# Sawmill wood



## rwur961615 (May 24, 2008)

I just bought a small band saw mill and started cutting green logs into lumber (yellow pine) 2 inches thick. The pine sap is really dripping how long will it take for the wood to be dry enough to use? Wood is under cover and in central florida any ideas? Thanks in advance for any info.

Rick


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

If its got plenty of air circulation between layers six months should do it.


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

The old rule for furniture use is 1 year/inch. For framing, I've used it after six months of air drying.

Since you're in Florida, check around the web or with your extension folks about solar kilns...a small one is pretty cheap to build and will provide you with kin dried lumber, albeit in smaller batches, for next to nothing.


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## rwur961615 (May 24, 2008)

Thanksfor the info I will check with the county extension agent.

Rick


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

To solar dry all you have to do is place plastic down on your rests,stick up the lumber then wrap completely with the plastic and punch a small hole in the plastic at the bottom where condensation will drain out.When it quites sweating the excess moisture is gone.
BTW hope you got a woodmizer. They are great machines.


Wade


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## Farmerjonathan (Mar 11, 2013)

1shotwade said:


> To solar dry all you have to do is place plastic down on your rests,stick up the lumber then wrap completely with the plastic and punch a small hole in the plastic at the bottom where condensation will drain out.When it quites sweating the excess moisture is gone.
> BTW hope you got a woodmizer. They are great machines.
> 
> 
> Wade


Doing it this way could end up with a moldy mess of wood not even good for firewood. Circulation of air is what dries the wood.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

It's worked for me in the past. It will not dry to a furniture moisture content but seems to be just right for flooring.The trick has to be full sunlite all the time. I could see it not working on cloudy days.



Wade


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## floyd242 (Jun 11, 2012)

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f23/small-wood-drying-kiln-plans-dry-your-own-lumber-3103/


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

We always stack our green sawmill oak on a stack three or four foot wide by four foot high, whether it's boxing or dimension lumber. We put "stickers" in between the layers---the stickers are less than a half inch thick. I always cover the stack with tin roofing, wide and long enough to turn most of the rain. A stack like that usually takes about a year to dry to the point I'll depend on it not shrinking too much more for something like siding.

I'm never in a hurry to use green lumber.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

I've got about 6000 ft on the stick just like you discribe but have found after 2 or maybe 3 years it still isn't stable enough to use for things like flooring. Thus the solar kilning I spoke of earlier.


Wade


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

1shotwade said:


> I've got about 6000 ft on the stick just like you discribe but have found after 2 or maybe 3 years it still isn't stable enough to use for things like flooring. Thus the solar kilning I spoke of earlier.
> 
> 
> Wade


That is true. Most of it will be OK for certain applications, but other pieces might take 6 years or longer for other applications, and most people aren't willing to wait that long.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Wood rarely goes below 15-18% moisture content unless kiln dried ( or you live in an area with very low relative humidity ). 

Even IF you kiln dry it and put it back in a place of 40-50% humidity or more, it will go back to that 15-18%. It's call the equilibrium point of wood.....dry enough it won't rot, but it will still shrink some if taken on down to 6-8%, which is what most cabinet and flooring is run at.

For framing lumber, 18% is plenty good. I find it takes anywhere from 3-4 months to 6-8 months for 2" softwood. Depends on the time of year you cut it ( sap up, sap down ) and also it will dry faster (here) in the fall as the humidity falls off.

I stack on DRY 1" thick sticks, either in a shed or covered with old roofing metal. ( Using green sticks, you chance "sticker stain" where the contact of the stick and the wood molds. )


















For kiln drying, I use a room in my shop that is well insulated, painted with a good vapor barrier paint inside, will hold about 1200 bdft, and run by an old window AC. I also store my dry wood in there prior to making into something so it will stay dry ( run a small dehumidifier to keep the RH low ).


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

That's a nice setup you've got! My neighbor is a cabinet maker. When he gets a load of kilned lumber he stores it in an open ended lean too type shed without being sticked up and it keeps fine for months. He is the guy that told me about using 18% lumber for flooring and so far it's been just fine(tongue and groove) but I just can't get cherry to dry without the little home made kiln.Love your setup!


Wade


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I cut the logs, buck them into log lengths and let them set for a while before limbing. The needles or leaves pullout a lot of moisture. Limb and saw, sticker and I have used it for framing in 1-2 months for Douglas Fir. Hardwoods can take years....James


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## rwur961615 (May 24, 2008)

1shotwade said:


> To solar dry all you have to do is place plastic down on your rests,stick up the lumber then wrap completely with the plastic and punch a small hole in the plastic at the bottom where condensation will drain out.When it quites sweating the excess moisture is gone.
> BTW hope you got a woodmizer. They are great machines.
> 
> 
> Wade


No I bought a hudson 21, made in america was a big draw. Cut 1 19 inch x 12 foot oak into 1 inch boards and 2 18/20 inch x 14 foot pines into 2 inch boards took about 5 hours between breaks. This is my first time with a saw mill but I am pretty impressed with the hudson mill and made in america. Heard about hudson mills from Jackie Clays blog glad I read it.

Rick


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Rick-woodmizer is made right here in Indiana. lways has been and always will be.The company sold out at some point and was going down hill. The employees got together and bought it back. It is 100% employee owned. I've been up there afew times and they absolutely treat their customers like gold! I just can't say enough good about these guys!


Wade


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## Dave S. (Jul 5, 2006)

I never heard that they sold out, or went downhill, just that it became an employee owned company. I have a Super with 24'BX and a twin blade edger, and have been extremely happy with WM.

Hud-son is also a great company, from what I hear from happy customers.


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## Post Carbon (Mar 10, 2011)

Here in the Pacific Southwest (being in Canada), we paint the ends of our downed Douglas fir logs so that they don't check / crack. It holds the moisture in so that the whole log dries out more slowly.

However, my saw-miller guy, who's been doing this for years and years, tells me that I can use wood new sawn in framing (timbers, joists, etc but not 2x4s, as it's cheaper to buy those) right away IF you go slow, letting the wind dry things out. This would not work if you frame up and sheath a house in the same week, which is done by big crews. So in the older way of building, it can go up right away.

If we build a barn with beams, he wants to cut the timbers right before we put them up, so they lock into place, and are less likely to twist. We cut a bunch of timbers for another project about 6 months early, and had to have them all shaved down, as they shrank unevenly and twisted....


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

We sheath and/or side the building then put heat inside for a few days before drywalling. Summer no problem, winter may need a couple more weeks....James


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

What is commonly refered to as a fire break in a wall was there to keep the green lumber on center while they were sheeting the the outside with green lumber.Once it was sheeted on the outside it wouldn't twist near as much. That's the way they were about all built a one time.

Wade


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Dave-Just what I heard a few years back. I know you'll never find better treatment than they give. No doubt it's the result of being employee owned.
BTW I'm just cutting on a lt30. Was all manual and we added a lift.


Wade


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Been a Woodmizer owner since 1991 ( LT40, manual). GREAT mill, and never had a problem with parts/blades. I picked mine up in Indianapolis, and they treated me great.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

The lt 30 is actually my brothers but I've sawed for him for years. W got it used in Grand Rapids mn and took it straight to woodmizer-Indy. They went over everyting to insure all was right/true/square.Started cutting the next day. Great people to work with.


Wade


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## vpapai (Nov 18, 2010)

I have a Logmaster mill, made in Texas, super heavy duty. Very happy with it


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