Milling Eastern White Pine

[TommyT]

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and new to milling. I just bought a new portable mill and I have a property with some 24" wide Eastern White Pine that I am having cut down and will be working with 21' long (for 2 x 10) and I am thinking 12' or 16' lengths for 1x8 & 2x6

What length is recommended for lengths of the 1x8 & 2x6 boards 12 ' or 16' ?
for the 2 x 10 should I be using the 24" log or the smaller tapered end of the tree?
Is milling 2 months after the tree is down a good time for eastern white or is there other things to consider?

Thanks for your help! 8)

Tommy

[moosehunter]

Welcome to the FF TommyT. Saw your white pine as soon as it hits the ground. You should try to get it sawn, stacked and stickered asap. Heat and humidity is not your friend when it comes to wp. Most sawmills around here will not accept wp May through September because the bugs get in it and blue stain sets in so quickly. Use the search function here and you will find hours of reading about wp.
mh

[alan gage]

Is this for personal use or are you selling the lumber? I don't think there is any "best" length. If it's personal use cut it to the length you need and if for sale cut it to what the customer wants.

For me personally I use 8-10' lumber for most things. Occasionally I need longer but if I'm just cutting up logs to stockpile boards I generally cut shorter knowing that's what I'll use the most of and the stacks take up less horizontal space. I've got a bunch of 14' 2x10 material I bought at auction for a great price. Someday I'll use it but I'm getting sick and tired of moving it around and it always seems to be in the way. If it was 10' it would have been used up already.

Alan

[RAYAR]

Welcome to the FF Tommy. What part of the province are you from? I'm in the south east.

[SwampDonkey]

Get'r sawed up as soon as you drop'r. Wood beetles and sap stain move in quickly and you'll end up with blue stain pine. I've had pine sawn, and you really have to get on it. Sticker it good between layers to.

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, TommyT!

I agree with others who have said cut it and saw it soon!

[Don P]

I just got back up to da house after finishing up a whack of white pine. I got home last Sunday to one across the driveway. By the time I had it extracted I had 2 pines, you'll have some of that on these big jobs :D. We are warming up so its later than I like to cut but it looks like I've got nothing but time now so the plan is to drop one or two, saw and sticker that, then repeat to avoid the blue and bugs. Right now is actually pretty prime, we are warming but humidity isn't up yet so If I can get a quick surface dry it probably will not blue.

Chances are there aren't too many uses for a white pine 2x10 that long, it isn't strong enough to span those kinds of lengths. I don't use it structurally that much, most of what I'm sawing is for siding and paneling. But, that said While sawing I got 4 nice 8x8x12's and it looks like the smart thing to do is stay home for awhile... so the next timberframe is afoot :D. 

[TommyT]

Welcome to the FF Tommy. What part of the province are you from? I'm in the south east.

I'm just North of Fredericton. Have a camp down near St. Andrew's 

[RAYAR]

Welcome to the FF Tommy. What part of the province are you from? I'm in the south east.

I'm just North of Fredericton. Have a camp down near St. Andrew's

I have a son that lives near Fredericton, works in the city.

What did you get for a mill and what support equipment do you have to aide with your mill operations? You are going to need something to load those Pine logs up on the deck of your mill. We also like pics here on the FF. There should be a link on the home page to guide you through the process of uploading pics.
Ray

[TommyT]

I just put a deposit on a Big Red mill with a hydraulic lift. We are hoping to see it this month but given the state of things it could be delayed. I bought it from a fella near Sussex who is the dealer for the Quebec manufacturer. 20hp Honda engine. Cuts up to 32" x 21' long 

I have a 60 HP Kubota tractor 

I'm going to leave those pines standing until the mill arrives based on the responses I have had here.

I will post pics of the mill when she arrives!