Old red cedar is it worth milling

[Uzi]

First let me say I don't know much if anything about milling. I'm a firewood guy but I came across a large amount of red cedar from a neighbor who was wanting to get rid of it. It has sat for about 5 years and some of the ends are pretty checked but there is a lot of big solid logs and I thought rather than burn it all some of it might be worth making into lumber? So far I've hauled out 5 16' dump trailer loads and there's probably one more load left over there. The logs are around 10-15' feet long and 20-32" in diameter.

My Wife's uncle has a band saw mill but lives a couple hours away. I've got some big saws 2100 288 and bars up to 42" but never had or used a chain saw mill. I have no idea what the market is like for something like this in my area (central Nebraska) but I'm looking into it. Would a project like this generate enough money to pay for the band saw milling or buy a CSM? Is there a certain size or length of board that's worth more than others or more desirable for sale?

I'll throw a couple pictures up of one load to give an idea of the size and condition of the logs. The logs were taken down and limbed off by a power company and then stacked up spaced above ground until I picked them up this weekend.

 

[bryanr2]

yes. mill it.

 

[kimosawboy]

Mill it
1x6, 1x8, 2x4,2x6, some 4x4 posts, Think decking/siding......
Up here there is more cedar than most other areas, prices are about $1.30/BF for tight knot old growth. I'm pretty sure that you could get a heck of a lot more for cedar in Nebraska!

 

[Dave Boyt]

Uzi's cedar is eastern red cedar (actually a juniper). Yes, by all means have it milled. If it were closer, I'd be glad to mill it on shares. Even if it looks punky on the outside, it is still good on the inside. I've milled eastern red cedar logs that have been laying on the ground for over ten years, and the heartwood was still in perfect condition. In my opinion, you'd be better off having it milled on a band mill. Price is reasonable, and band mills are more efficient (less kerf) and handle the odd shapes better than chain saw mills. If you are wanting to sell the lumbers, you might want to find a buyer first and have it milled to his/her specs.

 

[Uzi]

Thanks for the input guys I was wondering if it would be solid (Enough for lumber) after sitting 5 years but hearing Dave's story makes me less worried. I'll see what I can do about getting a band saw mill to come and visit me. Is there any concern with warping on lumber like this? I'm assuming it should be completely dry by this point anything I should do to store it other than stacking it flat on the concrete once its cut?

 

[Tom The Sawyer]

Thanks for the input guys I was wondering if it would be solid (Enough for lumber) after sitting 5 years but hearing Dave's story makes me less worried. I'll see what I can do about getting a band saw mill to come and visit me. Is there any concern with warping on lumber like this? I'm assuming it should be completely dry by this point anything I should do to store it other than stacking it flat on the concrete once its cut?

It won't be that dry, after milling you should get it up off the concrete and properly stickered. Fortunately, eastern red cedar dries very quickly so you'll be able to use it soon but it'll rot away before it ever gets dry in the log. Those are very nice sized logs, I wish I had a load or two.

 

[Uzi]

Those are very nice sized logs, I wish I had a load or two.

These are some of the biggest cedar I've ever seen in this area. Some are probably 30"+ in diameter and hardly any under 14" and not a lot of branches. Most cedars around here only get 6-8" in diameter and are short/bushy looking. I'd really like to know the whole story on where they came from all I know is a power company cut them when clearing a right of way or putting in lines and then dumped them for the people who gave them to me. I don't even know where they were cut but I didn't live in the area at the time they were taken down. I cross cut freehand into a small one with my chain saw just out of curiosity. It is really nice red looking stuff unbelievable to me considering the outside appearance of the logs.

 

[sixteenacrewood]

Not yes, but Hell Yes! Mill it!
Check out my avatar photo, it's a 36" cedar that was down in the woods for about 5 years.

I think it would be a waste to cut dimintion lumber from it,

2" live edge is the way to go, Table tops!!

