I've got a large carport that is currently housing a bunch of pine/oak rough cut wood I got from a guy.

A major storm came through our town a year ago and my friend lost many many trees. Lots of them were big maples.

I may have the opportunity to take probably all that I can store for a nominal fee plus my labor.

That being said i have a few questions.
  1. if these trees have been laying on the ground for a year are they still good? Might be some nice spalting, =) How long does a downed maple tree generally last before decaying too much, or is this just too subjective to even take a stab at answering?
  2. I don't have the ability to move the logs from his place to mine still in full size log form, 8+ foot lengths. Is it better to leave them in manageable log lengths, like 2-4 foot long logs of various diamaters, or would it be better to cut them up now, some in rough boards, some in large bowl blanks, like 12x12x4 for example? or are these too small if they're not kiln dried and i'd be better off trying to leave some in 12x12x48 and then cut that down whenever I decide to turn them?



Yep, lots of stuff going on in Steffen Land. Probably getting in over my head a bit as usual. My friend is cutting up logs and stacking them, clearing brush every weekend. He doesn't want big machines on his property, but also knows he'll never clear everything out on his own so he can spare some of the wood.