Leave whole logs to mill later?

[Kris Laib]

My parents just had 3 good sized tree's (1 maple, 2 doug fir, I'd guess 18" x 30' approx, I may be a bit off, I haven't had a chance to inspect up close yet) cut down yesterday and chopped into sections ranging from about 2-8'. I was hoping to seal the ends and stack and tarp (teepee style) the logs outside until I had time and equipment to mill it many months from now, and maybe make turning blanks out of the shorter pieces. I have no particular projects in mind, but I'm just starting to seriously get into woodworking and wanted a stash of "free" wood to play with and learn on. I'm currently between houses and have no means to further process the logs...

After searching through the SMC archives, I'm starting to get the feeling that if I can't get the wood milled now, I'm probably SOL except for the turning blanks, is that a fair statement, or is there hope to mill the logs months down the line if they're sealed and kept outside in a dry but ventilated area?

[Jeff Duncan]

I am not an expert in drying lumber, but my understanding coincides with your SOL statement. I think for the most part felling and milling should be pretty close to each other. Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will chime in!

JeffD

[Wade Lippman]

You would be doing this mainly for fun; the wood you get out of these trees won't economically be worth the effort.
Although it is best to do it as soon as possible, in this instance there isn't much to lose and you should do it whenever convenient.

When I first got a bandsaw I made a wood spoon out of a piece of firewood in backyard just to try the bandsaw out. 8 years later and 500 trips through the dishwasher and it is still fine. (the spoon; I sold the bandsaw years ago...)

[John TenEyck]

Unless you get the ends sealed PDQ you definitely will be SOL on the short pieces for sure, and probably the longer ones, too. Also, maple doesn't take kindly to sitting around very long before starting to decay. No clue on Doug Fir in that regard. Seal the ends, get it out of the sun and up off the ground, and mill it within a month or two, or call it firewood.

John

[Danny Hamsley]

Yes, get them off the ground and seal the ends with anchorseal (uccoatings.com) or melt some paraffin wax like you see used for home canning in the grocery store and use that. Paint is not totally useless, but it is close.

[Trevor Howard]

Not much help on the logs, but fill out your location, you never know some one local to you, on SMC may be able to help.

[Aleks Hunter]

CUT the maple ASAP. Unless you want a LOT of checking in the logs. ALso Maple , hard of soft is one of the least rot resistant hardwoods.Get it off the ground and under cover ASAP. Onthe bright side, hard maple is a gorgeous wood, polishes to a great lustre, and about as hard as anything you really want to try to work with, and you never know what kinds of figure will be hiding inside the logs.

[John Prexta]

Great advise from all above. Can't top what's already been said.

[Bill Neely]

If there is any question about leaving doug fir down, look at the nearest mill. The log yards have sprinklers going continuously in warm weather.

[Keith Hankins]

use to buy my lumber (cherry) from a guy that taught me sawing. He did a lot. He left his logs sit for almost a year and would mill them when he got a lot to do over a week. He paid a sawyer to come on site once a year. it won't hurt. It is nice if you seal them to prevent checking but again loss will be minimal. For cherry it helps allow the color to dispearse better in the heartwood.