What to do with my new found lumber???

[Vincent Lofton]

Well Guys, I think I found another deal. A friend of mine had a storm hit his place and downed some large white oak as well as red oak trees. They have been down a little over a year. No sign of bugs or rot according to the Mill operator. He gave me all that we could get out of the woods. I got 4, 8' logs approx 16 to 18" across of red oak. Then I got 8, 8' logs approx 24" across or maybe a little bigger of white oak. It took two 16' trailers to get them to a large bandsaw mill. They are beautiful logs, perfectly straight. I am getting them all quarter sawn for .40 a foot. I'm pretty excited but I'm nervous. He said I have somewher between 1000 and 2000 bd. ft of lumber. I don't have a barn but I do have about 1 1/2 acres with some shade that I can air dry my lumber. I intend to make mission style furniture with the wood.

The mill is going to start cutting next week. I told him I want everything quartersawn. I told him I wanted 75% cut to be able to plane to 1" boards, the remainder to plane to 2" boards. For the type of furniture I'm building, Are these good dimensions?

Also, I've got to stack this stuff. I plan to build some frames from 2x10's on top of cinder blocks. Do the frames need to be perfectly level? I've never air dried before and I don't want to make a mistake. Any suggestions would be very appreciated...

Thanks for the help!

bandsawlog work 009.jpg

[Neil Bosdet]

I wish I was your friend. That is a lot of wood. Nice drive by gloat. Your cut specs seem excellent to me (75% & 25%) of 1" and 2". The site does not need to be perfectly level but having it relatively level will make all tasks simpler. You will need to sticker the wood. Do not take shortcuts on this. Sticker well and sticker often. I like stickers at least 3/4" thick by about 1" wide and about 2' apart. The pile must be covered for sunlight and mostly for rain. The cover should not be in contact with the wood. A temporary car shelter makes a good drying tent. If you can move air through with a fan, you will improve the process.

[Ryan Hellmer]

While it may not need to be perfectly level, the platform does need to be perfectly planar (I know, splitting hairs), otherwise you will be stacking the wood under tension. Making it level is the easiest way. I put my stickers even closer together than 2 ft. My lumber stacks (currently sitting somewhere around 6000 bd ft) are all on a large wooden paddock (18'x18'). I used bridge beams on about 4 ft centers to get the stack off the ground, then I framed the padock with a 2x4s on 16" centers. My stacks run across the 16" centered 2x4s with stickers in vertical allignment to the 2x4s. We found some sheet metal roofing material (random off-cuts) that we use to cover the stacks, we just put another row of stickers on top of the pile, then the metal, then a couple 6x6 posts on top to weight the pile and keep the "roof" on.

A couple extra tips, end-coating would really help preserve some lumber. The white-oak will check to about 6-12" from the ends without coating, not much at all with. I've heard a lot about anchorseal but latex paint works pretty well too.

No standard way of handling it. For more information than you can digest, check out the forestry forum website.

Ryan

[Terry Beadle]

I would recommend getting 8qtr pieces for corner posts and even some table tops.
I would recommend 5 qtr for the rest. 1" is too limiting and will give you some trouble when you go to milling closer to final dimensions.

[Jacob Reverb]

I would recommend 5 qtr for the rest. 1" is too limiting and will give you some trouble when you go to milling closer to final dimensions.

+1

I might also get some 6/4.

[Matt Lau]

This boggles my mind too much to say YOU SUCK! ;p

[Ryan Fee]

Have you considered having the logs (or at least a few of the 24" ones) flitch sawed? Most full sized band mills have a 24" throat, and flitch sawing gives you a good mix of flat sawed, rift sawed and quarter sawed material, all coming from the same log (colour and grain matching). It also makes book matching and slip matching a whole lot easier.

As for dimensions, if your sawyer is experienced, I'd leave it up to him. Tell him which dimensions you can use (4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4... etc.) and them ask him to cut the best boards he can get in those sizes.

[Cody Colston]

Nice gloat. Congratulations.

Right now, before you do anything else, coat the ends of the logs with Anchorseal, Green Wood Sealer or Aluminum Paint to minimize end checking...very important!

I think your plan for 4/4 and 8/4 stock is about right. Any thicker than 8/4 and it will take too long to dry, probably requiring a kiln.

Your air-dry stack needs to be at least 12" off the ground with all of the supports in the same plane. Cinder blocks spaced about 4' apart and spanned with 4x4 timbers works well. Any uneveness in the base will show up in the lumber as it dries and it is impossible to straighten once dried. 3/4" x 1 1/4" stickers are a good size. If they aren't square, the wide side needs to be easily recognizeable so that you can keep them in the right orientation. Place stickers no more than 2 ft apart and with a sticker at the very end of each layer. End checks usually don't extend past the sticker so the closer you have them to the end, the shorter any checks. Ensure the stickers on each layer are placed directly above the sticker in the previous layer to keep the lumber straight.

Do not use a fan to circulate air through the stacks. Oak is a difficult wood to dry and the safe drying rate is very low...around 2% MC per day. It's easy to exceed that rate if the air flow is too high.

Unless you have an open-sided drying shed, cover the top of each stack with corrugated roofing tin. Elevate one end of the cover slightly to allow for water run-off. Shade cloth (available at nursery suppliers) draped around the sides of the stack will help keep rain from blowing in while still allowing air circulation. Weights placed on top of the stack will help to keep the lumber flat.

Once the lumber has air dried to EMC (around 12% MC) bring it indoors and let it acclimate to your shop environment before working it. Ideally, lumber needs to be at around 8% MC before using it in furniture. If your shop is air conditioned, it will reach that moisture content after a couple of weeks or so. If not, then build with shrinkage in mind since the modern home will run around 6% EMC or lower in winter.

If all of that sounds too overwhelming to mess with, shoot me a PM with your address and I'll come take all of that nasty green lumber off your hands.

[Vincent Lofton]

Thanks to all of you for the ideas. I appreciate it!

[Scott T Smith]

Vincent, Virginia Tech is hosting a one day solar kiln drying workshop next month. Here is a link and some info about it.

Scott

(The below is from Brian Bond at VT)


We will hold a one-day program on drying lumber with a solar kiln in Blacksburg, VA at the Brooks Forest Products Center on Friday May 20, 2011. This workshop introduces the principles of drying hardwood and softwood lumber in a solar kiln. The course also contains information on the design and operation of solar kilns. Emphasis will be placed on the solar kiln design at Virginia Tech (http://www.woodscience.vt.edu/about/.../vtsolar_kiln/). Our solar kiln is on-site and will be used in the course. Whether you are considering building a solar kiln or are currently operating one, this short course will provide you information that will improve your lumber drying skills.
For more information or to register:
www.woodscience.vt.edu/workshops/solar-drying/