# Clearing red oaks



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

So a solar company is going around trying to lease land up for $1000/acre/year.

Dad owns a 27 acre piece that most of it would be better off in solar panels, wet spots everywhere, seeps on the hillsides, low spots that more often than not flood every year and hilltops that are very similar to concrete.

However they will also lease as much of the woods as we'd let em and probably chip the entire thing.

Before they cut anything I'd be going thru and getting the best red oaks and cherry left in them to have cut into boards for later use as trim and flooring as I remodel more of the farm house.

Question is this, and I'm sure it depends on the log a lot as well, but how long could I have boards cut before cupping and twisting would be prevalent in most of it? For flooring longer the better, less joints, for trim not such a big deal.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

My understanding is it depends on how they are stacked when drying. I remember hearing that from my grandfather, but, being that he died in 1958, that, unfortunately, is all that I remember.

Ralph


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Yep, I have some white and red oak that I stacked 25 years ago and it is still without cupping. Just put some 1" furring strips in the stack to lay the boards on and it should be good.

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I have a few white oaks as well that are large enough for the mill, save those for future trailer decks.

A guy in town still has the machines to turn out flooring. he bought it all when building his new house, each room is done in a different wood native to our area


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Hard to beat nice wide hardwood planking. Hickory can make a most beautiful floor.

Regards, Mike


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Stack with firring strips between each board. Use enough strips so they won't sag and strips on top of each other. They will air dry but never the same as kiln dried. When you get around to planing them down seal them asap. Paint the ends of the logs with a sealant.
...my experience...

Seems when you know where the wood came from it gets more of a sentimental value and you treat it as such.


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

In addition to the above advice, weighting the stack down helps too. Or ratchet straps helps in the same way. Don't let the sun get to the boards, keep them in the shade or in a barn or something. Make sure the bottom layer of boards is straight, level and true. Make sure you have the boards sawmilled around 5/4 or even 6/4 so you can plane them down to whatever you need. You'll lose about 1/4" from shrinkage on a 5 or 6/4 board after 6 months to a year cure time. If your boards end up cupping or twisting, saw them into thinner width boards and all the bad will go away. Keep the ends painted with something - anything - to force the moisture to go out the face of the board and not out the ends where it wants to go, especially with red oak. Stuff is like a sponge on the ends and it's the reason it won't hold up anywhere near white oak outside.

Hope at least some of this helps even if it's just a little bit.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

A lot of the wood in this house came from the woods.

We have a old corn crib to rebuild and gonna repurpose it as a garage, I plan on dropping some tulip poplars to replace the water damaged beams.

Some of the original flooring in the house were actual 2x4's.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Course now, Dad isn't the only one they've talked to, they have so far approached every single one of my row crop landlords. Aint nobody I know of that can afford $1000/acre rent since marijuana is being legalized everywhere.

I have two that told em to go pound sand, by this time next year I could conceivably be down to 110 acres of row crops. Wouldn't that be a kick in the gnads? Surviving the drought of this year, the floods of last year, the poor prices of the last 5-6 years only to be put out of business by the green weenies.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Vol said:


> Yep, I have some white and red oak that I stacked 25 years ago and it is still without cupping. Just put some 1" furring strips in the stack to lay the boards on and it should be good.
> 
> Regards, Mike


You triggered a memory: I think he stacked them two boards wide with a 1" thick strip every 4-5 feet. I'm thinking this allowed air to get at one side of each board so they had room to breathe.

Does this sound familiar?

Ralph


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

One inch stickers is what I use, at about 4 foot increments. Always need one at the ends of the boards, then split the difference in the middle. More is better if you need to make a decision.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Around here I see a lot of logs stacked in really big rows nice and neat with water sprinklers on top that wet it down ever so often. I'm not sure why it's done but they let them lay for several years, then take them to a mill... my guess is they are curing them of sorts... and then some saw and stack like others have said, always wondered what the log piles were meant for...


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