I know if you cut oak into thick pieces like yours, it's almost impossible to keep them from cracking. Most timber frame builders just live with it. On linseed oil: I recently cut a lot of beautiful red cedar lumber for a customer. He used it on an outside deck and supporting beams for a porch. He coated all of it with linseed oil - it turned black like creosote. I think he would have been better off leaving it alone. He wanted to preserve the color, but instead altered it. I think you are right about "drying too quickly." Linseed oil is not your answer. You need less sun and heat and, if you can accomplish it without fungus, more moisture.
Some large timbers are going to crack regardless some more than others occassionally one will stay solid. I think it's something that just goes with timber frame using large timbers so we have to learn to like them that way .
I agree with Bill. We had the Amish build our house & the design called for several beams & posts. Some of them look pristine & a couple have developed some cracks & splits. Nothing that will compromise structural integrity. We refer to it as "character" & actually like the appearance. The beams were not fresh cut, but they also were not kiln dried.
If you look at the cross section of a log or a big timber, the rings get larger the further from the center. Wood dries radially meaning along the yearly growth rings. So the outside of the log shrinks more than the center. The outside also dries faster than the center. So when the outside of the log or large timber shrinks more than the center something has to give. Thus the cracks along the length of the timber. When building always put the worst of the cracks toward the hidden side.
I've wondered whether running a sacrificial cut down the length of a log or timber would concentrate the checking in one place. Never tried it. Checking is natural and unavoidable. Some species check more than others. I've found that ash checks mightily, checks sometimes a half inch or more wide in a big timber. In a furniture piece I will sometimes fill the check with a mixture of epoxy and wood dust from sanding. It makes a good looking fill.
Hi, Front Range. I don't remember seeing posts from you before, so welcome to the forum. Sounds like that sawmill is going to get plenty of use! Are the timbers cracking on the ends or on the faces (or both?). If you don't get an answer here, you might try the Timber Framing section of www.forestryforum.com. Good luck, and be sure to post some photos when you get a chance!
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
Has anyone ever heard of a "Dutch stack" method of stacking lumber outside You basicly make a square base and use the next row (placed at 90 deg. ) as the stickers you can get alot of wood stacked in a smaller area This only works if most of your boards are the same length & thickness If it works it would save alot of time messing with sticker spacers
Chop Top you would be eliminating the air flow I think stacking lumber like that is so the pile won't fall over. If you were to leave spaces between the boards there would still be a lot of surface area covered reducing drying.
You are probably right an Old boy told me of this being how they would stack wood on riverboats Maybe it was just to help from getting wetter on the journey
How much flooring do you plan on making? $6660 isn't a bad price, if you are planning commercial sale of the flooring. If you are doing it for your house, you could probably get something that took a bit more manual manipulation per piece, but was a lot cheaper.
Does that price include the routers and tongue & groove bits? If you're not cutting wide planks, you could save yourself some money by going with a narrower planer. If you need to straight-line rip, surface one side, then mount the routers so that you can surface the other side and cut the tongue & groove in a second pass, that's a lot of handling. Not bad for your own house, but it would be tough to try to manufacture flooring to sell. Is there a way you can see the system run? That said, WoodMaster has a great reputation for quality. The machine itself should serve you well.
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
I have a question about 20ft shipping containers as wheather they would make good drying buildings for your best wide boards? I know there would be a lot more manual labor unless you cut out one side so you could use forklift. The tobacco companies used them with vents cut in them I guess for air flow and I bought two of them for $1,100.00 and they are not being used and after reading this post thought they might work. Any thoughts on that? Fred
One thought I have is air flow. You could possibly make some vents, then test with smoke to see how the air flows. If you get some trapped moist air, it could lead to mold.
Aside from that, how does it work to get the wood in and out? Since the floor is so flat, maybe rolling carts?
I will take a picture showing how well it is vented with panels cut out of all sides the strength is in the corners so they can be stacked. I think I can take about 80% of a side wall out then put a removal post in the middle mabey with a header with out danger of it falling in. After taking a picture it takes a long time for it to transfer as a file in my mac that photobucket will take or upload.
Air needs to flow through the stacks and between the stickers, from one side to the other. Your containers would be great if you could remove the walls on both long sides. If not, you'll need lots of fans. Once the wood is dry, though, you can flat stack in them as they are. I think Baron is using some shipping containers to store lumber, so hopefully he'll chime in.
I had a 12' overhead door installed in a 20' container, which I'm setting up as a kiln. Unless you have tracks and a cart, side loading makes the most sense for me. Not up and running yet, but I'll post photos. For air drying, it seems like you'd need to cut so much out of the container that it may not be worth it. Here's a link to the company that did the conversion: http://americanprideindustries.net/index.php/storage-containers . They do some pretty impressive work!
