green VS sat for a year at long length

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Rob_Red

Feeling the Heat
Feb 2, 2021
397
Southern New England
I have never found wood that has sat for a year at log length to be actually "seasoned". With that being said is it really even any further along than freshly dropped and split wood?

talking about mostly red oak. to me either way it needs at least 2 years to be <20% MC
 
My brother and I whacked a black walnut tree in the forest. A seventeen inch diameter tree, we cut it in to ten foot lengths.
After seasoning for a year that wood was still wet. Hadn't dried a bit.
 
My brother and I whacked a black walnut tree in the forest. A seventeen inch diameter tree, we cut it in to ten foot lengths.
After seasoning for a year that wood was still wet. Hadn't dried a bit.

Thats been my experience as well. Around here if buying from a processor it costs more for "semi seasoned" vs Green.

I'll take green
 
My brother and I whacked a black walnut tree in the forest. A seventeen inch diameter tree, we cut it in to ten foot lengths.
After seasoning for a year that wood was still wet. Hadn't dried a bit.

Do you mean you left it in 10' lengths for a year?
If so I would say it wasn't seasoning yet. It's not seasoning until it is cut, split, stacked. Black walnut seems to season fairly quickly for me when it is split. If left unsplit, I've had the sapwood mold on the ends which tells me it is probably staying wet for a while.

Red oak takes longer than black walnut, and if it was a year old not cut, split and stacked it would probably be a little better than freshly dropped.
 
My brother and I whacked a black walnut tree in the forest. A seventeen inch diameter tree, we cut it in to ten foot lengths.
After seasoning for a year that wood was still wet. Hadn't dried a bit.

Wood in log lent form will louse some moisture but not alot. Cut into rounds it will louse a little more but will sill hold enough moisture to start to rot and go punky on you. They will will only start to season when fully split or quartered.. The larger the piece of wood the longer it takes to season.. I had oak rounds sit for 18 months and still aalike 33%mc.. did a thread on it a few years back
 
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Yes I let it set for a year like that. A buddy of mine was supposed to drive up from Georgia and get those ten foot logs and make furniture.
Gary never showed up. So, we cut it up and split it.
As I said to Gary a year and a half ago, "It will be furniture or firewood it is up to you."
I think his wife wouldn't let him come visit.

That wood is now in my wood shed and drying nicely, will make good firewood.
 
I had an 11 foot long, ~8-9" dia red pine log sitting inside a DRY shed for 2+ years, up off the floor. Cut the tree in February of 2019. In April this year, I cut it into rounds, and found that beyond about 8-12 inches in from each end, it was very wet yet. 40+% MC.
 
I <3 dead standing oak. It's often below 20% and ready to go.
 
I prefer fresh cut logs. Would almost pay more for them. Usually cleaner, easier to cut, and most importantly I think wood, at least our pnw species, can be too seasoned. My firewood seasons in a shed for two years plus before burning. I don’t want some of it to be decayed.
 
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