Another question about turning logs into lumber

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:26 pm

My neighbors across the street just cut down a pecan tree in their yard. The trunk is about 3' diameter, but there's some good limb pieces about 12" to 16" diameter and about 6' to 8' long. My bro-in-law had already claimed it and he'll just cut it up for firewood, but I can probably snag a few good sized pieces before does.

Thing is, I don't know how long it will be before I can have them cut into boards. If I paint the ends of the logs to seal them, how long can I wait until they should be cut into boards?

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:03 pm

How about right now? Just make sure ya seal the ends good.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:23 pm

Free lumber is always good, but branches are not the best choice. They contain reaction wood and likely will give you problems when drying and later when the lumber is cut. Reaction wood is what keeps a leaning tree from falling over and branches from growing down toward the ground. And, relieving the tension/compression in reaction wood when sawing is what can cause your lumber to bind on the blade or spread well beyond the width of the kerf when cut. Understanding reaction wood and planning its use will prevent some headaches. Here's an article on the subject -- http://forest.mtu.edu/classes/fw1035/20 ... efects.pdf

stockew · Post by **stockew** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:37 am

Very interesting presentation. That is information which every beginning wood crafter should know.

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 10:03 am

Thanks for the info and the documents, pennview. About every other word of that document was over my head, but I understood your post perfectly. I think I might still try to get a few pieces, but I'll look for the less eliptical ones with most centered piths. Most of the branches did go up instead of out. The trunk of the tree went up about 7', then split into several of what I called "branches" that went mostly upward, but did lean out a little. From there, there were the smaller branches, several inches in diameter and smaller going out.

I would love to have the main trunk section, but I don't have any way to do anything with it.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 10:28 am

heathicus wrote:Thanks for the info and the documents, pennview. About every other word of that document was over my head, but I understood your post perfectly. I think I might still try to get a few pieces, but I'll look for the less eliptical ones with most centered piths. Most of the branches did go up instead of out. The trunk of the tree went up about 7', then split into several of what I called "branches" that went mostly upward, but did lean out a little. From there, there were the smaller branches, several inches in diameter and smaller going out.

I would love to have the main trunk section, but I don't have any way to do anything with it.

How about quartering it with a chain saw?

tradertom · Post by **tradertom** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:06 pm

Pecan wood is a close brother to Hickory. Very tough to cut and even tougher to dry straight. Hard on turning tools. Keep them sharp and/or turn green if you are going to turn.

Limb Pecan wood is real tough to keep straight as lumber.

I let it spalt and turn it into pens and other turning projects.

Good luck!

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:42 pm

The tree hasn't been cleaned up and moved yet. The house is unoccupied and the guy that cut it is going to come back, clean up everything and bring it to my back yard. For now, though, the pieces are just laying there as they were cut off.

The day after it was cut, I dug through and found several pieces, about 10" in diameter and ranging from 4' to 6' in length that seemed to have the least noticeable signs of "reaction wood." They are round, with a (mostly) centered pith. They might still warp and be hard to work with, but I figured it was at least worth trying. I put a thick coat of exterior paint (I think it's latex) on the ends as that's all I have right now. When I get them over to my house, I'll set them on some landscaping timber runners to keep them off the ground.

But now I'm still not sure of the answer to my original question. How long can they remain in this state? Do I need to have boards cut ASAP, or do I have some time? Should I cover them, or can they remain exposed? Should I do anything else with them right away while they wait to be turned into boards? I'm totally ignorant here...

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:50 pm

I recommend atarting with these

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Processing_trees_to_lumber.html
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_drying

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 3:40 pm

Those two references from Terry look good and there's a lot of good info out there from Dr. Wengert on drying wood, kilns,etc., so if you don't find everything you need in those two references do some Google searches on Wengert.

As far as what to do now, keeping it off the ground, especially damp ground, is a good idea. If the log ends show any sign of cracking or the paint you added in just a thin coat, it wouldn't hurt to add more paint. Sawing into lumber immediately isn't necessary, but the sooner you do it, the better your results likely will be.

I don't know how you were planning to cut it into boards, but there are a number of attachments for chainsaw that allow you to do this at minimal cost. Also, since you're dealing with a tree out of someone's yard, you could run into some metal embedded in it like wire, nails, screws, etc., so if you have a metal detector around it might save some anguish.