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
Fred sell them for $1,000 each or more and build one out of you lumber with lovered walls. to keep the sun & weather off. Nay be easier than renovating those containers.
My wife Sharry by a stack of Maple cut from my property just before New Years 2016. Had some mature trees that were compromised.
One image is the boards cut in the trailer, and then close up of some of the grain.
This load I am drying in my basement.
Last image is Sharry in front of some stacks. Far left is a stack of White Pines I milled about a year ago from a storm damage tree close to my farm. Some of the boards are 15.5" wide and 14' long. The stack in the middle is white birch that will be used for Butcher Block Top of the center island and frame. The top will be made from the 2"X4" lumber and be 4" thick. She is leaning on the pile of Maple just cut. The back ground pile is Black Walnut, Maple, and Red Oak cut about a year ago and finished ripped to 2, 3, 4 and 6" widths to be used for the floor in the farm house.
Being we are in Minnesota, the humidity in winter is so low, we heat with wood, and the moisture from the drying is welcomed."
Well I'm going to try some 1/4 saw lumber in this container and see what it does, The white oak was 25% and the red on the right was 42% when I put it in there. I'll check it in acouple of weeks and see it any change, it had been laying in the woods 2+ yrs.
Fbl, think you could cut the sides like you did the ends? That would give much better air flow. I'll be very interested to know how it works for you. Your measurements of MC should lay to rest the myth that logs that have been down for a couple of years are dry and ready to use right off the sawmill.
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
I had plan on doing it and I've got to get some new metal blades for the sawall. The floor has plyboard laying on top of metal beams that are about 6" apart and I thought I might jack up the containers about 8" off the ground and take the plyboard out to give even more vent space or flow what do you think is best leave the plyboard or take it out? I think the tobacco Co's must have use them with the vents and took the orignial floors out for venterlation to store bales of tobacco in them and there were thousands of them put on the market around here some years ago. The ones you find now are second hand and sell for 500 give or take. Fred
A top vent may be in order, too. Maybe an RV vent or two?
Something for the warm air to rise to before it is expelled. If you have a bit of clearance from the top of the lumber, that should be enough, if there is good enough.
fbl, you really need air to flow through the stacks, between the boards. Removing the floor boards will not accomplish that and, if it lets in ground moisture, can actually be detrimental.
I know if you cut oak into thick pieces like yours, it's almost impossible to keep them from cracking. Most timber frame builders just live with it. On linseed oil: I recently cut a lot of beautiful red cedar lumber for a customer. He used it on an outside deck and supporting beams for a porch. He coated all of it with linseed oil - it turned black like creosote. I think he would have been better off leaving it alone. He wanted to preserve the color, but instead altered it. I think you are right about "drying too quickly." Linseed oil is not your answer. You need less sun and heat and, if you can accomplish it without fungus, more moisture.
Some large timbers are going to crack regardless some more than others occassionally one will stay solid. I think it's something that just goes with timber frame using large timbers so we have to learn to like them that way
.
I agree with Bill. We had the Amish build our house & the design called for several beams & posts. Some of them look pristine & a couple have developed some cracks & splits. Nothing that will compromise structural integrity. We refer to it as "character" & actually like the appearance. The beams were not fresh cut, but they also were not kiln dried.
If you look at the cross section of a log or a big timber, the rings get larger the further from the center. Wood dries radially meaning along the yearly growth rings. So the outside of the log shrinks more than the center. The outside also dries faster than the center. So when the outside of the log or large timber shrinks more than the center something has to give. Thus the cracks along the length of the timber. When building always put the worst of the cracks toward the hidden side.
I've wondered whether running a sacrificial cut down the length of a log or timber would concentrate the checking in one place. Never tried it. Checking is natural and unavoidable. Some species check more than others. I've found that ash checks mightily, checks sometimes a half inch or more wide in a big timber. In a furniture piece I will sometimes fill the check with a mixture of epoxy and wood dust from sanding. It makes a good looking fill.
Hi, Front Range. I don't remember seeing posts from you before, so welcome to the forum. Sounds like that sawmill is going to get plenty of use! Are the timbers cracking on the ends or on the faces (or both?). If you don't get an answer here, you might try the Timber Framing section of www.forestryforum.com. Good luck, and be sure to post some photos when you get a chance!
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
Has anyone ever heard of a "Dutch stack" method of stacking lumber outside You basicly make a square base and use the next row (placed at 90 deg. ) as the stickers you can get alot of wood stacked in a smaller area This only works if most of your boards are the same length & thickness If it works it would save alot of time messing with sticker spacers
Chop Top you would be eliminating the air flow I think stacking lumber like that is so the pile won't fall over. If you were to leave spaces between the boards there would still be a lot of surface area covered reducing drying.
You are probably right an Old boy told me of this being how they would stack wood on riverboats Maybe it was just to help from getting wetter on the journey
Help with a shaper to make flooring?
