Intro and question

[mj1angier]

New member here.

Me- small town redneck from NC. Into the outdoor stuff- hunting, shooting, fishing, camping, dutch oven cooking, drinking whiskey by a fire... wait this is sounding like a lonely singles ad.

Anyway, we just got 88 ac of 15 y old pines. Timber cruiser said to plan to thin in 2-3 years for pulp and chip wood. But I have to remove a few trees to improve roads and put in bridges. There is a small saw mill less than 2 miles from the land. What is the smallest size pine that you would take to be cut into lumber? It would be air dried and used to build sheds and barns. I hate to just use it for campfire wood, but if not lg enough, thats where it will go. The saw mill charges about $150-200 per 1000 bf.

Thanks for you help.
Mickey

 

[Cody Colston]

I don't know diddly about falling trees but I do know a bit about milling trees into lumber. IMHO, 8" diameter is the absolute minimum to saw. You would probably get three 2x4's out of a log that size or a couple of 1x6's with one boxed heart 2x6. It all depends on how willing the sawyer is to get the most out of the small logs.

You should probably check beforehand with the sawyer and find out the minimum diameter they will saw. The smaller the log, the more work for him.

 

[forestryworks]

Smallest I've seen go to a mill were 10" on the small end.

And 15 year old pines are at a ripe old age for a thinning. You'll probably get mostly pulp logs and a few saw logs out of there, depending on how it's marked and thinned.

Call the mill and see what they say.

 

[mj1angier]

Thanks for the reply folks.

Some of the trees will be fine for the 10" dia. at small end, all will make the 8". The trees near the river might push 12". If I can get 1"x out of it that will be great. I can use it for siding and floor boards. I will check with the mill guys- 2 brothers, one is 86 and the other is 78, but they will out work men half their age. I think they are made of lighter knot! LOL

Thanks

 

[2dogs]

$150.00 to 200.00 per thou is dirt cheap. Let us know how it works out and pics of the mill would be cool.

 

[forestryworks]

$150.00 to 200.00 per thou is dirt cheap. Let us know how it works out and pics of the mill would be cool.

$150 is on the low-end. $200 is about average in the South. ($25/ton on Doyle)

 

[Cody Colston]

I will check with the mill guys- 2 brothers, one is 86 and the other is 78, but they will out work men half their age. I think they are made of lighter knot! LOL Thanks

That is Senior Power, indeed!

 

[lmbrman]

around here plantation red pine is sawn down to 5" at some mills- guess we are lucky that way

I have no clue what the going rate for sawing is, but that rate you mention sounds reasonable- guess it depends on what they expect for wood.

 

[madhatte]

If you're planning on using the lumber yourself, you might as well mill it yourself. You can get a Granberg chainsaw mill for about 200 bones.

 

[mj1angier]

If you're planning on using the lumber yourself, you might as well mill it yourself. You can get a Granberg chainsaw mill for about 200 bones.

I have been think about this. I think for the first go round I will use the mill ( they are just so dang close by) but might look up one of these for smaller projects.

 

[Jacob J.]

If you're planning on using the lumber yourself, you might as well mill it yourself. You can get a Granberg chainsaw mill for about 200 bones.

Milling smaller logs with a Granberg is really tedious labor though. He'd be better off to get a heavy-duty table saw and do it that way.

One of the big mills here has a "chip-n-saw" machine that they feed the smallest logs through. It doesn't "saw", it chips away the sides
of the log until a board is left. The smallest they feed through it is about 5" on the small end.

 

[madhatte]

Freehanding cants and cleaning them up on a table saw might be just the ticket. I had in mind something a bit bigger, I think.

 

[Cody Colston]

I've milled boards from small logs on my vertical 17" bandsaw. It has a 12" resaw capacity but without building special infeed/outfeed tables, 4 ft. is about the maximum length I could handle. After squaring a cant, I would also run it over my 8" jointer between sawing passes in order to keep one smooth face.

A 10" tablesaw only has a 3" depth of cut so a max 6" cant would have to be run through, flipped end-for-end and run through a second time to complete the cut.

On small logs, the 3/8" kerf of a chainsaw mill would greatly reduce the already low lumber yield. Only two cuts = a 3/4" board and there aren't that many boards in a 10" diameter log anyway.

A band sawmill is the best choice for milling small logs. They will easily handle long lengths and will produce the least amount of kerf waste. Entry-level, manual versions start at around $2,500 (Harbor freight) and do a good, if slow, job. Most of them are touted as producing around 100 bft per hour. Of course, log handling is always a concern with any sawmill.

 

[floyd]

Is this cornfield forestry as in rows? Nothing wrong with that if it is.

You say flooring & siding so I'm guessing low ring/inch count?

Are there enough needles to manage for straw or are you too far north for that?



Nothing wrong with a chip n saw on small logs. Think Mtn Pine Beetle in Lodgepole.
Great for squaring logs for homes as well.

 

[mj1angier]

Is this cornfield forestry as in rows? Nothing wrong with that if it is.

You say flooring & siding so I'm guessing low ring/inch count?

Are there enough needles to manage for straw or are you too far north for that?



Nothing wrong with a chip n saw on small logs. Think Mtn Pine Beetle in Lodgepole.
Great for squaring logs for homes as well.

It is not as neat as crow planting, but the did try for some order. It has not been kept cut clear between the pines, so scrub hardwoods have started to grow. It would take some major clean up to get it to the point of being able to rake straw.
the boards will be for outbuilding and animal sheds, so looks don't count. Just need them to dry half way straight! lol