Wood movement question

[Splinter Puller]

I've got a few 6x6 and 6x8 timbers that were salvaged from a hundred year old barn that blew down in a tornado.  The are softwood of some sort.   They laid in a pasture for a few years before I aquired them and they all have one side swelled and checked from ground contact.  So, they are basically a trapizoid shape with the swelled side being a half inch or so larger then the other three sides... alone with a nice deep check.

I've had them in dry storage for about 3 years now, stickered nicely and they are decently dry but retain the trapazoid shape.     I don't mind the checks but I would love to mill them into a square or rectangle.   Can I mill them square and will they remain square?    I'll probably use them to make a heavy timber coffee table and a set of end tables simlar too...  https://www.thegreenhead.com/link/chunky...ffee-table

Thoughts?

[CStan]

Only way to know is mill one up square and see what happens. I doubt that even the most meticulously dried and seasoned timber of that size would ever have four faces remain perfectly square to each other. You have to mill up, and then build fast. One aspect of L'art du Trait is dealing with material that is not perfectly square, but that's the epitome of a deep dive. Get them reasonably well squared up and cut your joints and get it assembled and a finish on it. Don't less moss grow under your feet.

[Bill Holt]

Just a guess on my part...three years in dry storage ought to be enough.  Like already suggested, I would start the process.  Of course it would be nice if the material stayed perfect, but as a dear friend use to say, "it is what it is".

[jteneyck]

Mill them up a little oversize and wait a few weeks to see what happens.  Adapt accordingly.  

John

[MichaelMouse]

I've got a few 6x6 and 6x8 timbers that were salvaged from a hundred year old barn that blew down in a tornado.  The are softwood of some sort.   They laid in a pasture for a few years before I aquired them and they all have one side swelled and checked from ground contact.  So, they are basically a trapizoid shape with the swelled side being a half inch or so larger then the other three sides... alone with a nice deep check.

I've had them in dry storage for about 3 years now, stickered nicely and they are decently dry but retain the trapazoid shape.     I don't mind the checks but I would love to mill them into a square or rectangle.   Can I mill them square and will they remain square?    I'll probably use them to make a heavy timber coffee table and a set of end tables simlar too...  https://www.thegreenhead.com/link/chunky...ffee-table

Thoughts?

Wood will get a "set" in it from long moisture imbalances.  See Hoadley et. al. under "hysteresis" for scientific info.  For you, make an edge straight, then parallel the opposite, rotate exactly 90 degrees - repeat.  Won't get a lot of movement after years of cycling.