 

[qbilder]

I milled a cedar that was standing dead in a cemetery for nearly a century, according to the old trustee. It was very dry, and very solid all the way through. Best cedar I have ever milled. Made this TV stand from it. Used alligator juniper for the doors & back.

 

[Dave Boyt]

Beautiful piece of furniture... inspiring!

 

[sbhooper]

That will make some nice boards, but I think that you are better off milling it into sizes that you want. Unless you find a woodworker that can't live without it, I doubt that you will get much for it. There have been a number of people around here that have tried to sell it over the years and they all quit trying. I have never understood why it is not more valuable, but usually, people cannot even get enough to pay the fuel bill for hauling it to mill to sell it.

I think cedar is super nice wood and it also burns great in my furnace, as long as it is cured well.

 

[SDB777]

You said someone you know has a bandsaw mill?
Use that to reduce the amount of waste and the wear on those chainsaws! Every third cut on a band mill gives you another piece of timber to use...

BTW, the longer the log sits the more 'red' is going to be there(the sapwood will change coloring and you'll be left with awesome.




These were done last year on my small WoodMizer LT10.....your pile will be bigger!




Scott (someone needs to bring me another load) B

 

[sbhooper]

Those are some great boards!

 

[SDB777]

@Uzi - Did you get a chance to start milling on these over the long weekend?



Scott (President Day off....WOOHOO!) B

 

[Uzi]

No I haven't got anything done with this yet my wife's uncle is going to come down with his bandsaw mill just haven't got the date nailed down yet. I'll try to get back here with some pictures when we get to it.

 

[cedarheaven]

Been milling lumber for over 40 years...

 

[Ax-man]

Yes, definitely mill it. I am a cedar hoarder myself because of it's eye catching grain and color, doesn't rot with age and is very stable when it is cut ,doesn't really need to be dried

My experience with Red Cedar is the grain and color will vary, some slabs will be light pink with too much white grain, other slabs will be blood red like those in the pictures. The blood red is very desirable wood.

Quality of the wood will also vary greatly also. In your picture showing the butt ends, that top log with the cracks going into the center isn't going to yield many good boards or slabs , too many defects in the log. The bottom one looks very promising if there are no defects in the main stem.

With Red Cedar you have to think about smaller items like, cedar chests, half log benches or thick slab wood for small tables or turning stock, bowl blanks for a wood lathe. The pictures the other guys posted are exceptionally good pieces of wood for Red Cedar. Around here wood like that is very hard to find. Your lucky to score that much cedar wood.

You have plenty of wood to play with , happy milling, Even the sawdust might have a value as small animal bedding .

 

[mike515]

Hmm....this thread makes me want to go count how many cedar logs I have on the wood lot. I have a bunch of them that we collected for free to mill but we haven't got around to milling those yet. Not sure how many we have but I think we hauled 4 or 5 flat bed trailers of logs that were 20-36 inch or so diameter.

We aren't very motivated when it comes to milling, I guess. We have all kinds of logs on the lot and a kiln full of ash that we have no idea what we're going to do with. We always say we're going to get around to milling logs but we rarely do.

 

[nk14zp]

Mill it but first debark it.

 

[Ax-man]

Hmm....this thread makes me want to go count how many cedar logs I have on the wood lot. I have a bunch of them that we collected for free to mill but we haven't got around to milling those yet. Not sure how many we have but I think we hauled 4 or 5 flat bed trailers of logs that were 20-36 inch or so diameter.

We aren't very motivated when it comes to milling, I guess. We have all kinds of logs on the lot and a kiln full of ash that we have no idea what we're going to do with. We always say we're going to get around to milling logs but we rarely do.

HAH, Your not alone so don't feel bad. I have all the stuff to do it but haven't done anything for two years now. Mostly because I only have time in the winter to do milling and the last two years I haven't done anything at all , mostly because of either too much snow or too cold. So I give myself a good excuse not to mill. Besides I have too many slabs as it is thinking of all the different projects I am going to do that never seem to happen. I wish I could sell some of this wood but can't seem to do that either. I have tried but no takers.