# Milling dead logs



## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

Seems there's a lot of of misconception about dead logs or logs that have been cut a while being dry....NOT!!!! I've explained several times they don't dry much in log form/shape as a whole. 

SO I'll prove it by pictures... this is a dead walnut I found that had been down for ????? yrs....long enough there was NO bark, NOR white sapwood.
I sawed in january, restack in sequential order and this is how much it has shrunk in 6 months. That's a LOT!!!

Pretty dead I'd say...








Shrinkage...


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## Post Oakie (Aug 20, 2013)

That's because it didn't fall in the winter when the sap was down  . Seriously, that's a good demonstration. People often ask or tell me the same thing about moisture in dead trees. What are your plans for the root ball?


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## IowaDave (May 21, 2015)

Gotta ask...is there anyone milling live logs? :laughing: Here I thought they were all dead when they went to the mill.

But seriously, this is good to know. I have a huge oak that fell on my ground about 2 months ago and I would like to have it milled, but I wasn't sure how long you could wait between felling and milling. Apparently, quite a long time.


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

Post Oakie,
I started out to saw attatched to the log for some unusual root figure and flair....but mother nature had a different turn on events....rocks grown into the roots....3 sawblades later and only 1 slab I decided to cut it off and saw into root parts for artist and turners.

Iowa Dave, different woods survive different time frames.....sassafras, walnut, cherry, white oak...you got lots of time. Things like red oak, poplar, ash....mmmmm approx 2 yrs in log form before major damages start.....YES I have missed time frames and lost logs...

Thanks for posting.

Here's a few pics of the roots.


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## Da Aardvark (Oct 11, 2012)

OOOOH Walnut.


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