When you are using your sawmill to cut your own timber, unless you have plans to use it when it is green, you need to then stack the new boards correctly, cover them and make sure they spaced correctly to dry them out. As they go through this process the wood shrinks so there are some things you need to do to prepare the wood and minimise the impact things like cracking and warping can have. The log ends can be painted sooner rather than later, even before the slab cutting starts as that itself can help prevent moisture loss the grain at the ends. Here are some other tips.

Basic principles to correct stacking and storing

• How long it takes to dry an inch thick board after cutting with your saw mill varies depending on what the conditions are like where you are placing them but you can estimate at roughly a year.
• Use stickers preferably that are made from the same wood as the boards you are storing or at least the same colour to avoid staining. Stickers should be around 2cm for narrow boards and 21/2cm for wider ones so that there is enough airflow.
• You should space the stickers between 4cm to 6cm apart.
• You will want to place the stickers so that they are above each other and lined up with the base supports so the force of the stack does not push down on the stickers and then cause the wood to warp.
• When you air-dry wood it will then have a moisture content of between 14 to 20%. To be stable enough for indoors as furniture for example you need to kiln dry the wood or bring it in a few weeks before the project.
• As well as a great sawmill if this is something you are doing often you might want to look into a solar kiln.
• Be sure to clear off the sawdust before you stack the wood.
• Mark the boards that are from the same tree with the date too.

Responsibly source your wood!

We live in a world where we need to be more aware of how we impact the environment around us and that can involve smaller things and bigger things. Rather than cutting down an ancient tree with your saw mill that is healthy and thriving it is better where possible to use other options. Some places to source your wood from include;

1. Trees that have fallen from storms, wind, on your property or on neighbours. They can often be obstructing areas people want to reach and you can help by taking that wood of their hands and turning it into something special.
2. Logs will also often wash up on river banks and beaches.
3. Tree stumps you can turn into art pieces.
4. Reclaimed sources or out-of-the-box places such as sleepers, old beams, telegraph poles for example.

Awkwardly shaped logs that conventionally mills might not want to bother with.