Processing Pine

[yyz0yyz0]

Hello all,
My neighbor had a pine come down in a storm, the cut up trunk was placed near the property line and he told me to help myself if I wanted it. Up until now, I've stayed away from pine as I have an almost unlimited supply of standing dead Ash in my area.
Looking at these trunk pieces, I was thinking of maybe cutting and splitting them up for smaller 'starter' pieces.

I recently had to clean up some white pine branches that also came down in storms and I was covered in sap, what a pain!

So now to my question: If I cut and split this fallen pine tree(not white), will my splitter be covered in Sap when I'm finished? Would it be better to cut and age the pieces before splitting? How have people made out when splitting pine on a hydraulic splitter?

thanks

 

[Murray01]

I burn 100% Jack Pine, fairly sappy though not as bad a spruce for sap content. There will be some sap stuck/smeared to the splitter but it shouldn’t be too bad. Varsol/paint thinner will clean it off pretty easy. Cleaning out my father-in-laws garage I can across a spray bottle OxiSolv blade and bit cleaner, works better than any petroleum distillates I’ve used.

 

[begreen]

Cleaning out my father-in-laws garage I can across a spray bottle OxiSolv blade and bit cleaner, works better than any petroleum distillates I’ve used.

Is that citrus oil based?

 

[ScottLewis]

Leave 'er lay. Burn the ash.

 

[begreen]

I'd split it up. Free fuel is good fuel. It will dry quickly and is good shoulder season wood.

 

[marty319]

I burn 100% Jack Pine, fairly sappy though not as bad a spruce for sap content. There will be some sap stuck/smeared to the splitter but it shouldn’t be too bad. Varsol/paint thinner will clean it off pretty easy. Cleaning out my father-in-laws garage I can across a spray bottle OxiSolv blade and bit cleaner, works better than any petroleum distillates I’ve used.

View attachment 337799

I burn 100% jack pine and rarely have any issues with sap

 

[NickW]

Pine is also great for burning down coals. Quick hot fire gives a burst of heat, huge pile of hardwood coals gets reduced for the next load.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

And no ash afterwords! I love it in cold weather!

it’s nice in shoulders when you don’t want a hot stove for hours on end too.

It’s such a useful tool to have and people love to give it away.

 

[MongoMongoson]

I split up a bunch of spruce a few years ago and some red pine last summer. I thought it was going to be a mess but there was almost no sap stuck to anything. I am burning some right now. Pine is fine. It can be a pain to split by hand if it is very branchy.

 

[Murray01]

Is that citrus oil based?

I don’t know, doesn’t smell like citrus based. The bottle is so old that it has a price tag on it and no ingredients/chemicals listed on the back.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Someone last year was telling me that suntan lotion works well for taking pitch off plastic Adirondack chairs. I haven’t tried it. It’d be white pine pitch, I’m not sure if 1 pitch is different from another.

 

[Slimdusty]

And no ash afterwords! I love it in cold weather!

it’s nice in shoulders when you don’t want a hot stove for hours on end too.

It’s such a useful tool to have and people love to give it away.

This Well said!

 

[Murray01]

Someone last year was telling me that suntan lotion works well for taking pitch off plastic Adirondack chairs. I haven’t tried it. It’d be white pine pitch, I’m not sure if 1 pitch is different from another.

I do know that suntan lotion with coconut repels Horseflies.

 

[Turbo89]

I split up some yellow pine rounds that I had drying over a year with my splitter. It left no noticeable pine residue. So if you’re worried, maybe let it dry for the season, then split it in the fall?

I’m in the “split it, separate it and burn it” camp. I still have 1-1/2 pallets or so of it, the 2+ yr old stuff is great for getting a fire going, or if you want a quick blast of heat.