Lumber gloat/question

[John Conklin]

I happened across a great deal on lumber on my local Craigslist. I found it and woodworker buddy of mine and I split it. We ended up getting 250 BF of air dried walnut for $150 bucks. The gentleman's add said that he had 125 BF and wanted $250 if we took all of it.

When we got there he said that he had move the part of the stack (which had been in his garage for 2 years) and found that 1/3 to 1/2 the boards had some powder post beetle damage. We asked him if he would take less due to the damage and ended up agreeing on $150 for the entire stack. We are going to handle the "infestation" by cutting away the damaged portion and treating the rest with sodium borate. As soon as we got in my truck and headed home, we both asked the same thing... don't you think there's more than 125 BF? We did some calculating as soon as we got to my place and found that there is actually more than 250 BF.

Questions: Was the good deal worth messing around with the critters? Should we feel any guilt because the guy miss-figured the total?

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[Matt Day]

Depends on how bad the ppb are!

[eugene thomas]

Could be good gloat but I would not want to risk rest of my wood stash on 100 bf of wood that has pests. Unless took to kiln to terminate them.

[Jeff Duncan]

Do not put that wood near any of your other wood until you are positive any remaining critters and their eggs are dead. It could be a worthwhile investment, but not if it contaminates any other wood you have or even worse woodwork in your home or garage! And you'll have to figure out how much is involved in making sure the bugs are all dead. Only way I know of doing that in infested wood is by kiln drying….but I admit this is outside my scope of knowledge.

good luck,
JeffD

[Jim Andrew]

I have killed ppb by putting boards in an old steel grain bin. We are heading into the summer, so if you have access to some type of steel building that stands in the sun all day, it probably would get hot enough to kill the ppb. If not, you could add some heat. Lumber would need to be stickered so all the wood would get hot enough to kill the beatles. And probably fans would be good. You can read up on solar kilns by searching at forestryforum.com

[Jim Matthews]

Can these be treated by wrapping the stickered pile in black plastic and exposing it to the sun?

[John Conklin]

I kinda hate to go the heat route since it's air dried walnut. Maybe since it's already dried, the color wouldn't be affected, but I'd hate to take a chance. My buddy has done quite a bit of research and we're fairly sure cutting away the damaged portions and treating with the borate will work.

I am keeping it in the garage and away from the rest of my lumber.

[Jim Andrew]

I'd be concerned about the ppb moving into the framing lumber in the garage. Just close it up and put a space heater in there, make sure it stays hot enough for a few hours to kill the ppb.

[Richard Coers]

Never read anyone excited to get infested lumber, but, heat is the only accepted method to kill eggs. Pretty sure sodium borate will only deter live insects. You need to get the core of the lumber over 135 degrees for at least 24 hours to be sure you kill the eggs. The holes you see are exit holes, those bugs are gone. What you have to worry about are the eggs still in the wood, hatching and then new insects laying eggs for another generation.

[Ed Aumiller]

The only sure method is heat.... any insecticide (borates) will only kill the ones they can touch and is basically useless once infected.. you may think you cut all of them out, but it only takes one egg left for it to start all over... go to woodweb com for more info.. it is a professional kiln site..