How to Convert Standing Dead Trees to Lumber

Reader Contribution by Bruce Mcelmurray

The above pile of logs in the photo came from a very dead spruce tree on our property. When I walk through our trees and I see a 16” conifer tree that had just died last winter I experience the thrill of looking at the board feet within that tree and projects I can make with it When looking at the pile of logs in the photo most people see firewood or just a pile of logs. What I see when I look at those logs is 220 board feet (per the doyle log scale) of lumber that is ideal for many uses. Projects like making two standing closets and an addition to our kitchen plus a new front door and pantry door. That is what I visualize right there in that pile of logs – lumber. So depending on who you are when looking at a pile of logs they can be viewed quite differently depending on what you intend to do with the logs.

Moisture Content in Lumber

Many people realize that lumber comes from trees and hence logs can be converted into lumber. They also know when they need lumber the easiest place to get it is at a lumber yard. They know that it has been kiln dried to a specific moisture content and finished down to a nominal size. The lumber I mill is dimensional and true to size. If you purchase lumber at a lumber yard that wood has been dried to a certain moisture content but as you move it to your area it attains the moisture content level where you are. Lumber will reach the equilibrium of the atmosphere moisture around it. Therefore air drying lumber is nothing short of allowing it to reach the equilibrium where it is located. I seal the end grain with paraffin wax paint so it will obtain a more uniform moisture level and doesn‘t dry too quickly and warp or wind. I also use inch by one inch strips of wood to keep layers separate and support the weight equally. These are called stickers.

Living in a semi arid locale our milled out dead trees dry out very fast where the moisture is literally sucked out of the wood. Curing time does not require more than a few weeks if handled properly. If I mill the logs out now I will have lumber available later this fall which is fully dry and cured that I can use to make two free standing closets. A-Frame construction does not allow much room for conventional closets so making two free standing closets will go a long ways toward the organization of our clothes.

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