How Long Will Hemlock Logs Keep?

[Does’ Leap]

I have half a tandem load of hemlock logs and no time right now to finish up the load. I know hemlock keeps well, especially compared with pine but I am unclear how long they will be salable. Will these logs keep until October on a well-drained landing?

George

[Carl Russell]

Complicated to answer accurately because it depends on the specs of the buyer…..Some will not buy aged logs because they can’t be certain about stain and rot….

However, I would say that yes Hemlock will be OK in October, but I’d be surprised if any mill would pay top dollar for logs that sat all summer.

To give you some context, a friend brought some logs to me over a year ago….. they had sat 6 months before that in the woods before he could get them out. I started sawing them this spring, so they have been off the stump for about 2 years. Stacked in a high pile the logs on the outside had fungi and some decay in the slabs, but interior was as good as fresh cut. The logs that were buried in the pile, where moisture content was higher, were basically unaffected. Again this is for personal use, and a result of swapping of favors so the financial expectations are not high……..

I was a log buyer for a large hemlock/softwood mill back in the 80’s so my experience with log and lumber quality is not novice. I see no reason not to use this lumber as I would brand new lumber from fresh cut logs, but I also suspect that mills are probably not inclined to want the older logs.

I would suggest shipping the partial load right now while prices are high. You may have to pay a bit more for trucking, but I would rather clean up the landing while the logs are most marketable.

Carl

[Does’ Leap]

Carl:

I have been shipping logs to Canada and most truckers are reluctant to take a straight truck up there. I shipped a couple of straight-truck loads across the border this winter and will try to persuade my trucker to do it again. We had to widen our driveway this spring to accommodate a larger tri-axle grain truck and I can now get a log truck and trailer up (a fringe benefit). When I asked the fellow who trucks my logs if he would still take a straight truck up for me now that I widened my driveway he told me to “stop playing around with your goats and finish the load!” He is actually a nice guy and is very tolerant of my spread-out landings. I’ll see what he can do.

Thanks for the advice.

George

[Baystatetom]

I have a little advantage in that I sell timber for a living, but I have been able to talk loggers/truckers into sharing a trailer with me. Maybe you can talk your trucker into buying the logs from you himself and then loading them onto a trailer with somebody elses wood.
~Tom

[Ethan Tapper]

I don’t know what prices you are getting over there for hemlock sawtimber vs. pulp, but in New York the pulp market is pretty strong right now. I am working for a forest management firm that sends all their hemlock logs to pulp markets, because by the time they get those sawlogs up to Canada (granted, in their case it goes via a concentration yard) the price isn’t any better than pulp. They also work on a very different scale from most horse loggers, so maybe this isn’t applicable.

However, I would think about a more local pulp market (they are buying in NY) which shipping a small load to might not be such a big deal. By the time you take into account the price drop you are likely to get from shipping old logs, it might be worth it.

I have also talked to a horse logger who ships his own wood, a thousand board feet at a time, on a trailer behind his truck. If you find a local buyer, that could be an option (though a hassle at this time of year).

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