Thanks for your comments everybody. I think a lot of my confusion is coming from lack of understanding of the actual physics involved so I appreciate the explanations. Yes, the inspectors are wary of my ungraded poles and will be examining them closely. They are willing to let me use them if they pass a visible inspection and are sized as grade #2. I'm sure they will expect checking but I just don't want to be able to, you know, stick a crow bar all the way through the log...
I've done a lot of debarking in the past. This white oak behaves differently than some other species (fir and pine). It acts more like birch and maple which peel easily after they dry for a while. I have noticed that if you let it age a bit, the bark will fall right off after the wood shrinks. I've had logs de-bark themselves, just from dumping off the truck. On the green Oak, the bark is SUPER tight and very reluctant to come off no matter which tool and how sharp...It comes off in little chips instead of nice big strips. It took us about 3 hours to debark one 10 foot log after which the log checked drastically and we both had sore elbows! Leaving the bark on for a few months and end sealing should result in relatively even drying (I hope) and easier de-barking. I thought about buying a log wizard but just heard too many poor reviews.
I will definitely consider milling 1 side. I know a good sawyer with experience with White Oak.
Thanks again and sorry if this thread has been redundant.
Last edited by counselorpaul; 06/03/10 06:59 PM.
