A question of how long to keep these logs?

[andy]

I have a couple of big Western Red Cedars down that I'm planning to mill via Granberg v4 and ms661.
Both of these trees are relatively clear and straight for a long run.
One of them is runs 32"-28" for 35' after cutting off the fat taper at the bottom.
The land is flat and these trees had great even sun exposure for decades.
My plan is to mill a couple of wide "live edge planks but then cut up the rest into beams for timber framing...... probably sell much of that material as this is only the first of a dozen such trees here on the land.
Long timber is not as easy to come by and so it seems a shame to bust up these logs too much.
Ultimately I'm going to have to decide myself but,.. I wanted to hear some comments if there are any.
.... How do you decide how long is long enough ?

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

All depends on the project. We usually don't cut anything over 16ft unless custom ordered.

 

[Brian72]

Can you get orders prior to milling them? If there's a demand, I'd try that. I don't know much about the timber frame market but you have some nice logs to work with.

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[andy]

Yes, I feel very fortunate to have these materials.
It’s part of why we bought this house/land.

I may post a CL add for custom cut beams.
Being far from a pro at this, I would prefer to sell “my” finish product rather than sell a custom order I may not be able to satisfy.
I’m leaning towards 20’&14’ which gives a bar width at either end of both for fall... close but should be fine.

 

[Brian72]

Yes, I feel very fortunate to have these materials.
It’s part of why we bought this house/land.

I may post a CL add for custom cut beams.
Being far from a pro at this, I would prefer to sell “my” finish product rather than sell a custom order I may not be able to satisfy.
I’m leaning towards 20’&14’ which gives a bar width at either end of both for fall... close but should be fine.

Totally understand Andy. The only reason I suggest trying to get an order first is because they are so nice, long and straight. I'd imagine long beams would bring a premium price. Maybe you could talk to some builders and get some ideas of common lengths.

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[babybart]

Wait, did you cut that down with the Sawzall?

 

[Marine5068]

Yes, I feel very fortunate to have these materials.
It’s part of why we bought this house/land.

I may post a CL add for custom cut beams.
Being far from a pro at this, I would prefer to sell “my” finish product rather than sell a custom order I may not be able to satisfy.
I’m leaning towards 20’&14’ which gives a bar width at either end of both for fall... close but should be fine.

I'd leave them longer if you can.
You can always cut them shorter later.
Do like you planned and really promote the length of those and see what takes.
It may take a while to find the right buyer so be patient.
I had about a half cord of Butternut rounds that a friend dropped off to me and I put an add on Kijiji to all the wood carvers and got one that came and bought all of it for a great price.
My Wife wasn't happy about the wood sitting in a pile behind the shed all year, but when I showed her the $275 she smiled....lol.

 

[andy]

Wait, did you cut that down with the Sawzall?

Not quite a sawsall but close!

 

[Brian72]

Not quite a sawsall but close!

Good saw. Love mine!

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[andy]

Yeah it's surprisingly strong for a "little" 45cc saw.
Have had zero issues using it for falling bigger stuff.

 

[Brian72]

Yeah it's surprisingly strong for a "little" 45cc saw.
Have had zero issues using it for falling bigger stuff.

Those are some really nice trees. I'd offer to help you mill them if I wasn't on the other side of the country. Lol

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[andy]

Appreciate that Brian I really do.
These are some great big high yielding trees and I'm going to try and make the most of them.
Later in the summer I have some big Western big Leaf maples to do also.
One of them has curling I can literally see through the bark in the bottom 8'-10 (All uniformly bubbly looking).
I'm not new to woodworking by any means but chainsaw milling is new to me.

I think I'm going to try and slab this first cedar long.... flatten the top and see how that goes.
There is a left over 30' tgi from one of my jobs .
I've been tripping over the damn thing for years... now I know why I kept it around full length !
There are a few guys offering "custom cut" lumber on CL. Might ask them how they are doing sales wise.
Once cut, things these length will be tough to handle were they are located on the property.
I've carried a 24' 6x16 glu-lam on my 12' truck lumber rack. a 30+ should be ok to get it to the road to load on someones flatbed.
Maybe even borrow a flatbed to keep them down low.

It's going to be a couple weeks but I'll post a pic once once there is something to see.

 

[Brian72]

Appreciate that Brian I really do.
These are some great big high yielding trees and I'm going to try and make the most of them.
Later in the summer I have some big Western big Leaf maples to do also.
One of them has curling I can literally see through the bark in the bottom 8'-10 (All uniformly bubbly looking).
I'm not new to woodworking by any means but chainsaw milling is new to me.

I think I'm going to try and slab this first cedar long.... flatten the top and see how that goes.
There is a left over 30' tgi from one of my jobs .
I've been tripping over the damn thing for years... now I know why I kept it around full length !
There are a few guys offering "custom cut" lumber on CL. Might ask them how they are doing sales wise.
Once cut, things these length will be tough to handle were they are located on the property.
I've carried a 24' 6x16 glu-lam on my 12' truck lumber rack. a 30+ should be ok to get it to the road to load on someones flatbed.
Maybe even borrow a flatbed to keep them down low.

It's going to be a couple weeks but I'll post a pic once once there is something to see.

I'm fairly new to chainsaw milling myself. Looking forward to your progress. We don't get the giants you have in the PNW but I get a dandy now and then. I have a few projects I need to tackle myself.

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[Marine5068]

Appreciate that Brian I really do.
These are some great big high yielding trees and I'm going to try and make the most of them.
Later in the summer I have some big Western big Leaf maples to do also.
One of them has curling I can literally see through the bark in the bottom 8'-10 (All uniformly bubbly looking).
I'm not new to woodworking by any means but chainsaw milling is new to me.

I think I'm going to try and slab this first cedar long.... flatten the top and see how that goes.
There is a left over 30' tgi from one of my jobs .
I've been tripping over the damn thing for years... now I know why I kept it around full length !
There are a few guys offering "custom cut" lumber on CL. Might ask them how they are doing sales wise.
Once cut, things these length will be tough to handle were they are located on the property.
I've carried a 24' 6x16 glu-lam on my 12' truck lumber rack. a 30+ should be ok to get it to the road to load on someones flatbed.
Maybe even borrow a flatbed to keep them down low.

It's going to be a couple weeks but I'll post a pic once once there is something to see.

Western Red Cedar is primo outdoor wood. We have Eastern Red and Eastern White Cedars here in Ontario.
I'm sure you'll be able to get rid of them easily for a decent price.
I design and build with Laminate beams at times when customers want those large open interior spans and let me tell you, they are way heavier than wood lumber.
They're like a concrete beam actually with all the resins weighing a ton.
Fantastic looking too, but not as nice looking as real lumber to me.
Show us more when you get them sliced.