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Turning Red Oak Logs into Lumber
6/13
A neighbor of mine had some red oak trees taken down and the tree trimming company left the logs on my driveway. My intention was to cut it into firewood, but I have some logs that are 24" in diameter and from 8 to 12' long. Usually when I get wood like this there is a rotten section in the middle and this time the logs look to be solid. However I think the trees were standing dead wood. I didn't have any green shoots on the pile and it was cut in the end of May and all the bark is already off or peeling easily as I move and cut it.
I would like advice on the following things: Since the trees were standing dead wood how hard will it be to saw? Will a saw company dull a bunch of blades? I was hoping to air dry this outside then bring it inside to acclimate it to be used inside for shelves. How can I make sure I'm not bringing in bugs with the wood? Are there any other problems I should be thinking about?
Thanks,
B
6/14 #2: Turning Red Oak Logs into Lumber ...
Dry wood does indeed take more energy to cut, but with the proper saw, dulling will not be excessive. In your case, how long did the trees stand; that is, have they been standing dead for months or years? The drier, the more difficult to saw.
It would be dangerous to air dry (perhaps 15% MC) and then finish drying (to 7% MC) inside. First, it will take a long time. Second, you will not kill any insects, such as the lyctid powderpost beetle. Third, bring this wood into the house will also bring in a lot of moisture--500 BF of red oak will lose about 230 pounds of water (30 gallons) as it goes from 15% MC to 7% MC. That is a lot of moisture to bring into the house or shop. And this moisture is slightly acidic too.
6/14 #3: Turning Red Oak Logs into Lumber ...
Thanks for the information. I don't really know how the long the tree has been dead but I would guess a year.
I'm not sure what being acidic means in terms of drying. Does that mean there will be an acidic mist in the air that will attack surfaces, especially metal ones, in the area?
This is probably a stupid question but I've never seen it discussed anywhere.. If I have wood that is mostly dry but I am concerned about bugs could I place a stack of wood above a fire and under a tarp to heat the wood enough to kill bugs but keep it far enough from flames to char it? Would trying something like that cause casehardening or some other problem? That would explain why I can't find any mention of fire being used to directly dry lumber.
6/14 #4: Turning Red Oak Logs into Lumber ...
The acidic content of the moisture from the woods drying will tend to corrode light switches, sockets, electronic devices, all these metallic objects within a home a person really doesn't want damaged in such a manner. A person could likely get away with doing it to a point, but constant drying will cause you problems.
A wood needs to wick out moisture from the center and at a correct rate to dry correctly. A fire is way too hot, you will destroy the wood trying to do that. The wood needs to be around 135 deg f to kill the bugs; a fire will overheat and ruin the outside of the wood before the heat gets to the center. I guess it could be possible, but I would think a person would need a magic wand to do it.
I think a better option would be to slice it down then spray a bug and rot killing agent on it (many are available at woodworking outlets) to protect your lumber.
I don't cut much oak, but I do band-cut a lot of maple and it cuts better for me when dryer (around 50-60% mc) than fresh felled. Best of luck, it's got to be worth a shot.
6/14 #5: Turning Red Oak Logs into Lumber ...
Many (maybe all) of the approved insecticides for wood poison the outside of the wood, but do not go deep enough and are not strong enough on the inside to affect insects on the inside. This is for dry wood.
6/19 #6: Turning Red Oak Logs into Lumber ...
Well, maybe I read it wrong, but it seems that the wood isn't so dry as it still may contain 30ish gallons of water to evaporate to a finished state. Borad products claim to be non-toxic, and even used in farmers' fields for food we eat. Their products are claimed to leach into the wood thru moisture, so it seems that they may work just fine. Obviously not as well as a professionally run mill kiln, but on a 1 inch board it seems, by their claims, that it should work just fine.
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