Best time to split White Pine

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Jerry_NJ

Jerry_NJ

Minister of Fire
Apr 19, 2008
1,056
New Jersey USA
The big snows in the NE this late winter has given me one large White Pine down. I have done most of the bucking into rounds and wonder when is the best time to split. The Pine was very much alive and is thus very green and sticky. Is it best to let the rounds (biggest about 20" in diameter) dry for a couple of months or more before splitting? How large can a round be without the need to split? I assume a round up to about 4" in diameter and no more than 18" long should dry enough to burn in a year.

I did a quick search and didn't find any of the many (I assume) threads that have already addressed this subject. I welcome a pointer to a good reference thread as well as direct response to this thread.

Thanks,
 
Best time would be in about 5 years when no longer sticky.
 
LLigetfa said:
Best time would be in about 5 years when no longer sticky.
Click to expand...

LOL so true after 5 yrs. the beetles will have it much lighter too.. I saved some smaller stuff when we dropped a big oak that wiped out the 6-8" pines and it makes for a good firestarter when dry.. I let it dry a bit before I messed with it.. Now I save the smaller pines that drop in my woods and lean em so they are off the ground and they dry fast (most of them 2" or so) and cut what I can with loppers and use em for kindling.. Dunno how one could heat with it though as they burn up fast..

Ray
 
Thanks, I too burn mostly hardwood, and try not to be negative on softwoods as I know there are many on these forums who live in softwood country, the NorthWest for example, who regularly burn pine.

I "shop" only for hardwood and always scavenge all I can from my several acres, but I also have lots of cedar and white pine, some spruce .. a real evergreen forest. So, when one of them come down I hate to not use the wood to supplement my HW supply. There are many evening when all I want is to have a fire for a few hours, not really heat the house, just supplement the heat, and run it a bit warmer in the room with the fireplace insert. If I want to run into sleeping time I'd switch to large splits of hardwood.

I'm waiting for one of the softwood users to comment. I have cut/split/used cedar and pine in the past, but on cutting the large downed pine tree the last couple of days I was soured by the sap I was getting on myself from just cutting with a chain saw and though I'll split the big rounds later when some of the sap has dried... and figured that would happen in a few months, say 6 months - split in September/October time-frame and burn in the February time frame.
 
Wait until mid-winter next year, when it has been in the teens or single digits for a few days, then split. Pine splits pretty well when frozen
 
Thanks, that should also minimize the body sweat :)

I will stack the rounds to get it off the ground and let it air dry for now, I still have to deal with all the branches... but I do have a lot of land and can simply put it on the ground and let nature run its course.
 
Exactly, that's why I want to get my pile all split and stacked within the next month!!
 
I think it splits a little easier in the cold of Winter, too.
But then I tend to let it sit for quite a few months, too.
When it's warm I've got better things to do, so can't say I've split a lot when warmer.

I usually wait until the green bark on younger parts turns reddish. Then the pitch has dried out quite a bit.
Unless I'm chipping / shreddding branches, then I handle them soft and green . I find they bend into a smaller chute better fresh and green.
 
If you use a hydraulic splitter, you can split it any time. The sooner it is split the sooner it is ready to burn.
 
I would love to have an evergreen forest to manage the trees from .. Must be incredible having all those species growing together.. I live on an island in Alaska, been burning driftwood for three years now. I love it, especially when some harder woods drift ashore, however the majority are softwoods ( they typically float better ) :blank: Red cedar, yellow cedar, spruce, hemlock, fir and I suppose we get some pine and alder. Red cedar is our big prize! it has a greater BTU potential than spruce ( which grows here) and makes some beautiful music when getting cooked! Most of us have to depend on drift wood for burning, since much of the land is privately owned by native corporations. Fuel oil rose to over 4.00 per gallon last winter. People were paying 330.00 for a cord of green spruce. Glad I never had to waste my hard earned cash on it.. I spend about 25.00 for fuel and get to enjoy a day at the beach collecting driftwood. A modest half cord or better each trip.. Plus, the workout keeps me out of the gym! We also have cotton wood here, it splits great frozen! And it dries fast after it's been in the river for a while. I can usually burn it after a few weeks of drying if I split it right away. I bring it in the house and enjoy the moisture it puts off.. Our winters are so dry, the extra humidity is welcomed.. Enjoy splitting your wood and getting all sappy.. Have you thought about burning your branches in a pile and spreading it out for fertilizer? I've been reading a lot about charcoal and how to make your own. it's a pretty amazing carbon.. I had to stop eating it, but it was so good!!! Be well.. Enjoy life!
 
I would let it sit out in the rain until the first part of summer. Then split it and stack it. That's what I do up here. I also cover it at the end of summer. But even 2 year old stuff has a little sap left.


