Are my saw logs still good?

[John Daugherty]

I cut a few white oak, cherry, and sugar maple down about a year ago, with the intentions of having it milled into lumber. Well, a year has passed and through my procrastination they are still laying around. Are they still usable for lumber or are they only good for turning blanks?

[Jeff Sudmeier]

The only sure way to find out, is to open them up. THe maple may have spalted by now and you may have a treasure on your hands!

[lou sansone]

from my experinece the maple is probably degraded, but may still be usable. The oak will probably be ok and I am not sure about the cherry
lou

[Tom Sontag]

My guess is that the cherry would be the last to degrade. It is possible that all of them are useful if they were not stored in contact with the soil, although the maple might not be the clear white you had originally. Prod the end grain and see what is soft.

[Dick Parr]

Hi John,

I would think after only a year most if not all should still be good and maybe with some added spalting. ;) But!

If you decide not to mill it up and need help getting rid of some of that Cherry, let me know and I'll come and help ya cut it up. :D

Talk to ya later from Knoxville

[thomas prevost]

All should be good if they were live when cut. you may loose a few boards on the side laying on the ground. you may have some spaulting of the maple in about 1-3 feet. If left in a very wet area and the bottom of the soft maple has started to rot, you may have spaulting the full length.