First off, i know very little about turning logs into usable lumber Buddy has a band saw mill that has virtually no time on it, so he knows very little as well I'm needing some lumber for a building project and waaay to cheap to buy with the prices that the lumber yard wants Found a wood score fairly close by that the homeowner is pushing over a pile of spruce trees, and the first thing i thought of is firewood. Now I'm thinking lumber, My questions is this: is spruce good for anything? And these will need to span about 10ft as I'm using them for floor joists Any good for something structural? These trees are standing dead, can i use it right off the mill or need drying first?
Hi Creekin, let’s try tagging a few members for your questions fuelrod buzz-saw JB Sawman Sawdust Man And whoever else has a bandmill… of course chainsaw millers too!
Go for it. You have to start somewhere. It’s all a learning curve but that’s part of the game Do you have any idea what kind of mill it is? No matter what happens it’s still fun!
Since Creekin stated he’s not a carpenter, it may also be important to point out that (especially for joists, but all framing lumber of course) clear wood is preferable - as few knots as possible. If knots are inevitable, try to make sure they’re centered in the board, not too close to an edge.
Douglas fir is an ideal framing lumber but spruce will work. If youre concerned about integrity, just mill the next size up say a 2x10 instead of a 2x8 or space them closer than normal. You can even go larger say a 3x8, 4x8 etc. I think dead wood may not have the nail holding capability as wood dried from green but dont quote me on that. If youre getting the logs for free there's no downside. If you goof then its firewood. Gotta learn somehow. buzz-saw milled some pin oak two Summers ago on one of the first runs with his mill. Dried too warped to be used other than utility wood despite him drying it slowly and properly stickered. May end up being firewood too. For those that arent aware, buzz-saw and i live a couple miles apart and got to be friends through FHC. We've gone cutting several times and he has me over to enjoy the mill. I get logs for it from time to time and have used milled wood for projects. Coolest thing to see it go from tree to usable lumber. Just made some cedar lattice from a tree taken off my stepdaughters place. Got used on their porch. Be sure to post pics Creekin
You can do anything you want......as long as the .gov don't swoop down and ruin the party with building regulations....... I've built about 20 houses, shops, and barns with green lumber right off the mill, it works just fine... after all, that's what everybody did before kilns and regulations! The main thing with making your own lumber and building with it is to use your common sense.... if a board looks bad it probably is.... don't use that board for anything critical or load bearing where people's lives are at risk. Knots and splits are defects, and weaken a board, if you've got logs with quite a bit of defect, then do what Brad said and oversize your joists. I almost never cut full dimension lumber (2" x 4") but prefer to go with what you buy in town (1.5" x 3.5") because fasteners and hardware is all sized for nominal dimension lumber. If I had average quality spruce logs, and wanted to make 10' joists I'd probably go with 2x8, on the other hand if the logs weren't so good, I'd make 2x10's assuming the logs were large enough. I prefer 16" centers on joists over 24" though you can always go down to 12" centers to add some stiffness and peace of mind. BTW, spruce is one of my favorite woods to build stuff outta.... Enjoy!
I HEAR YA! One reason i dont like building stuff anymore...well if theyre watching. I help another contractor on occasion and he goes by the code. Absolutely ridiculous what they want us to do. Even for a simple deck for crying out loud. Ive had a three season enclosed porch build on hold since the Spring. Told him to get the permit as id tell the inspector to put the codes where the sun doesnt shine. Building dept wants blue prints so he contracts an architect i know. Prints done. I guess he now needs to get it surveyed based on our last conversation. Its just a simple unfinished 12x20 room with a shed roof off the back of the garage! Found out the president/CEO of a major joist hanger/structural tie mfr. is on the national board of building codes. Makes sense now. Sorry for the rant. Just tired of over educated people trying to tell me how to do my job.
Thanks for all the feedback! Basically the project is building up the entrance floor to be the samr level as the rest of the house Not super critical as far as structure, in the event of a total catastrophic failure the floor would drop about 2" I try to get away with the fewer permits as possible, but when I have built something I ask as many people for info The shop i pulled a permit, not always a bad thing
Hoping to get these logs home this week, have alot of outdoor projects to finish up before the snow comes When I do some milling, I'll definitely keep you guys posted
We ain't got no codes, zoning, or building inspectors in our county..... we just build stuff however we like......It's so nice after being on the hyper-regulated west coast, you can't pick your nose out there with a permit.......
Sorry Creekin I saw your question a little late spruce will be fine for lumber mill at a even speed if the trees have been dead for a while the wood will be softer and the knots will be hard which can lead to your blade diving which can give you wavy boards it happens in green softwoods also but can be worse in drier wood . When the wood is drier you have to keep a sharp blade also more so than green wood . You may have some sap bleed on your finished boards it is a appearance thing not a real problem . I am by no means a carpenter or a engineer but everything I have built using sawmill lumber has no issues common sense when you saw a board if it looks like junk too many knots , has shake, or to much bark inclusion it is firewood (HMMM just described Lowes lumber ) Another thing sawing softwoods use a good amount of blade lube the sap can build up on your blade and cause wavy cuts Have fun and remember that making lumber is addictive soon you will run out of room to store lumber ,OH NO then you have lumber to build another building to store more lumber and the cycle continues JB
