Live Edge Pine from a Sawmill question

[Rustyiron]

Somewhere I have pictures but it's full of kids and Christmas tree and presents
I put Sickkens (spelling) on it and it honestly looked exactly like your picture. I handled it inside corners the same way simulating actually logs and the offset courses. I'll take a look but at best it will be a picture of a picture, way before digital.
I had some slight shrinkage at the log/fake chinking but not enough to worry with.

 

[civilian]

Have an attic space that you can sticker the slaps in? I dried some 2" white pine and 2" cedar on a loft in a pole barn in northern Michigan. Temperature maybe guessing 80 to 90's. Moisture meter showed down in low teens after two summers. Pieces were 6 to 8" wide. When stickered, straps kept them tight and I had to tighten at times. Good luck with your wall. Enjoy your mounts. Bet you have a bunch of stories on that wall. Jon

 

[s219]

I've built two buildings with green pine (southern yellow pine) lumber since I got my sawmill. There are some tricks you can use to minimize problems. The biggest is to place fasteners strategically so that you do not constrain the boards, which would lead to splitting. Orient the grain rings to take advantage of cup/crown tendency to work with the fasteners, not against them. Methods like board & batten take advantage of those concepts and are well suited for green lumber.

For anything resembling trimwork or interior work, I'd let the lumber dry first. Even if you can let it dry just 6-8 months, the majority of the seasoning and shrinkage will happen. Heck, I see wood dry and stabilize quite a bit after just 3-4 weeks of being stacked during dry winter months (the tell is the wood weight, it loses a lot of water in those first weeks).

Be sure to stack the wood carefully with stickers (spacers) to allow air gaps. To minimize visible marks on the wood where the stickers go, use dry lumber for the stickers. And try to strap the stacked wood pile together to minimize movement. This will especially be a concern for 2" thick pine. Anything over 4-6" thick generally stays put, and anything 1" or less won't have enough strength to move the stack. But in the 1.5-2.5" thickness range, lumber that wants to warp or twist will mess up the whole stack.

Finally, think about mold/mildew issues. Nothing makes rough sawn wood look worse, and it can be hard to deal with later on. I never had issues drying wood during winter months, but in the summer, mold has been a real issue. I can't see a way around this in my part of the country if storing wood in outdoor conditions during summer when it's humid. I have stored some wood indoors in my garage where I run a dehumidifier, and it has been fine there. But I have limited space there.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I've been watching some Youtube videos on Alaska Mills and might give that a try. Seems like the hardest part is the first cut. I'm don't want to make lumber, I just want slabs for the wall.

I haven't put any thought into how I will finish the boards. I want a smooth, easy to clean finish. But an oil finish would be faster and easier.

I think you would come out ahead to have someone come out with a portable bandsaw mill. I had a guy come out a few years ago, it was $500 for the day. His deal was he didn't touch the wood, he just ran the mill. I brought logs to the mill with my tractor and took away the sawn boards. It was a workout moving all that wood.

The cut surface was rough. Some of it I just stained with a dark brown stain and used for trim in my rec room. It's nice but it does catch the dust. I bought a planer on Amazon for about $400 and had my kids run boards through it, they came out quite nice and I finished them with clear poly.

The hitch would be finding someone with a mill, with the way lumber prices are they're really busy these days.

 

[oosik]

I used an Alaskan Mill when I two sided the spruce logs for my cabin. Two chunks of angle iron - each 24 feet long. It's like making a very long - narrow ladder. Cross bracing welded between the angle iron every two feet. Had this monstrosity made up in a local metal shop. Wing nut adjustment bolts on every cross brace member.

Lay it on top of the log and adjust accordingly. Run the chainsaw mill down the angle iron "ladder" and flatten the top. Readjust the mill and down the "ladder" a second time to flatten the bottom.

It takes a pretty good sized chain saw and a VERY aggressive chain. Turn the bar every day. Use double the oil in the gas to keep the engine well lubricated.

We built the cabin in 1976. Today - the effort would surely kill me. I just hope you are 40 years old or younger. It looks easy but is still one HELL of a job.

I still remember the day I two sided the final log. 138 spruce trees - two sided to make the cabin.

 

[EddieWalker]

That's my fear. It looks like an overwhelming amount of work to do it with an Alaskan Mill. Time that could be better used doing something else. I'm all over the place on what to do. I know of two guys that will come here and mill the logs. I know of two places that I can take the logs and have them done there. And then there is the appeal of not dealing with any of them and doing it myself.

