Will trees dry out fast with the tops still on?

[beenthere]

semologger
How will you measure how much moisture is lost?  Are you weighing the logs before and after? 
Just curious..

[semologger]

Yes we sell all our wood by the ton. We always weigh the same. I will just take a load of dry wood in and weigh it in a couple of months. I can compare the dry wood and the green wood. My uncle has a moisture content reader for when he runs his dry kiln I could probably get. Its easy to use. I just thought about that. I am still working on a dryer for just shavings. Everybodys gave me good Ideas. thanks guys

Wes

[RSteiner]

There is a man I know in the next town who has a machine that turns wood into shavings for bedding.  It is not his sole means of making a living but he is always looking for material to turn into shavings.  He sells it by the truck loads.  I would think a bagging machine to go along with this operation would be a plus.  The horse people around here are paying around $4.50 a bag for shavings. 

I don't know what the cost of producing a bag of shavings is.  It would seem that using mill waste would be the best thing.  My son works for a company that makes hardwood flooring and all there waste goes to a place that makes wood pellets. 

Randy