# How Long Can One Store a Log Before Milling?



## Marine5068 (Jan 19, 2018)

I have a few nice trees that I'd like to mill CSM style and am interested if any of you experienced millers have to say.
I am dropping a Red Oak, a large White Pine and some decent sized Poplars in near future and would like to utilize some of the long straight trunks by cutting them into slabs or boards. for use in other projects here.
I can afford a decent CSM and have a Stihl 044 as my largest saw right now.
I have room to store them outdoors and am planning to build a lean-to and garage come Spring.
I'm wondering if I should get them felled and milled by someone with portable BSM or should I try myself with a CSM?
Tell me what you would do.


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## Trx250r180 (Jan 19, 2018)

You should be ok for a couple years outside ,much longer the outside sapwood may get punky ,The 044 should do a 36 inch alaska mill ok ,I try to mill when wood is greener myself ,some woods get rock hard the dryer they get .


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## SeMoTony (Jan 19, 2018)

Marine5068 said:


> I have a few nice trees that I'd like to mill CSM style and am interested if any of you experienced millers have to say.
> I am dropping a Red Oak, a large White Pine and some decent sized Poplars in near future and would like to utilize some of the long straight trunks by cutting them into slabs or boards. for use in other projects here.
> I can afford a decent CSM and have a Stihl 044 as my largest saw right now.
> I have room to store them outdoors and am planning to build a lean-to and garage come Spring.
> ...



Since I've got an 046, ms-460 and a 661c with ported cylinder and bars from 20" up to 72". CSM is what I wood do. You can mill these trees with the power head you have IF you can match the raker height to the saw/chain combo. In my avatar the Alaskan has a 60" cannon bar with the 460 spinning a skip square chisel chain. The droop below the bar is from the stretch or wear on what was a new chain 3 slices earlier and snugged after each slice. Oregon brand.
The longer the log lays the harder the wood gets drying and possibly splitting from the ends. @BobL recommends trimming at least 6" off the end of logs that have been down very long. The hard wood at the end dulls chain a lot more IIRC from his experience outside Perth Australia.
Similar is likely wherever the log is. I try to mill as soon as the tree is down and the end is sealed to minimize split ends, green is easier
I think.
You haven't said what diameters these trees run. I have used a ms-170 with a lumber maker style guide running down a 1x3 rectangular aluminum guide bar to mill a black walnut post 10 1/2" x 12" x 11 feet long. Don't recommend as a constant but seemed best plan at the time the way the log was laying. Just as an example of patience allows for use of saws that are not ever recommended. A 70cc range saw is poo-pooed for milling but with patience and sharp cutters it worked in red oak, white oak and ash as long as I let the saw "sing" rather than bog down. 661c is faster and uses the same b&c's & stihl brings grins watching chips fly.
Another aspect is the ability to bring a BSM in to the logs or the logs out to the mill. CSM is a lot more mobile and slabs are moved easier than a 40"x12 foot log. Then too there is a lot wider kerf in a saw chain than a bandsaw, costing a board or two difference. from each log.
If I was doing the project presented; I wood start with the smallest diameter of the poplar or white pine to get a feel for the process of milling with a chain saw. Drop one, seal the end and begin milling on the log an inch or three longer than desired boards. As the slabs dry they lose a bit of thickness so if a planed 1 1/2" thickness is what I want in the end I cut 1/4" thicker at least. What I use for out buildings is cut a small amount wider than desired width for the same reason.
I hope the confusion I shared is enough to convince you that broader & deeper info is presented "CS milling 101" in particular @BobL sharpening seminars. He is an educator drawing on his experience

Stay safe and enjoy


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## BobL (Jan 19, 2018)

It depends on the wood and your local environment.
As Trx250r180 says, on some logs the sapwood will eventually go punky.
The longer you leave it the more chances are that bugs or fungi etc will attack it
On really hard woods it can go so hard it becomes even harder to mill.
You should be possible to leave most logs 1-2 years without a problem especially if you can get them off teh ground and coat the ends with some sort of a sealer

OTOH sometime you can get lucky - this Western Australian Jarrah hardwood branch had been down about 90 years when I milled it back in 2009.


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## Sawyer Rob (Jan 19, 2018)

The sooner you mill them, the better! My vote is to get them milled and the lumber on stickers...

The longer the logs sit, the more loss you will have to bugs, rot and checking and the quality of lumber goes down.

More logs will come along later for YOU to CSM...

SR


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## Marine5068 (Jan 20, 2018)

Thanks to all of you guys for the replies.
I'm hoping that some of your expert hands-on knowledge will rub off on me.
Great tip on trying out some softer woods first (like my Poplars, Pine) to get a feel for it.


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