mold in the interior of the pile.

[tcsmpsi]

The first logs will be used for my own structural use.  And, I hope that a month cut would be the outside end of the time frame.  But still, you never know.

[Tom]

A month is no sweat.  You can protect them real good for a long period by submerging them in a pond.  You can protect them for a shorter period by sprinkling them  If you have power and the ability to keep the stack of logs dripping wet, you will have few, if any, bugs and the stain will be kept to a minimum.

[Buzz-sawyer]

I am not sure you want it but here is some advice all new sawyers need when setting up a mill.......... : : :P ;)
Set it up with gravity aiding you , meaning so that if possible logs can be rolled onto the mill with a downhill slope....also set it up so you dont have top bend over .............
set it up at a comfortable waist height for picking up or preferably someone else picking up lumber :D :D

, even if it means biulding a walkway to push the power head along....so that as you are horsing these logs maually you have good mechanical advantage...and leverage on big and little alike.......these 2 things can save thousands of hours and aches :D :D :D :D

[ellmoe]

    I saw  med.- large pine logs as old as six months and only have "problems" ;D with blue stain. These are not naturally grown SYP and have denser growth rings than plantation grown timber. These logs seem to hold up better that the less dense plantation pine, but a couple of months from harvest to sawing on larger plantation pine shouldn't hurt. On small, fast growing trees , rot  will begin within two months. I am in Central Fla., similar weather to east Texas (Dad's from Hemphill).
Mark

[Fla._Deadheader]

Check the local market for "Denim" Pine. Arky sorts it out and sells for a Premium price. We did too, when I was still in the USA.  8) ;D ;D

[solodan]

*DanG it Harold ;D  ;D

Ya know some of us want to keep the blue pine market strong :D

How can I sell messed up wood for 3 times the price if everone else is doing it? ;)

If I could figure out how and what causes the red stain, I could really have some premium wood. Does anyone else ever see these bright red streaks in the pine? I think that it occurs just before the wood begins to rot. It sure makes some interesting wood.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Lo Siento  :-[ :-[ ;D

[tcsmpsi]

I walked to Hemphill from Houston, once, intentionally...a loooong time ago.

 
Hey Ranger, I'll call Evans if it looks like I am going to be in need of wood.
Know anyone who is running a special on Time???   ;)

I thought about the pond, Tom.  But, presently, my pond has a hole in it.   ;DHopefully, this summer it will dry enough so that I can repair it.
One of the criteria in figuring out where I'm going to clear to operate, is so that it won't be too difficult for me to run water and electricity to it.

I am positive one can create an effective marketing strategy for 'blue wood'.  :

Indeed, I have been looking at the downhill aspect of feeding the logs. 

It's Monday and I have a ton of paperwork that just won't take my procrastination any longer.

[tcsmpsi]

Now see?  ;) This has all been just invaluable information, and has been very helpful in laying more of the groundwork in my upcoming milling operations, when to do what, etc.

I do search around in the forum, with what very limited time I have to do so, but knowledge is a continual process and new experiences are its foundation.

[Tom]

Beware.............

Sometimes you can plan yourself to death and never get started.

It's trying to fill in the plan's finite corners that keeps you at the desk.

A production consultants job is to tell you everything you are doing wrong.  Don't do it to yourself.
The fallacy is in the fact that he's not doing his job if he finds that you are doing anything right.

When you finally hit the start button, the learning curve goes straght up.  :D