Milling wood

[CBBC]

A big black cotton wood came down in December. It was about 90-120’ tall depending on where you call the top. It wasn’t the biggest we’ve had but was pretty good sized. It got heavy on one side and was leaning good for the last couple years. Finally came down in the wind... ground was saturated.
Big mess but no damage.

So we cleaned it up and I have the logs in 8-11’. The bottom 18’ is still intact and I’m deciding what to do with it... it’s about 40-50” across.
I took the log from 30’ up to my neighbours place with a mill.

He was not thrilled. It was so hard and fiberous that unless the blade was really sharp it would plunge after the knots. He got it down to a cant about 23”x22” and put a new sharp blade on and then split it in half. From there we cut 1.25” planks.

That lift is about 2000 lbs. lot of water weight. The loader tractor felt pretty light on the back end taking that off.
It was suggested to stand them vertical for a week or 2 in this cooler weather to get some moisture out. 28-34 degree and no precip called for the next 7-10 days.

I will then stack and sticker and put them out of the sun under a lean too with some air movement... I have some 12-20” squire cage fans. He also suggested keeping weight on top of the stickered wood to stop it from moving. I can do that no problem as I can put at stack off collapsed wooden totes on top, all on long pallets.

My question to the woodworkers is...
I would like to use these for cabinet doors and maybe faces. Once I get some of the moisture down should I cut the planks down to rough length, say 34” and then restack and sticker for
Another year?

This is a long term project and I really would like to reduce the twisting and warping. I’ve made some counters and shelves with these trees before, 2”+ material but even when we thought it was dry enough it still moved. Luckily they can easily come off and be re planed. But for doors I doing have that option.

Thanks and looking forward to any advise or thoughts.
Grant.

 

[larry@stinescorner]

That is really interesting,,thanks so much!!!!

 

[CBBC]

If I ever get out to NJ I’ll bring some spoon sized chunks for you.
Actually was supposed to go to a big cranberry meeting at Rutgers this summer but it will more than likely be held virtually.
Grant

 

[Pete in Holland MI]

Generally, for most species, it takes about a year per inch to air dry. Felling it in the winter, there is less moisture in the wood, so that's a plus on your end.

Drying too quickly can excite checking from the ends. The outside drys & shrinks faster than the inside, inducing cracking. I wouldn't use the fan.

Make sure your stickers are one on top of the other as your stack grows, else this can excite stress in the wood. Start with a set of cinder blocks to elevate the pile off the floor. Make sure the first row is flat, and not twisted (due to an uneven floor). Once you get to the top, more stickers, then several hundred pounds of evenly distributed weight to keep the top boards from warping (they dry the most unevenly up there).

You mentioned you had issues with "movement" in the past. Was the board cupping and twisting, or was the board width changing thru the seasons? Wood will always be moving thru the seasons, even 100 years from now. This is more-so true in wide boards (such table tops and panels in doors). Allowances have to be made for this movement, else disappointment will be expected. If the boards are cupping and twisting, after initial machining, then they were most likely not dry enough.

Have to remember that the moisture content of wood changes thru the seasons, and also if you quickly "switch seasons". This can come from keeping your wood in an area where the ambient air is moist, then move it in the winter time to a house that is very dry. In that case, bring your wood inside a month before you start to machine it to let it acclimate to your house climate.

Interesting looking wood you have there. It'll be pretty cool if you can "book" all of your doors, so you get the mirrored effect of the planks. Just remember to make sure all the "cathedrals" of the grain point up on your doors, else, some may look odd from the others.

Good luck !

 

[Richard G.]

I sawed a cottonwood tree years ago on my circular mill.
Sawed easy and when dry, it was light as a feather.
Richard in NW SC

 

[db4600]

As Pete said time and patience. If it were mine I would not trim to length. Let the ends check as it dries down and when it has reached working point you can cut the ends accordingly.

 

[larry@stinescorner]

We are about 20 minutes or so from Rutgers in New Brunswick NJ

 

[Tgrasher]

As others have said wait and leave it in length. I had some cottonwood boards 12" wide that I left dry for two years, tarped outside. Some warped like ribbon candy and some came out flat and straight. Depends on the grain and cut of wood. Made nice light boards to walk on in the attic.

 

[jm.]

