I was thinking of making some wildwood paneling to use as a roof in a cabin I have on the property. My brother and I cut down some aspens today and now I'm pondering the best way forward.
Should I debark them immediately or wait until after cutting?
How soon should I cut them now after felling?
How long should the boards dry before I can plane and install them?
I assume it's unsuitable to plane them and then leave them too long before installation? I think they risk getting dirty, for example.
Saw them up as soon as possible. You can certainly debark afterwards. Much easier.
Apply some chips and let it dry. Dries quickly now in the spring. You should wait until the wood reaches down to a 16% moisture content before planing and nailing. It doesn't need to be furniture dry in your case since it's meant to be wilderness cladding, which is much more forgiving than other claddings for shrinkage.
The worst thing about aspen is probably warping, but mainly that it warps when it dries.
Now I've cut, it ended up being about 80 pieces and we chose to save 3 logs that weren't so beautiful. It was me, dad (70 years old), and the sawmill manager (75 years old) who got it done in about 3 hours. Totally okay I think since we also debarked it as we went along. Now it will dry under a roof so that it dries slowly. I've strapped the package together with 3 straps, so I hope it doesn't warp too much.
Now I've cut, ended up with about 80 pieces and we chose to save 3 logs that weren't so pretty. It was me, dad (70 years old) and the sawmill manager (75 years old) who fixed it in about 3 hours. Completely okay I think since we also debarked them along the way. Now it's drying under the roof so it dries slowly. I've tied the package together with 3 straps so I hope it doesn't warp too much.
I haven't used them yet actually. They are still strapped as a package so I can't see if they have warped until I remove the straps. However, I can see that they seem to have cracked quite a bit at the ends, so I assume that since the wood can't twist, it cracks at the ends instead.
Unfortunately, they've also developed black mold on the sides and since I intended to use them unedged, that becomes problematic. I hope it might be possible to wash it off.
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