# Milling Pecan



## Ostie (Dec 19, 2010)

Let me start off by saying that I know practically nothing about milling. I have a good friend that has recently bought a very nice Wood Mizer mill (he also knows nothing about milling), so I thought that together, we may be able to try some things. He bought the mill b/c his dad has alot of timber land, and he would like to one day use it to mill pines and be able to build a cabin. He doesn't do any type of woodworking. I have started dabbling in woodworking and like the idea of being able to get some nice wood for no monetary expense. Anyway, I have cut down a few pecan trees that weren't producing much and I would like to know if I should let the trunks dry some before we mill it, or should be go ahead an mill? I felled the trees last weekend and the owner of the pecan orchard thought I should let it dry some first, then mill, then dry some more. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## pwoller (Dec 12, 2010)

I'd mill it as soon as you can. If not seal up the ends and mill it when you get a chance the sooner the better.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

I'd mill it right away. Pecan gets buggy quick like Hickory and Ash do. Get it off the ground.


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## Ostie (Dec 19, 2010)

Ok, thanks. I did spray paint the ends, and I used a couple of pine logs to stack it off of the ground, but I will see if we can't mill it within the next week. Thanks for the help guys!


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## mrbentontoyou (Aug 3, 2010)

latex paint is better than spray paint, and anchor seal is better yet. multiple coats. the checks and splitting will start happening very quickly.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Ostie,
Pecan is one of the tougher woods to mill, and also to dry. Pecan is going to warp. Period. _As a general rule_ you can minimize this loss _to varying degrees_. I don't use emphasis like that much but this topic calls for it because Pecan is wicked hard and wicked finicky. The best way to minimize (you cannot eliminate) the movement as it dries is to steel band it in moderately high single stacks with your stickers 12" apart and bands around every sticker column. You want to have a means to shim the bands each week after the shrinkage starts, and that's going to be a different point depending on your environment. 

I had moderate success with weight but it can't control the stress as well as steel banding. My bander is a heavy duty commercial ratchet/cutter and I forget what gauge my steel is but it's heavy duty. I also use this system for Sweetgum although I rarely mill SG anymore. Pecan has many great uses and I don't know what your intention is with it but it is often drop-dead beautiful lumber. Pecan is a species than can look so different - you can mill two trees that grew within 50' of each other and they can sometimes look like two different species almost. 

Drying it. Quartersawn does move less but with Pecan even the quartersawn stuff will still move more than some flatsawn species. But I don't like the look of quartersawn Pecan nearly as much as flat. If you're going to use it to build flitch tops (aka slabs) just mill it a little thicker than what you'll want as a finished top. If you go too thivk it'll take that much longer to dry. Dry it fairly fast but not like in a stiff constant breeze. Pecan is a species that loves a properly-built solar kiln. I have very limited experience drying it in my DH kiln and I don't use a drying schedule per se. The two loads I've dried I just threw it in my Daren DH kiln and forget about it for 3 weeks (summer of '08 and fall of '09). 90% was 4/4 the other 10% 5/4 and a few 7/4 tops I was hoping to get 6/4 finished but they weren't dry (17% still after 3 weeks) so I finished them off in the air because I had another species waiting that was pre-sold. Of the 5 7/4 tops only 2 were even worth messing with last year. 

Don't try to make your mill pay for itself with Pecan. One of my favorite woods but it's a female wood, if you catch my drift. 


P.S. Latex paint is almost worthless for a species like Pecan, and not good with even a stable one epsecially in dryer environments. Latex was engineered to breathe which is the last thing you want with a "sealer". 














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## mrbentontoyou (Aug 3, 2010)

TexasTimbers said:


> P.S. Latex paint is almost worthless for a species like Pecan, and not good with even a stable one epsecially in dryer environments. Latex was engineered to breathe which is the last thing you want with a "sealer".
> 
> 
> .


what is a better alternative? oil based?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Oil based paint would be better but nothing beats wax sealer. 

I prefer Bailey's over Anchorseal when I have to buy it retail. 

Bailey's log sealer. 