I wish we were closer, I have a wood-mizer and do a lot of that cutting. The poster below has told you how to store it but with regular cut sticks your moisture or water will move down to the stacking stick and most likely you will have a mark. I have special stacking sticks that are spiraled like a candy cane and allow the moisture to migrate to the end of the board. Really makes a lot off difference when it comes to air drying lumber. Slow and easy is the answer to those big boards. Will be an interesting project. I have some full width 24 inch that have been air dried about 4 years and they are very light.

 

[pcsaw]

I stacked and striped a bunch of cottonwood for a year and built a garage out of it made board and batten siding and it stayed straight but it had a nice strait grain to it

 

[pcsaw]

I stacked and striped a bunch of cottonwood for a year and built a garage out of it made board and batten siding and it stayed straight but it had a nice strait grain to it you need to strip it about every 18 inches and put the strips right on top of each other

 

[CBBC]

Wow Larry,
when they get everything up and running again, I’ll be sure to look you up when we get down there to cranberry research station.
In the meantime, send me an email through my website below. Scroll to the bottom to the Contact box and then I’ll email you back through my direct email. I’ll send you some cut off spoon blanks from a couple of different west coat woods.
Grant
Yellow Point Cranberries

 

[CBBC]

Thanks very much for the information Pete. Slow drying will be my plan, no fan. Yes I plan on keeping the planks mirrored that’s why I sorted them. I will number the ends too when stickerd so I can keep track of them easier... all peaks up.

The slab counter that I did was 2-1/2” and was actually two pieces butted up to each other, I think an 8’ and 5’. It was a bit of a rush job to get something in place, I wasn’t surprised there was shrinkage. Both pieces also cupped up a bit. It’s not really a big deal. It looks rustic.
It’s been at least 3 years now and they have stoped moving do one of these days I’ll unscrew them and run them through the planner again.

You can’t really tell the cupping in the picture. Actually it not even really pretty or interesting... it was young, about 28 years and very white. Up close there is some nice grain but nothing like this tree.
Thanks again. Grant

 

[CBBC]

Very interesting about the spiral sticks. What are they called? I had been warned about leaving moisture marks. They said keep them narrow (1/4-1/2”) wide so less surface contact. Will this help?

Yes several guys around me have wood mixers. This machine was all hydraulic for rotating and setting stops. It can cut 36” and that log was all it could handle. Great machines.
Thanks. Grant.

 

[CBBC]

Thanks, yes I was thinking 18-24” spacing.
What did you stain the siding with? Oil base? Did it hold up well outside once it was dry?

 

[CBBC]

Thanks. I will leave full length.
Maybe even put something (paint / stain???) on the ends to slow the moisture coming out of them.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I wouldn't cut them to length until you're ready to use them. You should coat the end grain with something to prevent checking (splitting). Any paint will work. I see commercially-milled lumber often has the end grain sealed with what looks like paraffin but I don't know how you would do that.

 

[INCase]

you could see if there is a local lumber mill that would do custom kiln drying?

We have tons of lumber from a variety of trees. I've made a few projects out of some Delaware red oak. they usually come out very nice. this would was cut around 1987-88 time frame. my last project the top (20x40") warped like crazy and 2 of the 3 drawers warped like crazy too. Other projects around the house with the same exact wood haven't cupped or warped at all. Kiln drying may give better results. Especially if you're making furniture or cabinets.

 

[jm.]

All I have ever heard them called are stacking sticks, made for extremely hard Australian mahogany wood, and they really make a difference. On my 4th wood-Mizer all hydraulic supper 40 diesel and love it. He should not have had problems cutting that cottonwood sounds to me like he needs to check his blade tension.

 

[CBBC]

Thanks Jim.
I’ll look into those stacking sticks ... I actually have a bunch of mahogany 3x3s that I could rip down they are just dunnage I salvaged from some shipping cargo.

I think this is probably the similar machine.

Maybe a dull blade or it filled from the bark... but there wasn’t any dirt or rocks on it. When he put the new blade on for the planks it was no problem.

 

[CBBC]

There are lots of big operations up here but not many guys who will only do a lift a small amount like this.
There was one really good guy who would profile wood, T &G it or bevel for siding and kiln it. Unfortunately he passed a few years ago and his son didn’t have the drive to keep going the way his dad did.., so I’m told anyway.

Thanks. Grant.