Questions about dead standing pines

[Davej_07]

Hi all,
Im going to be felling 2 50'+ pines tomorrow. They are bot h dead, standing for about 2 years. Will I need to let it season more or do you think it may be useable?

Thanks
DAve

 

[smokechase II]

Should be fine

Guessing that your pines will be similar to my experience.
Your snags should be mostly cured.
Not kindling but OK.

They dry out from the top down. So at two years dead they will probably not be fully cured but should be OK to cut, split and stack covered.

The butts can still be moist. So that will be harder to split, carry and would be nice logs on the fire for the evening if you had to use them right away.
If you drop them note the difference in chips top to bottom indicating where the tree is dried out.

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Starting about now the bark can flake off readily and be messy.

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The longer moisture retention at the butt can actually help a little with holding wood. Don't expect a great hinge but it is better than a fully cured wood.