A few days ago, a friend of mine called about milling some reclaimed wood. He has two piles of 8x8 beams that were salvaged from the 1840's dam built here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. About 10 years ago, the Army Corps blew the dam, releasing several timbers downstream. Along with his son, he was able to recover several of these timbers with only the use of a kayak and rope. Not sure I have that kind of "grit", but he managed to retrieve them from some hard flowing water, strewn with rocks and snags!
They are "Heart Pine" logs, cut from Southern Yellow pine that was dipped in turpentine. I suspect they were underwater for over 100 years, but you can still smell the turpentine while sawing! Surprisingly, the logs are still mostly intact. I have noticed where they were "pegged", or where they are "Spiked" the log absorbed water and began to rot. I suppose we will have to cut as best we can, and he will probably end up with some nice 5/4 boards (not sure how long due to the random rot). After cutting the logs, the turpentine left a black film on the blades, and some build up on my belts. I'll have to formulate some kind drip formula that will cut the turpentine, and lower the blade build up. It will be fun job though, and I'm looking forward to it!