Can I store a black walnut log over the winter?

[Moddoo]

Hello all,
I am new to this milling stuff.

I will be taking down a 20"+ diameter black walnut for a friend this fall.
I am hoping to get the trunk milled by a local guy sometime.
I really don't have the time or $ to do it this year.
Would it be OK to store the log over the winter and get it milled next year?

Also, should I seal it somehow to keep it from checking?

Any idea what it costs to get some walnut milled?

Thanks

 

[woodshop]

If you can get away logistically without bucking it to length that would be better, but not necessary. At any rate, seal the ends of each log with Anchorseal or latex exterior house paint as soon as it's dropped. Keep it off the ground and out of direct weather and it should be fine as long as the beetles don't infest it between now and when that MN winter sets in couple months from now.

 

[mountainlake]

Where are you in MN. If you had three 20" logs it would take around 1 hour, somewhere around $50. Steve

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Good advise as usual from Woodshop.

I have a stack of elm, sweetgum, southern yellow pine and oak that were cut 5 months ago. I sealed the ends with 2-3 coats of old latex paint and blocked them up off the ground and show very little degradation. It's always better it mill them ASAP but not imperative.

 

[woodshop]

I sliced a 34 inch red oak couple months ago that had blown down almost a year ago. It was off the ground, but had been bucked and exposed to direct weather all that time, and had no paint or sealant at all. The end 1 1/2 inches of each board was discolored a dark black, but the rest of the log was identical to one that had just been dropped. Wood was still wet... it milled the same etc. As long as the beetles don't get to it, logs, at least larger ones, don't seem to deteriorate that much for a while anyway. I can only assume that the kind of tree makes a big difference however. I've only ever sliced old (more than one year down) oak, ash and hickory. All were large logs, and all were fine except for some end degrade.

 

[sawyerDave]

Storing a log

If you have a friend with a pond, drop it in there till you need it, the water will keep it from drying out. :blob5:

 

[ropensaddle]

I use carpenter glue and it works great but not as good as the pond!

 

[woodshop]

If you have a friend with a pond, drop it in there till you need it, the water will keep it from drying out. :blob5:

Very true... in the past (maybe they still do?) the Japs have bought up our northwest US timber, shipped it to Japan and then buried it over there underwater where it stays preserved. Some day they'll bring it up and sell it back to us at probably 100 times what they bought it from us.

My house (103 years old) is clad with ancient cedar that was buried 10 feet deep in the muck in NJ swamps for umpteen years, preserved till they "mined" them at the turn of the century, brought them up out of the muck and sliced them up.

 

[sILlogger]

Very true... in the past (maybe they still do?) the Japs have bought up our northwest US timber, shipped it to Japan and then buried it over there underwater where it stays preserved. Some day they'll bring it up and sell it back to us at probably 100 times what they bought it from us.

My house (103 years old) is clad with ancient cedar that was buried 10 feet deep in the muck in NJ swamps for umpteen years, preserved till they "mined" them at the turn of the century, brought them up out of the muck and sliced them up.

what sort of ceder do u have there? does it get big?

 

[Mad Professor]

Bugs/rot might set into sapwood but not as bad as other species here in NE. Heartwood is good againts bugs/rot. Endcoat and keep it off the ground till you use it. It' s beatiful wood, don't let it go to waste!!!

 

[Moddoo]

Thanks for all the info guys.
It sounds like it would be best to get it milled asap.
I don't have a pond to use.
If I wait till next year, I'll lose a couple inches at each end.
It would suck if the bugs got at it.

I wish I could get a bandsaw, but it's not happening real soon.

What do you think about bringing it to a guy with a big circle saw?
Will the boards need more or less finishing if I get them done there?

I ask because I know a guy pretty close to my place with a little milling operation. He runs about a 48" blade with an old deisel truck.

$50 is more reasonable than I thought.

 

[mountainlake]

Circle saws make a lot of sawdust and less boards otherwise thier ok if the carriage is kept in good shape Steve

 

[woodshop]

what sort of ceder do u have there? does it get big?

The cedar I referred to that was mined out of the Jersey swamps years ago was Eastern white cedar, and yes it got huge, 36 inch dia trunks... big trees. Rare to see that big of a cedar tree now. We also have Eastern redcedar, also known as aromatic cedar, the stuff they line closets with. That can get big around here, but is often low quality.

 

[sILlogger]

The cedar I referred to that was mined out of the Jersey swamps years ago was Eastern white cedar, and yes it got huge, 36 inch dia trunks... big trees. Rare to see that big of a cedar tree now. We also have Eastern redcedar, also known as aromatic cedar, the stuff they line closets with. That can get big around here, but is often low quality.

Eastern red is the only cedar we have here. and it doesn't hardly ever get big. maybe an occasional yard tree or something.. i rarely see it in the woods except on maybe a rock outcropping or growing as a shrub in an old field. the deer sure do love it

as for circle milling the walnut u will be losing several board do to the thick cut. and the circle mill will cut much rougher than the band mill