hi guys,

first post.....i’m going to be sawmilling some 6x6 fence posts for a 4 line board fence and have one main question and 3 auxiliary questions:
1. do I need to cut the 6x6 out of the center of the log to ensure the post stays straight?
2. i’m going to experiment with hemlock posts to see how they hold up (bottom will be kept free of dirt and set in gravel
3. If I were to use white oak instead, is there a particular time of year it has to be cut? I have heard stories about how the time of year affects its decay/insect resistance properties.
4. would either specie be ok to put up after it is freshly cut from a log that is a year old?
thanks!

Tim

1. do I need to cut the 6x6 out of the center of the log to ensure the post stays straight?

Boxed heart timbers "may" tend to stay straighter if the tree was straight to begin with. The only guarantee you will have is that they will split/bust in all sorts of directions as they dry. The pith of the tree is the most unstable. Boxed heart is suitable for railroad ties but if your looking for longevity may not be best.

2. i’m going to experiment with hemlock posts to see how they hold up (bottom will be kept free of dirt and set in gravel

Putting anything sawn, perhaps other than locust, in the ground... gravel or not, short life.

3. If I were to use white oak instead, is there a particular time of year it has to be cut? I have heard stories about how the time of year affects its decay/insect resistance properties.

Wives tales. Same as cutting "by the signs".

4. would either specie be ok to put up after it is freshly cut from a log that is a year old?
thanks!

Anything is fine. Its just whether it meets your needs/expectations of function and lifespan.

Mark,

so do I cut so the heart is eliminated? or at least along the side of the post?

do species play a part with unstable lumber with a boxed heart? I had some 6x6 and 6x12 white pine beam cut about 2 years ago, some with a boxed heart and sone without and they all dried beautifully, I can’t tell a difference.

Tim

also, it seems like every time I have ever looked at. store bought (Lowe’s, Home depot, Ace) the 6x6 is a boxed heart.

Why do you need really straight fence posts? Also why 6x6s? Are you trying to keep bison in?

the whole fence is using 6” profiles(the 5/4x6 hemlock horizontals have been stacked for a couple years now) it looks so much nicer and beefier, and has a stately look to it vs. 4x4. It will replace a barbed wire fence for beef cattle. I just didn’t want them drying into a banana shape.

Boxinig the heart is a good way for the sawmill to make good value out of the part of the log that gives the least valuable lumber. I've understood and seen in some I've sawn that a 4x4, 6x6, etc sawn to the side of the heart has a tendancy to bow a little towards the edge of the log.
I have sawn 4x4s side by side with the pith cut out between them from utility poles and the farmer using the posts reported they staved straight, but you've got to remember that log is now decades old and very stable.

Sage advice from Mark H. above. Its just about the material sawn, understanding the tension in the log, etc.. Its completely dependant on the tree. Home center posts are sawn from fast growing, small, straight, tall, stems. If thats what you have so be it. Most people sawing for themselves are not cutting up such material.

Wood sawn near the pith is going to move in a all directions. If the pith is straight, and you center the pith in your cant.. good chances. If not.. who knows.

6x6s are common for fencing even if not for Bison. Around here, if your trying to keep an angus bull away from the cows.. you may use telephone poles. Ive seen fence with a bull on either side or a bull trying to get "the jump" on a bunch of cows tear down 1/4 mile of high tensile fence from pretty much a single location. The will to procreate is powerful.

Plus like anything else, 6x6 fence post just look prettier than 4x4's/

I've understood and seen in some I've sawn that a 4x4, 6x6, etc sawn to the side of the heart has a tendancy to bow a little towards the edge of the log.