When is the best time to cut down white pine trees for timber? Now in the spring or late fall? Why is it important to have the sap down when you cut?

Thanks, hillbilly

-- hillbilly (internethillbilly@hotmail.com), February 14, 2001

Answers

Response to Cutting White pine trees?

late fall or early winter, better early winter. The timber will dry out faster without the sap...also, another nice thing is when you cut them in the winter, there aren't any insects that will infest the timber that is left lying on the ground for any length of time.

Why are you cutting white pine? Just curious. I have 20 acres of the stuff that is 50 years old and are 14-24" in diameter and no one wants them.

-- JimR (jroberts1@cas.org), February 14, 2001.

Response to Cutting White pine trees?

I actually sold some of my Eastern White pines to a fellow who milled them slightly on his sawmill. He then sold them to a man who wanted a pool house to look like a log cabin. I have had them cut on a saw mill and used them to build 2 chicken houses too. They tend to be very weak, but are fine on their sides (the 2 x 4's) as they are stronger that way. Good luck!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 14, 2001.

Response to Cutting White pine trees?

I'm going to use the white pine to build a new cabin. I have some friends, who own a saw mill, and they told me that white pine will make a nice cabin or (red pine) These are mature trees that need cut anyway, so I can re-plant with fresh ones. I intend on doing all the work myself, except for some of the cutting. I plan on leaving them age 8-12 months after I get them sawn up. I have never attempted anything like this but I have a plan.

-- hillbilly (internethillbilly@hotmail.com), February 14, 2001.

Response to Cutting White pine trees?

Hillbilly, I don't know where you are, but make sure you protect your pine logs from insects and rot. We know some people living in a pine log house built about ten years ago, and some of the logs have already rotted or been eaten so badly that huge chunks have come out of them, in one place you can see daylight through the wall.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), February 14, 2001.

You want to get that bark off as soon as possible and get them off the ground, sticker stack the logs. No matter how long you season them, the first winter when you get the wood stove going the sap will run out of those logs.

I had some white pains boards years ago that had cured for a coupple years, then were sawn and stickered for another 3 years. I built a coal bin from them, 2 years later I tore out the coal bin, planed ship-laped the boards, and enclosed a stairway for a closet in my cabin. That winter with the wood stove going the boards shrunk up about a half inch and the sap ran right down the boards.

-- Hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), February 15, 2001.

Here in upstate N. Y. we use white pine any where it will stay dry. Floors walls roofs as long as it is covered and stays dry it will lastfor years. TTo prevent bleeding shelac then varnish over knots and pitch seams. Jack

-- Jack Sweeney (jsweeney@northnet.org), February 17, 2001.

We also cut white pine and built our own house. We cut them at different times of the year because it took us almost a year to do it ( working only on free weekends and evenings) You could really tell the differnce between the ones cut in the winter (much lighter and easier to handle)than the ones cut in the summer. We slabbed them off on 2 sides and stacked them up for about 4 years before we used them. covered them with tarps while they were curing. We have had no insect problems except the occassional spider. I know many people who want a house like ours but very few with the gumption to do it. I was only 17 when we started cutting trees and my husband was 24, we used a hand saw to cut most of them and had to come-a-long every one because they stuck in the other trees!! It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Hope you have a lot of fun also! Building with logs is cheap, easy and efficient, kind of like playing with a Lincoln Log set but much bigger.

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), February 17, 2001.

I hope I don't have to wait 4years before these logs will cure? Thanks for all your responces, I'll store all your answers for future reference.

-- hillbilly (internethillbilly@hotmail.com), February 18, 2001.