My Pith is Off Center

[WDH]

The logs, four 10 footers, were sawn this morning less than 24 hours after the tree was felled yesterday morning. 

I suspect that a little more than half of them will dry pretty well.  As to the others, "Oh well  ".   

Can't really "age' the logs or even the cants as they will get blue stained in less than 2 weeks.  I did not want blue stain in these boards. 

[Magicman]

Sounds/looks like you salvaged all that was salvageable.   8)

[Peter Drouin]

The logs, four 10 footers, were sawn this morning less than 24 hours after the tree was felled yesterday morning. 

I suspect that a little more than half of them will dry pretty well.  As to the others, "Oh well  ".   

Can't really "age' the logs or even the cants as they will get blue stained in less than 2 weeks.  I did not want blue stain in these boards. 

Up here in NH if we don't let the pitch run out the logs and cut too soon the pitch will be on the face of the lumber and when you plan or cut it . All your tools will gum up bad.

[WDH]

After drying in the kiln and going through the sterilization cycle at 150° for 24 hours, the pitch is set (crystallized), and it will not gum up your tools the same way that pitchy air dried pine will.  I don't kiln dry all the pine, only that which is slated for woodworking.

Pine Man, when are you going to get your kiln?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Pine Man, when are you going to get your kiln?

As soon as he's finished cutting 4 foot stickers and gets something to eat.  :D :D :D

[WDH]

If that is the case, he might not have time for a kiln, or he might starve  :D. 

[Peter Drouin]

If that is the case, he might not have time for a kiln, or he might starve  :D. 

The way it is here I can't even get my 24'x65' shed all up. Like today with all the customers and phone orders I can't get things done.
smiley_horserider

[customsawyer]

Danny I can't say that I blame you for flat sawing it. Sure wish you were brave enough to saw it the way you first talking. Would have been interesting to see how the wood moved while sawing  but also while drying. I get lots of chances to see how wood moves in the sawing process but not near enough after the drying process. "You've come far pilgrim." ;D

[longtime lurker]

So I eyed it off and made my call then said nothing because short leaf pine - well just about any pine (pine is a four letter word around here) is not on the list of things I encounter and I can't make a fool of myself with a shut mouth.

For the record I'd have - as lying in the initial picture- dropped a cut vertically through just to the lright of the discoloured juvenile area and let it drop tension, then made a call as to quarter or back made on that. The right hand half I'd be looking to through and through as it lies in the picture, the right side with the pith I'd have probably backsawn chasing width.
I was kinda looking forward to seeing how it cut.

So I face this decision every day when I'm in the cabinetry/joinery/flooring timbers. (General framing is always backsawn) Do I chase wide backsawn boards or narrower quartersawn ones. My timber mostly springs a lot so pulling the spring back out of Q/S means trading recovery for a grade premium. Sometimes it's worthwhile... Sometimes I'll just back them and take the grade hit, and if it's under about 15" I'll nearly always go backsawn or through and through cut them to avoid the worst of the narrow boards. Boards under 4" wide I avoid unless that's all it can make.

I'm interested to know just what the premium would have been if you'd quartersawn it? For me it averages 25 % depending on species, but average recovery with that premium drops back by not less then 25% as well. If I presented a theoretical perfect world flooring flitch to the bench that's 6.25" x 6.25" say, I'd expect either 5 backsawn 1 x6 or the same number of Q/S 1x4's. I weight out bow in the drying process, spring I have to cut out... The yield is 25% more with backsawn, dollar value of the recovery though is the same. Marketability is a " it depends"...  But mostly it favors the Q/S, and definitely once they start getting some width on them. A bigger log I'll always quarter cut if he's going to cut clean.

I'm just interested to know how those numbers compare, or where y'all start thinking it's better to go backsawn then quarter cut.

[WDH]

I had two concerns with sawing the logs using my original line of thinking to saw them like each log was two trees in one.  The first concern was that I would not be able to get the whole juvenile core into "tree #1" in the log so that when I sawed "tree #2", I would get a big side-bend in each board.  The second was that the rift/quartersawn boards from "tree #2" would be 5" or less.  I have a hard time selling 5" or less boards unless they are walnut.  I knew it would be close, so I opted to flat saw them to minimize the tension and warping from the compression wood formed because of the drastic lean. 

As to value for flat versus quartersawn, the premium that I shoot for for quartersawn over flatsawn is given below:

Red oak  25%
White Oak  50%
Sycamore  50%
Pine  25%

The white oak and sycamore move very well.  For some reason, quartersawn red oak moves slow for me, so I don't saw that much. 

[WDH]

We will know how good or bad these boards turned out in about 4 - 6 weeks.



 

[Magicman]

The butt end of the butt log is more likely to give misery.

[YellowHammer]

From the picture it looks like you have dedicated concrete drying pads?
Pretty cool

[Peter Drouin]

From the picture it looks like you have dedicated concrete drying pads?
Pretty cool

Yeah, what's up with that?

[WDH]

Yeah, the pads are pretty new.  It got aggravating always having to shim and level the stack foundations, so I bit the bullet and poured enough concrete pads to be able to air dry up to 7000 BF at capacity at the end of the saw shed. 

I have room for another 7000 BF under the planer room sheds.  You can see the planer room in the background of the pic, at the far back left.  No concrete pads there yet.  With buying the edger, increasing the size of the shed by 1/3rd, pouring the pads, and buying a spanking brand new LT40HDD35, my bank account was whining. 

[Ga Mtn Man]

WDH-  I think you made the right choice.  I've tried to get fancy with sawing a log like that only to be rather disappointed with the time/reward ratio. 

That helper lurking in the background of the third pic looks mighty familiar.  ???

..."You've come far pilgrim." ;D

I can't not watch that movie when I flip across it.  One of my favs.

[WDH]

That stranger is one of my very best repeat lumber customers.  He makes beautiful pieces.  His name is Mike, and is now embarked on a mid 1770's style high boy with the cabriolet legs.  He will make it from some of the curly cherry that Jake and I cut about 8 months ago.   

[Ga Mtn Man]

Oh, he wasn't who I thought he was  :-[.

[WDH]

He wanted to see the sawmill run.  Sawmills are like magnets.  Not chick magnets like puppies are.  Sawmills just attract older guys like us who wish that they had a sawmill  :D. 

[Magicman]

my bank account was whining.

Looks like that slab tree is whining too.   ;)

[WDH]

It is a chinaberry, so let it whine.  Been thinking about taking it down, but I want the stump gone too, and I do not have a crawler loader ( ;D) .

[Magicman]

But you needs dat slab tree to hold dem slabs.   ;D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

  With buying the edger, increasing the size of the shed by 1/3rd, pouring the pads, and buying a spanking brand new LT40HDD35, my bank account was whining.

Oh quite your whining. 
With what you charge to build Walnut Dining Tables, I'd be surprised if you didn't up grade to an LT70 widehead.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Dave Shepard]

I don't know goat, with what you charge for slabs, I'd have expected to see a wide head in your shed already!

[WDH]

Den won't let you negotiate for him, but you can come negotiate to sell my slabs.  The ones in the slab pile, not the ones on stickers  .