The plan is to finish building my storage shed so I can start moving everything on the side of my house into the new shed. Then while I'm moving stuff and getting that area ready for a garage addition, I'm going to build a hay shed. It will be 16x48, but I only plan on using half of it for storing my round bales. The other half will be where I store the slabs. This will keep them dry and out of the way. I can still put some bales in there after the slabs are stacked and strapped. But basically it gives me a place to just let them sit while I'm building the new garage, and then converting my shop into a living room.

 

[oosik]

We thought of having a pre-cut cabin delivered. We just didn't have that kind of money at that time. Besides - we were saving up for my early retirement.

Building a log cabin - 18 x 24 - and milling the logs is an experience I will never forget. Thank God - we made quite a bit of $$$ when we sold the cabin and property.

It "sort of" offset all the pain, misery & sore muscles. It was an experience half way between pleasure and an unexpected root canal.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It took me all of about three minutes with a CSM (chainsawmill) to know FOR SURE that I was going to buy a BSM!!

SR

 

[oosik]

I have to agree Sawyer Rob. But the components of a CSM are very portable. What about a BSM capable of handling logs 24 feet long and up to 18" in diameter.

All I had to "work the logs" was a CJ Jeep with a Warn winch and a VERY heavy duty single axle trailer. The cabin build was a real testament to the performance of that Warn winch. Over the seven month build I VAPORIZED six heavy duty batteries in the Jeep and two alternators.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

It took me all of about three minutes with a CSM (chainsawmill) to know FOR SURE that I was going to buy a BSM!!

SR

I think a lot of people go through the same progression. I looked at chain mills, and it became evident that my little chainsaw wasn't going to cut it. By the time I looked at a new, powerful chainsaw, ripping chains, supports, etc., it was approaching the cost of low-end bandsaw mills. Then I looked at low-end bandsaw mills and could see how the features of the more expensive mills were attractive. Once I priced those having a guy come out occasionally didn't seem expensive at all. The guys who run mills around me don't seem to be getting rich.

If the room is 24x30x12, that's 1300 square feet of interior. That's an enormous amount of work for a chainsaw mill, probably a day's work for a bandsaw mill.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think a lot of people go through the same progression. I looked at chain mills, and it became evident that my little chainsaw wasn't going to cut it. By the time I looked at a new, powerful chainsaw, ripping chains, supports, etc., it was approaching the cost of low-end bandsaw mills. Then I looked at low-end bandsaw mills and could see how the features of the more expensive mills were attractive. Once I priced those having a guy come out occasionally didn't seem expensive at all. The guys who run mills around me don't seem to be getting rich.

If the room is 24x30x12, that's 1300 square feet of interior. That's an enormous amount of work for a chainsaw mill, probably a day's work for a bandsaw mill.

This follows my thinking. I've priced different Alaskan Mills, then looked at what it would cost to buy a bandsaw mill, and then compared spending that money on hiring it done. I love the idea of milling my own lumber, but know myself well enough to know it would be something that I would never do after I had the slabs for my walls.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...Depending on the size of the trees...you may only get two full live edge to live edge slabs off of each log cutting them 2" mean...
The second two slabs may have sawed off edges which may or may not be an issue as they (sawed edges) can be hidden in the chinking...

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I think a lot of people go through the same progression. I looked at chain mills, and it became evident that my little chainsaw wasn't going to cut it. By the time I looked at a new, powerful chainsaw, ripping chains, supports, etc., it was approaching the cost of low-end bandsaw mills. Then I looked at low-end bandsaw mills and could see how the features of the more expensive mills were attractive. Once I priced those having a guy come out occasionally didn't seem expensive at all. The guys who run mills around me don't seem to be getting rich.

If the room is 24x30x12, that's 1300 square feet of interior. That's an enormous amount of work for a chainsaw mill, probably a day's work for a bandsaw mill.

Then there's the cost of keeping that CSM going too. Once owned, a BSM is much cheaper to run and has a MUCH higher resale.

It also allows you to mill fast enough, that you can sell a little lumber to re-coup the cost of the mill back.

SR

 

[/pine]

The OP does not say what type of pine the logs are but depending on the size of the trees...after the slabs are cut what is to be done with the cants ??
If they are of any value they can likely be traded for the hiring of a mobile sawmill...

Another question...are the trees to be cut of any other value now or in the future? is there any other reason to cut them other than for the slabs?....

