Fallen White Oak. Want to Mill

[Jose Kilpatrick]

My dad and I have had our eye on a white oak that fell this spring. A tornado in the area causes some high winds and this big guy snapped off at the trunk. There seems to be no visual damage, no bugs, no hollow spots, etc. The diameter at the largest end is 36" and from the base up to the first fork, it's a length of about 20'.

He has a large enough tractor to get it out of the woods, and a large enough trailer to haul it to a mill. But, we have considered the idea of milling it with his chainsaw.

We're trying to determine the most cost effective options. I suppose we could take it to the mill and let them mill it and kiln dry it, but we're not sure what kind of cost that would incur.

We could also rent a mill and mill it on our own, but then we would have to build a designated place to store it to dry.

Does anyone have an idea how much lumber we would be able to get out of this log? Or an idea of how much a mill would charge to mill it for us?

[Billy Chambless]

Chainsaw milling is a a lot like hard work, with a side order or bustin' your butt. It works best if you havea BIG (that's pronounced "expensive") chainsaw. With that said, sometimes it's the best option; I use a Stihl 660 and a small Alaskan mill to mill lumber that's so deep in the woods that it's not practical to use heavy equipment.


We're trying to determine the most cost effective options. I suppose we could take it to the mill and let them mill it and kiln dry it, but we're not sure what kind of cost that would incur.

Well... call them and ask. You might be surprised how cheap it is, or you might be surprised when that particular mill says they don't like to mill random logs people bring in.

You might also be able to check around in your area and find somone with a portable mill who'll come out and mill it for you. Of course, then you're back to having to set up a place to dry it.

There are a lot of tradeoffs involved in choosing between the various options. IMO, only you can decide what fits your siutation best.

Assorted articles on estimating lumber yield from a log:

http://www.woodweb.com/KnowledgeBase/KBPPYieldFormulas.html

[Frank Drew]

Jose,

If the log is indeed sound and defect free you can potentially get some terrific material from it, in sizes (widths) almost impossible to find commercially.

But, as Billy says, any way you do it will involve work and/or expense, and, as you note, you have to be prepared to stack and sticker the lumber carefully once it's sawn. Personally, I think it's worth it, but it's not like it's easy.

For my tastes, having the log sawn through and through (also called flitch sawn) yields the best looking and widest material, with a mix of flat and quarter-sawn equivalent. The center of a log always splits, so that's a good place to get some dimension lumber (12/4, 16/4, etc.).

It's probably unrealistic to try to preserve the log in its full 20' length for sawing into lumber; maybe two 10' pieces, or an 8' and a 12'? Also, if you can get out into the woods with a can of green wood sealer to coat the ends of the log really well and as soon as possible (today?), you can prevent a lot of end checking.

[Billy Chambless]

It's probably unrealistic to try to preserve the log in its full 20' length for sawing into lumber; maybe two 10' pieces, or an 8' and a 12'? Also, if you can get out into the woods with a can of green wood sealer to coat the ends of the log really well and as soon as possible (today?), you can prevent a lot of end checking.


I just want to echo some of what Frank aid, and maybe reinforce it. I used to try to get the longest boards possible out of a log; finally realised that adds a lot of work, for no good reason.

And if you can't get hold of proper sealer, leftover latex paint is better than nothing. The idea is to slow down drying from the ends, which leads to checking and splitting.

[Steve Schoene]

One point that is in favor of a mill accepting the job is that, from what you say, this tree was out in the woods. "Urban" trees represent much greater risk of buried metal.

[Fred Voorhees]

I would think your surest bet would simply to find someone with a portable sawmill and have them come right to your property. The prices are not way out of line and you would save the hauling and aggravation. You would have someone milling it that knows what they are doing and by pitching in and helping, you can save a little ching also. I would call Woodmizer or visit their website and they can direct you to someone in your area that has one of their mills.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

If you will go to the Woodweb website and look in the left hand column under Resources there is a link to finding a sawyer or kiln that may be of some use. And a couple or three links under that is a section on calculators for estimating board footage from a log. Be aware that it doesn't take much of a crook at all to throw milling off.

[Rob Will]

Jose,

My neighbor has a Woodmizer. He comes over here to cut logs like that all the time. Our largest so far was a 44" poplar - in that case, I had to use my 660 to shave off the sides of the log.

In the case of the white oak, I would quarter saw everything possible.
When you roll a few 12" wide quarter sawn planks off of the mill you will be happy.:)

Oak has tremendous lateral shrinkage (across the grain) upon drying. This is why it end checks so bad. You need to cut the log to length and seal the ends ASAP. I personally like shorter boards and by cutting them shorter, milling is easier - and with less waste.

After milling, blow off all sawdust and reseal the ends of each board. In addition, you may want to seal the last 4 inches or so of the board's face. If you cut any thick slabs of white oak you might as well seal the ENTIRE board - all 6 sides. This works but don't ask me how long this will take to dry. If you don't seal it, white oak will bust wide open. Stack and sticker out of the sun and direct wind. You don't want it to mold but white oak needs to dry sloooow.

Google "Bailey's log sealer" or "Anchorseal".

Good luck with the WO,

Rob