Northern white cedar repurpose fence build

[Nate_Beres]

Let me know if this is better in a different subforum.

I'll be removing 9 Northern White Cedar trees soon from my front yard. Each has about 3-5 7"-1' diameter "trunks"? That are about 20-30' tall.

I'm on a tight budget and would ideally like to keep costs to screws and concrete. Idea is to power handplane or buy the $25 Alaskan mill jig to one side flat then use a bandsaw to mill them into boards. The smallest sections being ripped in half, leaving the bark on. This would be after I straighten and dry them.

My first question is if there is any way to straighten out some of the narrow diameter sections without steaming them one by one. Maybe bundle up a handfull of the wonkiest ones around a steel pole with a come-along on the ends and ratchet straps throughout the middle. Cover and let dry until summer. If they are straight I'm confident I can take it from there. Am I dreaming here? Any better methods?

Next area of advice is best practices on milling them with as little waste as possible. Tools I have/access to:

Chainsaw (would need a ripping chain, willing to buy cheap Alaskan jig)

Fullsize Tablesaw

10" wheel bandsaw

Power handplaner

I am completely open to suggestions for:

Straightening

Drying

Fence design or ideas

Leave bark on?

Sealing/treating

Milling/splitting

If I could make this happen I'd be a hero to two neighbors and my wife. Please anything helps!

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[RandyMac]

They look like stove wood.

 

[M.R.]

Yeah they do....
OP might drop into the chainsaw milling part
Be sure to read the 101 sticky at the top
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/forums/milling-saw-mills.62/

 

[Nate_Beres]

If I had a stove Ill be all over that. But I don't. I'm not planning on this looking immaculate rather pretty rustic.
Would my straightening idea work at all? There's a ton of potential lumber here I feel like it'd be a waste to toss it in burn in my rarely used fire pit out back.

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[RandyMac]

Somehow I'm not seeing a 'ton' of lumber there.
A rail fence maybe.

 

[Nate_Beres]

A ton to me is probably a lot less than anyone else on here. I counted conservatively 40 beams. At an average of 4" diameter and 3 6' sections from each I'd hope to get 40' of fencing. That's without milling any if it.


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[madhatte]

You'll lose a lot of the volume to kerfwood if you mill those tiny little sticks. If you're determined to use those trees for a fence, splitting is probably your best option. It's also full of knots, so expect waste. Straightening ain't gonna happen. You're just gonna have to be careful while bucking to get the most usable wood out of what's on the ground. It's cedar, which is naturally pretty rot-resistant, so you shouldn't need any treatment.

I agree with Randy, though -- those are firewood. Kindling, rather, as cedar isn't exactly full of calories.

 

[northmanlogging]

many moons ago, in the land before Cabelas, i used to make my own arrows, none of them came out straight, so a guy would get a bundle of shafts prepped, then wrap em up real tight for a month or 3, if careful they would all come out straight as well you know

for a massive undertaking such as what your looking at, a handfull of chains and binders might do ya, cut em to length (add a bit for shrinkage) lay em out and stack em up, wrap em tight and let em sit, its best to get them prepped and bound while still mostly green, suppose in a pinch you could use some nylon rope pulled tight

 

[Gologit]

For what it would cost you in time and effort, the miniscule amount of useable lumber you'd get, not to mention the hardware you'd need, that bunch of dog hair would be nothing but aggravation.
Burn it.