The reason I ask is...Most sawyers and mill operators will give away pine slabs for nothing...if there are any sawmills around free slabs could be had and drying now and not have to cut then wait for drying...just sayin...!

 

[EddieWalker]

Most of the pines on my land are loblolly and long leaf pines. There are a few other types of pines, but what I would be taking down to cut the slabs will be these two species.

I'm not interested in what happens to the rest of the logs. More then likely, they will end up in my burn pile. I've tried selling logs, and even giving them away. It always ends up costing me money because I want everything to look better on my place then before the trees come down.

The only reason to remove a tree is to improve the land. The ones I want to take down for this are blocking my internet connection and too close to where my fences are going to be. My neighbor made the mistake of leaving pines close to his fence and they are dropping branches on his fences every year. It's become a massive job to keep them repaired, and then another storm comes through, and another branch takes out his fence. My goal is to remove any tree that has the potential to take out my fence.

I have oaks that are coming out too, but they are cut into firewood.

 

[newbury]

I've two Alaskans, a Stihl 088 and 2 Stihl 660's. My longest bar is 42". But I've got them for milling when it's difficult to get the trees to my little Woodmizer.
If you don't have the equipment to CSM (and you are still working) it would probably make more sense to hire it out.
But if the thought of your own milled wood is still appealing keep on the lookout for a used BSM. They should start hitting the marketplace from all the people that panicked and bought them when a 2x4x8 cost $8.
Then you can just put your inexpensive BSM in a shed and mill when you want.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've looked for used mills and found quite a few for sale, but the cost of them is so much more then what I can pay somebody to come here and get it all done in one day. I don't think that I'm cheap, but I just can't justify spending a couple of grand for a used machine to do the job that I can hire somebody with a much better machine and years of experience.

My personal debate is if it's worth the time to spend a couple hundred dollars for a chainsaw mill, and cut them myself, on my schedule, or hire it out? In my opinion, I think that the look of the chainsaw on the slabs will add character to them. But that's all in my imagination, and that's proven to be wrong before.

 

[s219]

My Alaskan mill (with Stihl 461, 76cc saw) is tedious on hardwood, but flies through pine and other softwood. Sure, my bandsaw mill is more efficient (among other things, much thinner blade kerf and smoother cut) but for a finite amount of work with pine, the Alaskan mill does pretty good. I just wouldn't want to use it for a big stack of wood. For that, the bandsaw mill is so much more productive. Hundreds of board feet in a day is a cinch. That would get old with an Alaskan mill (a lot of setup each time you start a new log).

 

[OzarkChris]

I'm in the early stage of converting my shop into a Great Room. It's 24x30 with 12 foot walls. The way things get done around here, it's probably a 2 year project, so I'm not in a rush for this, but I want to finish the interior walls with flat, live edge pine logs from my land and chink between them so you can still see some of the edge of the log.

I plan on hiring a sawmill to come out to my place and cut them here. Then I will store them in my haybarn, which I'm going to build when I'm done with my equipment shed. The slabs will be 16 feet long and 2 inches thick.

How long do you think that they will need to dry before they can be installed? What would happen if they where installed before they where dry? What issues or concerns should I have about doing something like this? Is 2 inches a realistic thickness?

I really like the look in this picture from the Permachink website and want my home to look like this.

I work with a lot of wood and the one thing that is a constant with "All" green wood is, Nothing.

I agree with the other posters questioning the need for 8/4 when 5/4 or even 4/4 would be more than enough. That being said though, the amount of time it will take to dry your 8/4 (2") boards really depends. Depends on the typical humidity, the temp, the amount of air you have flowing through and around the lumber, etc. The article link below explains most of what you probably need to see, but I would highly recommend that you consider making yourself a solar kiln - very easy and reasonably inexpensive to make - you can find plans for one on the internet. This will decrease the drying time by 1/2 or much more - possibly up to 1/10 the time of lumber just "sitting" in the barn. Also, invest in a moisture meter, not that expensive and worth its weight in gold!

That stated, what I've found is that sticker width of 1+ inch (article states 3/4) seems to dry faster for me than anything of less width. Why, I believe it's because you have more airflow blowing away the moisture away.

Here is the article:

https://www.hunker.com/13401347/how-to-dry-pine-lumber

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Drying wood too fast can cause it's own set of problems...

Drying too fast can cause case hardening, and some species, especially hardwood species, just doesn't want to dry flat if it's dried too fast.

SR