Solid Pine Bar

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WhatsOnTap

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Well, my brother in-law and I decided to cut down a couple of trees this weekend on my property, and one is a nice-sized white pine (about 20" diameter). We cut it up into 8' pieces and I'm thinking if I can find a guy up here with a sawmill I can have it ripped into 4' slabs and piece them together to make a sweet solid pine bar! :ban:

I wanted to pick you guys' brains to see what kind of prep work I need to do on the logs before (or after) sawing.

Do I need to let them sit on blocks under a tarp to dry for a while or can I have them sawn wet and then dried?

What is the best way to dry that will leave the bark intact? I want a rustic pine bar with the knots, bark, and all.

I cut this tree down in the spring, meaning it has sap. Is this a good or bad thing?

Thanks for the input and I'll keep U posted as it happens!
 
WhatsOnTap,

You want to get the logs sawn asap. Then you stack them up with slats separating the sawn slabs, and let them air dry for roughly one year per inch of thickness. You can saw with the bark on, but it may fall off during drying. Alternative to air drying is to find a sawmill near you that will kiln dry it for you. You probably can find someone in your district with a portable bandsaw mill who will come to you and saw them up. If they came out of your yard, the sawyer will want to bring his metal detector with him...

A good source for more insight than I can give you is Taunton Press's Fine Woodworking forum at www.taunton.com - there are probably lots of threads you can search for answers or join and ask the question of them.
 
Aired,

Nice work! I will make some contacts as soon as the 13 inches of snow melts off my yard (DOH!). Winter is back. I might have to see if the sawyer likes beer. :drunk: Have I got a deal for him...
 
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