Milling 2-5 year dead eastern red cedar

T Gates · August 15, 2022, 03:46:02 PM

Hi, I am new to the forum and am going to show my ignorance. I live in southern Kansas and the eastern red cedars in the tree rows have died, either age or drought. I have access to several hundred ERC that have been dead for 2-5 years, diameters ranging from 8"-24" at the base. Some are standing, some are in piles. My question is; with how long they have been dead are they worth milling? I have been wanting to purchase a saw mill for several years and this would give me the excuse to pull the trigger. :laugh: :laugh:

Ljohnsaw · August 15, 2022, 04:42:10 PM

Umm, YEAH! Cedar is very rot resistant. I have Incense Cedar. Some had been down so long they were buried in pine litter but still solid. Do you have a use for it or are you planning to sell and hopefully make money on them? The 8" would make some fancy 4x4 fence posts ;)

T Gates · August 15, 2022, 05:01:13 PM

I always have fence to build. I would also like to mill some posts for framing, lots of projects on our place to build. In about a year we are planning on building a house and I am sure we could find lots of places to use cedar in it.

Nebraska · August 15, 2022, 05:21:56 PM

Welcome, you'll get some nice wood from a 2 ft diameter cedar as long as the center isn't rotten. I am working on a pile that has been down 2 years. It still is in good shape with not much degrade.

Ljohnsaw · August 15, 2022, 05:41:22 PM

Quote from: T Gates on August 15, 2022, 03:46:02 PM8"-24" at the base.

Also, you want to use the standard DBH (diameter breast height) when comparing trees. That gets rid of the root flare at the bottom that doesn't mill into anything. If you have 24" DBH, that is fantastic. Even 18-20 is a lot of good stuff.

Cedarman · August 21, 2022, 01:49:17 PM

Cut some down and look for heart rot. Not good. If no heart rot, look at sapwood. If sound and the heart wood is sound then you can saw into anything you want. If sapwood is punky, then treat it like wane and the diameter will be based on the diameter of the red heartwood.
I have sawn trees down 20 years and heartwood will saw just fine.
But first cut some down, cut the limbs off and see what the log looks like at the 8 1/2 foot mark.
6" diameter will make a nice 4x4 post.
4x4x8 are selling like hotcakes for $18.00 each . 6x6x8 are around $40.00
Cannot keep up with demand.

moodnacreek · August 21, 2022, 02:50:37 PM

People always ask if dead logs are still good and it is very hard to answer that question. A few answers: standing is always better. The more sapwood the more rot. Logs that are not round or not straight can have deeper rot. Species without sap wood rot all at once [maple/ spruce]. Standing dead nice oak that died suddenly may have no defect. Bark off is not a good sign. Cedar is a special case, standing it is as good as it looks and laying on the ground probably only the sap is rotten. Good diameter is a plus and remember some trees where no good when they where alive.