Huge white pine

[heavyhorseman]

Question. I am fairly new at my own sawing ( Baker  18HD with a 20hp--clocked 42 hrs so far). Work mostly with hardwoods. During a windstorm last month a huge white pine, at least 40inches at base,  60ft straight,blew down in the neighbors field. The base is rotted ( inside-outside looked good) , it has a split up the center about 6 ft long, and has a lot of branches, quite a few 6-7 in. in dia. This tree is free for the taking just to get it out of his field. Questions are: would there be much usuable wood in there with the big knots, if I just log it, and sawed up in the fall, would the bugs get in it and reck it. I was planning on making 1 in. boards for sheathing on a new house I plan to build, as I will have to cut it all into 8ft logs, as I dont think I could handle anything bigger. Any advice, opinions would be greatly appreciated. If I do this I have to start Monday. Thanks  

[rebocardo]

1x pine for building is common and cheap.

If I had a pine 40+ inches across I would turn it into wide slabs I could turn into big money, knots and all, on E-BAY, etc.

[Minnesota_boy]

If you leave the white pine until fall, it will likely be stained blue and have wormholes through it.  I'd be tempted to mill it into as wide boards as I could, then have it kill dried to set the pitch and use it in an interior wall.  It could be quite a conversation piece to have your room paneled in 16 inch (or wider) boards.

[Norwiscutter]

If you can leave it wide, there's no reason to cut it narrow. If it cups bad when drying. just resaw it.  Them wide pine walls and floors that minnisota boy mentioned sure look nice. I have some 6/4 stickered at up to 28 inch wide.  I am giving myself the extra half inch to resaw after drying.  Other wise, cut some 4 inch bar tops.  Worse comes to worse, you can always use 1 inch pine boards for everything and anything.  Once you start cutting white pine, you won't want to cut anything else.

[chet]

Norwiscutter, after the storm this weekend you should be swimming in logs.   ;)

[rvrdivr]

I've got a few questions, what makes the wood turn blue? Age? Does kilning right after sawing stop this process? What about air drying? I'm down here in FL, will this blueing happen to our southern pine? I'm scared! :D
Thanks, Brian

[Tom]

Yes, Blue pine is pretty common.  It's caused by fungus carried by those little black bark beetles and they inoculate a tree when they bore into the cambium.  When the tree dies, the fungus grows quickly toward the heart and, in many peoples minds, ruins the esthetics of the board.  In other peoples eyes, Blue Stain inhances the esthetics of a board.  There is even an effort underway to market it as "Denim Pine".

While it colors the wood, it doesn't  harm the strength.

http://everest.ento.vt.edu/~salom/SPBbiology/bluestain.html

http://www.iswonline.com/wwp/wom/denimpine.shtml

[Norwiscutter]

Yup, Tons of yard pine :( Couldnt get out of the yard for a day or so.  Bad timing to.  Mill is at the welder getting the trailer and bed extension done.  Won't be ready till next week.  Got a good connection with a tree service guy though. Said that seeing as the logs he has have already been paid for by the customer, he has no problem with me cutting em up if I want em 8) 8) Only mistake I made is went and cut about 30-40 pines on my property about 3 weeks ago so that I would have enough to last me throughout the summer :(