Milling small diameter Engelmann Spruce

[Keno.4]

Hey Everybody,

Just wondering if anyone might have any experience or tips for milling small spruce logs. I'm starting with 5"-7" Engelmann logs, and cutting them down to 3"x4-1/5" rafters for a small house I'm building. I'm really just squaring 'em up, and leaving one edge round for a more rustic look. Should I expect a lot of warping, and if so, whats the best way to minimize it? I'm milling them fresh off the stump, and will start building with them in a few months. I have thought about holding off on milling them until just before I start building but time and logistical considerations make it a lot easier for me to do them now and then store them for a few months.

Thanks!
Ken

 

[redheadwoodshed]

Hey Everybody,

Just wondering if anyone might have any experience or tips for milling small spruce logs. I'm starting with 5"-7" Engelmann logs, and cutting them down to 3"x4-1/5" rafters for a small house I'm building. I'm really just squaring 'em up, and leaving one edge round for a more rustic look. Should I expect a lot of warping, and if so, whats the best way to minimize it? I'm milling them fresh off the stump, and will start building with them in a few months. I have thought about holding off on milling them until just before I start building but time and logistical considerations make it a lot easier for me to do them now and then store them for a few months.

Thanks!
Ken

Don't have spruce in my area, but I would let any kind of wood season before I nailed it up for rafters.If you go ahead and mill them they will season faster.

 

[Burlhunter13]

A good thing to prevent serious warping is to stack the boards flat with "Stickers". Place one sticker on each end and roughly a foot apart for the entire length of the board. Keep all the stickers in vertical rows, so they "carry the load". After a nice pile is built doing this technique then the next step would be to band the pile together (much like home depot lumber, poly-banding), but ratcheting tie-downs can be used on the cheap side. Put A lot of tension on it. I would put a band/strap every 2 feet or so right next to the stickers to prevent bowing the wood in, from the pressure of the tie-downs. hope that helps. I'll explain in more detail if you need me too.

 

[Dave Boyt]

Saw around the heart, so that the center of the log is in the center of the beam. This will be difficult if you are keeping one edge rounded, so I'd suggest square beams. The very center of the log is "juvinile wood", which was added to the tree when it was just a sapling. It has different shrinkage properties than mature wood, and that's what causes the majority of the warpage. Keeping the juvinile wood in the center of the beam balances out the stress. Definitely keep the beams off the ground and stickered so that air can get around them while you are storing them. They won't air dry in just a couple of months, but they will start to warp enough to give you a chance to sort out the troublemakers. Strapping them down will help keep them straight, but if you use them before they're dry, (8 months to a year), they can still warp after you put them up. I'd suggest cutting a minimum of 20% extra. This is a lesson I learned the hard way with my portable sawmill, building our post & beam home. After 35 years, it is holding together well, but I don't think there's a square corner or straight beam in our entire house.

How are you milling your lumber? It is going to be a challenge to work with logs that size. Good luck, and send photos!

 

[discounthunter]

dealing with that small diameter i would try to debark and either band saw or get a planer. csm would loose too much wood to make the sizes your asking.

 

[Keno.4]

I like the idea of using strapping to put some pressure on the stickers. I had thought of using something similar--using ripped 2x4's as stickers and then using 12" oly logs or something to screw 'em together. All threads could work, too. But I like the strapping. Simpler and cheaper. Might be able to round some up around here.
I was wondering about how effective this method of sort of "forcing" the boards to stay semi-square, but sounds like there has been some success with it? was worried that maybe it would just make the boards save up all that tension, and then pop into weird shapes once released. But i'll give it a try--and cut at least 20% extra. probably more.

Looks like it'll be about 4 months before i start building. Might not be ideal, but perhaps the warm New Mexico/so. Colorado sunshine and warmth will help me out?


Right now I'm just milling with my saw. That is part of the reason why I'm trying to use these small logs--I have a 362, and while it's great for falling and just bucking stuff up, I know from experience that it does NOT shine when its buried 6' deep in a 12" doug fir log. Takes forever and is just tedious as hell. Would like to move up to a band saw, but just no funds for that right now.

And, yeah, about the milling them symmetrically around the pith--am trying to, though they certainly aren't perfect. One nice thing about the logs is that they're all super straight and the knots are small and don't seem to be surrounded by a bunch of distorted grain. Thanks for the suggestions!

ken