I'm looking at a Wood Master 25" molder/plainer/dual router unit. at $6660.00 new but would buy a good used one.
Elmer
How much flooring do you plan on making? $6660 isn't a bad price, if you are planning commercial sale of the flooring. If you are doing it for your house, you could probably get something that took a bit more manual manipulation per piece, but was a lot cheaper.
Does that price include the routers and tongue & groove bits? If you're not cutting wide planks, you could save yourself some money by going with a narrower planer. If you need to straight-line rip, surface one side, then mount the routers so that you can surface the other side and cut the tongue & groove in a second pass, that's a lot of handling. Not bad for your own house, but it would be tough to try to manufacture flooring to sell. Is there a way you can see the system run? That said, WoodMaster has a great reputation for quality. The machine itself should serve you well.
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
Sounds like the feed rollers are in front only, and nothing pulling the material out the back.
I have a question about 20ft shipping containers as wheather they would make good drying buildings for your best wide boards? I know there would be a lot more manual labor unless you cut out one side so you could use forklift. The tobacco companies used them with vents cut in them I guess for air flow and I bought two of them for $1,100.00 and they are not being used and after reading this post thought they might work. Any thoughts on that? Fred
One thought I have is air flow. You could possibly make some vents, then test with smoke to see how the air flows. If you get some trapped moist air, it could lead to mold.
Aside from that, how does it work to get the wood in and out? Since the floor is so flat, maybe rolling carts?
I will take a picture showing how well it is vented with panels cut out of all sides the strength is in the corners so they can be stacked. I think I can take about 80% of a side wall out then put a removal post in the middle mabey with a header with out danger of it falling in. After taking a picture it takes a long time for it to transfer as a file in my mac that photobucket will take or upload.
Notice pannels on doors that are removal as well as both sides that don't show up in the picture
Air needs to flow through the stacks and between the stickers, from one side to the other. Your containers would be great if you could remove the walls on both long sides. If not, you'll need lots of fans. Once the wood is dry, though, you can flat stack in them as they are. I think Baron is using some shipping containers to store lumber, so hopefully he'll chime in.
I had a 12' overhead door installed in a 20' container, which I'm setting up as a kiln. Unless you have tracks and a cart, side loading makes the most sense for me. Not up and running yet, but I'll post photos. For air drying, it seems like you'd need to cut so much out of the container that it may not be worth it. Here's a link to the company that did the conversion: http://americanprideindustries.net/index.php/storage-containers . They do some pretty impressive work!
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
Fred sell them for $1,000 each or more and build one out of you lumber with lovered walls. to keep the sun & weather off. Nay be easier than renovating those containers.
http://s1039.photobucket.com/user/scottieholmes44/library/?view=recent&page=1
Just uploaded some images of my stacks.
Being we are in Minnesota, the humidity in winter is so low, we heat with wood, and the moisture from the drying is welcomed."
Hit post too quick, just noticed all the typos. Hope I cut lumber better than I type!!
You can change your misspelled words by logging in and hitting Edit in the bottom right corner of your post. I have to do it all the time.
Well I'm going to try some 1/4 saw lumber in this container and see what it does, The white oak was 25% and the red on the right was 42% when I put it in there. I'll check it in acouple of weeks and see it any change, it had been laying in the woods 2+ yrs.
I like these containers. Wish I had a couple.
Plans next summer too build a drying shed.
Can anyone tell me how to upload pictures to this forum? I'm a Sawyer not a Computer wiz
http://forum.norwoodsawmills.com/suggestion-box/posting-photos
Per "Post Okie" this is what I did to post my photos.
Hope it helps!!
Fbl, think you could cut the sides like you did the ends? That would give much better air flow. I'll be very interested to know how it works for you. Your measurements of MC should lay to rest the myth that logs that have been down for a couple of years are dry and ready to use right off the sawmill.
Good judgement comes from experience... experience comes from bad judgement.
I had plan on doing it and I've got to get some new metal blades for the sawall. The floor has plyboard laying on top of metal beams that are about 6" apart and I thought I might jack up the containers about 8" off the ground and take the plyboard out to give even more vent space or flow what do you think is best leave the plyboard or take it out? I think the tobacco Co's must have use them with the vents and took the orignial floors out for venterlation to store bales of tobacco in them and there were thousands of them put on the market around here some years ago. The ones you find now are second hand and sell for 500 give or take. Fred
A top vent may be in order, too. Maybe an RV vent or two?
Something for the warm air to rise to before it is expelled. If you have a bit of clearance from the top of the lumber, that should be enough, if there is good enough.
fbl, you really need air to flow through the stacks, between the boards. Removing the floor boards will not accomplish that and, if it lets in ground moisture, can actually be detrimental.
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