Jon
 
Beware if splitting now:
 

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Pine should only be split the first week of a new moon or the second week of a blue moon. You loose too many BTU's if split at other times.
 
aquamaniac said:
I would love to have an evergreen forest to manage the trees from .. Must be incredible having all those species growing together.. I live on an island in Alaska, been burning driftwood for three years now. I love it, especially when some harder woods drift ashore, however the majority are softwoods ( they typically float better ) :blank: Red cedar, yellow cedar, spruce, hemlock, fir and I suppose we get some pine and alder. Red cedar is our big prize! it has a greater BTU potential than spruce ( which grows here) and makes some beautiful music when getting cooked! Most of us have to depend on drift wood for burning, since much of the land is privately owned by native corporations. Fuel oil rose to over 4.00 per gallon last winter. People were paying 330.00 for a cord of green spruce. Glad I never had to waste my hard earned cash on it.. I spend about 25.00 for fuel and get to enjoy a day at the beach collecting driftwood. A modest half cord or better each trip.. Plus, the workout keeps me out of the gym! We also have cotton wood here, it splits great frozen! And it dries fast after it's been in the river for a while. I can usually burn it after a few weeks of drying if I split it right away. I bring it in the house and enjoy the moisture it puts off.. Our winters are so dry, the extra humidity is welcomed.. Enjoy splitting your wood and getting all sappy.. Have you thought about burning your branches in a pile and spreading it out for fertilizer? I've been reading a lot about charcoal and how to make your own. it's a pretty amazing carbon.. I had to stop eating it, but it was so good!!! Be well.. Enjoy life!
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum aquamaniac.

Having only driftwood has to be tough but people up there have done it for years. The salt in the wood has to be tough on the stove and pipe. Our brush just gets left in the woods and the critters will make good use of it. Good luck on the charcoal. It was once a big business and there was a big plant in Marquette MI so they could ship by boat. The old plant is about deteriorated now.

Keep smiling!
Dennis
 
Jerry_NJ said:
The big snows in the NE this late winter has given me one large White Pine down. I always look at these as a nice gift . . . great for those shoulder season fires or for use as kindling. I have done most of the bucking into rounds and wonder when is the best time to split. My own opinion . . . I split whenever I am moved to . . . or whenever I have enough wood to make it worth my time to hitch up the splitter to the ATV . . . but I suspect you're looking more for input on when is the best time to split by hand . . . if I had to guess I would say the best time for hand splitting would be winter when the cold temps may help reduce the amount of pitch and sap in the tree getting in contact with you and your gloves. However, if you hope to burn the wood next year I would say the sooner you split the wood, the better off you will be to start the seasoning process. The Pine was very much alive and is thus very green and sticky. Is it best to let the rounds (biggest about 20" in diameter) dry for a couple of months or more before splitting? Me . . . I would just go for it now . . . yeah, you'll get sticky gloves, but getting it split now means you'll have this wood for use by next Spring and I'm guessing that even 2 months may not result in a lot less pitch. How large can a round be without the need to split? It all depends . . . I prefer my splits to be on the smaller side and routinely split stuff as small as 4-6 inches in diameter . . . but that's me . . . I like the smaller splits since I can fit more in the stove, it dries faster and it's easier for my wife to handle . . . there's no hard and fast rule as to what size round you need to split or not . . . of course the larger the split or round the longer it may take to season . . . but as long as the round or split fits in the stove it's good to go. I assume a round up to about 4" in diameter and no more than 18" long should dry enough to burn in a year. No problem . . . if stacked and allowed to have good ventilation . . . heck with white pine and wood that small I would guess you could even shave a few months off that process.

I did a quick search and didn't find any of the many (I assume) threads that have already addressed this subject. I welcome a pointer to a good reference thread as well as direct response to this thread.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the help. I have some two year old White Pine - I put it in my stack for this winter, but didn't use much of it, so it will be real seasoned for use next year. So the fresh cut may be able to sit in a stack until 2011-12. I have found the Eastern Red Cedar dries well in a few months and the Grey (not sure which one it is, but never get very large in diameter, no more than 12" when 30 feet tall) Birch has to be burned in the first year or it will start decomposing.

I use wood only for supplemental/emergency heat, so a "full" cord of seasoned hardwood fills most of my need, with a bit of soft wood added here and there...

No worry about the gloves, hands, freezing to the maul here in north central NJ, it is now consistently above freezing and in the 50s+ during the day.
 
carbon neutral ! LOL that was some sappy wood! I bet those gloves will last a lifetime and waterproof to boot..
 
Ok, I get the other possibility of the gloves stuck to the axe, and likely the intended one. But with the snow in the picture and location "MA" (Is that Main?) frozen is another possibility to sap for holding the gloves to the handle.

I use the economy throw away gloves too when working with pine.
 
Jerry_NJ said:
Ok, I get the other possibility of the gloves stuck to the axe, and likely the intended one. But with the snow in the picture and location "MA" (Is that Main?) frozen is another possibility to sap for holding the gloves to the handle.

I use the economy throw away gloves too when working with pine.
Click to expand...

MA = Mass. = Massachusetts

Ray
 
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