Most people prefer Anchorseal because they enjoy the highest brand recognition. It's just too thin for my liking. Anchorseal2 is out now but I've never tried any or talked to anyone who has. Anchorseal is a good product I just prefer the thicker Bailey's. 
UC coatings 







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## Ibangwood (Feb 25, 2010)

I use anchorseal2 .. GREAT stuff. It's a lot thicker now. There's absolutely no way for moisture to escape. I recommend it. Although how is baileys?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

That's good to hear that the AS2 is thicker. It was most likely Bailey's offering a superior product that caused them to upgrade their formula.



Ibangwood said:


> . . . Although how is baileys?


Bailey's sealer is private labeled by the same company that custom formulated mine. I have to buy it by the pallet when I reorder. It's worth it because no other sealer on the planet can do what it does for me. 

The Bailey's formula is the standard off-the-shelf base made by the company and they private label it for several resellers. I don't sell it, but I tinkered with the idea before deciding I have to deal with the public enough already. Their main customers are the commercial wood industry. I can't say that I know for a fact they were the reason AS2 was formulated but I can say for a fact that I am almost certain that it is a fact. 

They were just taking way too much market share from UC Coatings for them not to upgrade their thin formula. Now if they would just upgrade their business model they might get more small time guys like me who can pick up the phone, talk to a chemist, formulate a sealer designed for their particular application, and have 120 gallons delivered in under 30 days from start to finish. I guess they'll be forced to do that too eventually, but I'll still be buying mine from the guys who have catered to me from the get-go. 







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## Booradly (May 14, 2011)

*fresh pecan to be milled*

After this last round of storms that rolled through Alabama this May, I have found myself with a very large pecan tree that I'm going to mill my concerns are whether to plain saw or quater. having read the info on 1/4 vs plain I may change my mind ( I usually like the look of 1/4 sawn lumber better) but i'm also very concerned with the drying my plan is to air dry in a garage - any thoughts on the best way


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

TT, a neighbor of mine lost a pecan tree in the storms, and she let me have a few logs from the trunk. I aim to turn some bowls with them, and I used AS2 on the ends. Would it be better for me to leave the logs intact for a few months, or can i cut out the pith and store them inside? If I do split them, should I AS2 the whole thing, or still just the ends?

I didn't realize pecan was subject to so much movement.


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## HomeBody (Nov 24, 2010)

Check out this pecan burl. Gary


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## Booradly (May 14, 2011)

Beautiful -I'm milling my tree next week so I'm trying to get everything together to start drying - does anyone know of someone in the Birmingham Al area that has a kiln? thanks


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I recognize that sawmill, and that slab. The sawmill belongs to Steve Cross of Iron City, Georgia. Steve says it's the widest bandmill on the planet. I don't know if that's the case but I haven't heard of one wider. I know there are are wider vertical bandmills because I saw one in east Texas, but as far as horizontals go if anyone knows of any wider ones go to his website (linked below) and let him know. Better to call him than email. His wife only does the computer stuff he prefers phone calls. Besides you'll get to hear a real deep south dialect not many left. He isn't in the above picture but this is him standing in front of the tree the slab came from.











You can read the story about it here. Last time someone mentioned Steve on this forum a few years back I owed him a phone call at the time, and believe it or not that's the case now too - he left a message a few weeks ago and I totally forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder. 

It's one of the most beautiful slabs I ever seen. Sure would like to have had a piece of it. 



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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

b00kemdano said:


> TT, a neighbor of mine lost a pecan tree in the storms, and she let me have a few logs from the trunk. I aim to turn some bowls with them, and I used AS2 on the ends. Would it be better for me to leave the logs intact for a few months, or can i cut out the pith and store them inside? If I do split them, should I AS2 the whole thing, or still just the ends?
> 
> I didn't realize pecan was subject to so much movement.



I would turn them green and then reseal them with wax and put them in a heavy brown bag. Some turners fill the bag with the green shavings they turned from it. Don't turn it too thin maybe a 1/4" wall if you'll be turning down to a thin wall. In other words leave a goodly amount over your final thickness but not way too much more. 

You might go ask this in the turners section where there's guys who've turned plenty of Pecan. Turning it is different from milling it when it comes to drying.




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## HomeBody (Nov 24, 2010)

I love that sawmill Steve Cross owns. It looks like it was put together on that TV show "Junkyard Wars". I think he made it so no one could figure it out but him. Gary


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