How To Convert Standing Dead Trees To Lumber, Final Story

Reader Contribution by Bruce Mcelmurray
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Is a portable wood mill right for you? Everyone has to answer that question for themselves depending on their individual circumstances but we have determined that for our homesteading needs it is worth while to have one, even when we only set it up once a year. Being able to mill our own lumber is a distinct bonus for a homesteader who is faced with ongoing projects. We have several acres of heavily wooded mountain property and that means plenty of standing dead trees to choose from. We heat with a woodstove in the winter so we use the aspen for our firewood and the pine and fir for lumber once they die.

It took us eight hours plus ten logs and the end result was 83 boards (1X6X8’) cut to perfection. I priced the cost at a lumber yard and to purchase these 83 boards I would have paid close to $1,400.00. Of course kiln dried lumber would be ready to use direct from the lumber yard and ours has to air dry for a few weeks and then I will have to plane it down and trim the edges myself. Our lumber cost was $5.40 in gas to run the wood mill which is the total extent of my cost. I therefore saved $1,394.60 so to me it is worth the time to mill out my own lumber. Our particular wood mill has a 13 HP Honda engine which is very efficient and provides us with a lot of lumber for the amount of gas used. Regarding cost it is also important to factor in the pay back cost of the wood mill. I have milled enough lumber with mine that it has paid for itself several years ago so I don’t need to factor that cost in any longer.

Properly Curing Freshly Cut Lumber

The photo depicts the lumber stacked with stickers between boards so it will dry uniformly and slowly. I have yet to have boards check, warp or wind in the many boards I have cut and cured. Having a kiln makes the lumber ready to use much faster but I am not in a hurry so putting 1” by 1” sticks (stickers) between the pieces of lumber helps them reach equilibrium moisture content in a few weeks. There are some things that transcend buying lumber. Putting the labor into doing it exactly the way you want it, the pleasant smell of fresh lumber and looking at a stack of finished lumber knowing that you cut the dead tree down and milled the logs into boards are only a few benefits. That smell of freshly cut lumber is priceless it smells so fragrant and wonderful.

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