How long does wood take to dry in open air? One year per inch, right? That’s the commonly used saying, but it’s not really true. I know, there are so many factors at play. Are you drying in the humid air of Mississippi or the dry air of Arizona? Is the lumber in an open field with wind, or is it tucked away in a forest with very little air flow? Is it out in the open air, or is it air-drying inside a structure? There are way too many variables for this one-size-fits-all statement. I was gifted an Orion 950 moisture meter by Wagner and confirmed that, in my reality, 4/4 pine dries to its Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) in about a month, with some use of a fan.

The log yard has to move. Well, not move, per se. I’ll continue to work through the bunks that are already set up, but any future storage will be shifted north, away from the center of the clearing. Establishing the log yard was one of those situations where simply getting started is better than taking too much time to figure out the final outcome. Simply getting something started is a good way to avoid analysis paralysis. The workflow is good, but we would like to keep the logs on higher ground, where they are also somewhat hidden by the shop.

We also had an interesting orange visitor. An orange marbled orbweaver joined us at the sawmill. They are harmless to humans. I’ve never seen such a beautiful spider before. TK relocated it to the new red oak log bunk.

I bought a box of Ripper37 blades for the sawmill, and they seem to last the longest from what I’ve tried so far. I’ve been using 10-degree blades, and they cut like a hot knife through butter with pine. When I cut the two ash logs a few months ago, I had a LOT of blade chatter. 10 degrees is just too agressive for hardwoods. So I bought a box of 7 degree blades. I used the first 7 degree blade for a large red oak log and 7-1/2 pine logs. It’s nice to have both blade degree options now.

The lumber we milled in this video will be traded for an old homemade trailer with my friend Nathan. The trailer is perfect for what I need. It’s about the same width as my tractor, and I plan to modify it slightly to pull through the trails and gather firewood poles. More on that later..