Replies

1. 
   PeteBradley | Apr 09, 2006 10:32pm | #1

   You'll probably get more experienced advice at:

   http://www.forestryforum.com/

   Pete

1. 
   sidecutter | Apr 14, 2006 06:51pm | #2

   thanks for the link.  

   I tink I am going to sticker it and dry it in my three sided shed.   I can leave it there for a few years . any one ever built any thing with beech?

1. 
   lwilliams | Apr 15, 2006 05:17am | #4

   Beech is my favorite wood. I started using to basically follow tradition but now I wouldn't use anything else for almost all my work. We have to have it custom sawn and dry it ourselves.The old guys used to steam it before drying and there are a lot of stories about why they did that. I'm now convinced it was to sterilize the wood. Green beech grows fungus faster than anything I know of and I advise spraying it with a fungicide like Jomax (TM). Keep the wind off your drying wood and keep an eye on it. Should it start to surface check on the flat sawn faces do something to slow down the drying immediately. This is especially true for thick stock. With thick stock, we normally get the surface pretty dry in a protected location and then wrap it with Tyvek house wrap. Basically what the Tyvek does is change the area of the stack giving off the moisture. Wrapped, the area giving off moisture is the exterior dimension of the stack rather than the total surface area of the stock in the stack. This doesn't slow the drying process dramatically but allows more controlled drying and prevents a lot of drying defects. It's a good idea to saw the pith out of any thick stock you are going to dry.Oh, don't tell anyone one about your experience with beech, its wonderful working qualities, or it's amazing refined and subtle beauty. We don't want to turn it into the next fashion fad like hickory. I'd rather never see it in any form during a trip to a big box store or hear a decorator say it's name.

1. 
   sidecutter | Apr 18, 2006 06:01am | #5

   I've got a fellow coming to drop and cut the logs to length in a week.  most of the projects i work on use lumber less than 4' long .  How long do you suggest I cut the logs?  should I remove any bark before the sawer gets here?  Can I use wood from any branches.  there seems to be a few branches of 1' in diameter.  I dont want to waste any thing I don't have to.    Thanks so much for your help.  this is turning out to be a very exiting project .                      

                                                                     Brian

    

1. 
   lwilliams | Apr 18, 2006 07:03am | #6

   I don't know what kind of work you do. I'd definitely go for quarter sawn on the beech. Probably 4/4 and 6/4 for most small furniture projects. Tell the sawyer you want as much of it dead quartered as possible. You won't get as much wood but it'll be better quality.I don't know what you'll pay for sawing limbs. They'll be 100% reaction wood and unstable. Maybe parts will be useful for small things but you'll lose a lot to drying defects. You'll probably get some nice wavy grain but, if it's expensive to saw the wood, I wouldn't bother with limbs.

2. 
   JeffHeath | Apr 15, 2006 03:05am | #3

   Sidecutter

   I mill my own lumber.  I can give you a few quick pointers for best results.  I have air dried about 5000 bf of maple with very, very good results.  I've never used Beech in my life, so I can't help you there.

   1. As soon as you cut the logs, before milling, seal the end grain VERY VERY well with either an anchorseal end grain sealer, or many use latex paint.  Don't be bashful, lay it on thick, even dripping off.  Boards that lose their moisture out of the end grain usually check badly.  This will help control the checking.
   2. You will need a solid, flat, and level base to sticker the boards on.  Make sure that the stickers are all aligned vertically, so the load transfers down to the bottom.
   3. Your stack needs to get air.  Make sure it can.  Direct sunlight is bad, but don't cover it with a tarp, etc...  unless you want to mess with it daily.
   4. Put a lot of weight on the top of the stack.  Many guys use ratchet straps to keep the stack tight together.  Be prepared to tighten them every couple of days, as the lumber will lose water very quickly in the beginning.
   5. Make sure your stickers are a light colored wood, and that they are dry.  Do not use red oak, as the tanin (chemical in oak) will stain the wood  badly.  If you use "green" stickers, they can develop mold, which can be bad for the wood, (or good, if you like spalted wood)
   6. Keep the stack dry, and after the moisture content  (MC) gets under 20%, restack the entire stack, to to bottom, and bottom to top, etc......  This will give you the best results over the entire stack.  Turn the boards over, too.
   7. Be patient.  You're in it for the long haul.  Forget the kiln, you don't need it.  When you get the wood down under 10%-12%, put what you want to use in your shop, and let it acclimate.  It only needs to be at equilibrium with it's surroundings.
   8. Enjoy the huge amount of money you saved by doing it yourself.

   Jeff

    

3. 
   Garry | Apr 18, 2006 06:00pm | #7

   I have used beech and I like it alot. It works well and the grain and color are nice also. It seems to be very stable over time.

   Garry

   http://www.superwoodworks.com

4. 
   AdamCherubini | Apr 18, 2006 07:18pm | #8

   I often hear guys talking about milling their own stock and it never seems like a good idea to me.  I'm unclear about exactly how cost effective it is:  It seems to me you end up with stock you may not use.  At a lumber yard you get to pick through the stacks and get only the best boards.  So it would be interesting to divide cost of the effort by the actual stock used.  I think a lot of guys like us die with 10,000bdft of second rate red oak drying in our barns.  I'm only 42 and my shop is already chocked full of second rate boards I'll probably never use.  I should throw it away to make room for stock I will use.

   I've also seen some of these portable saw mill guys do a deplorable job.  A good sawyer chooses good logs and saws with the grain and around the knots to get the best possible boards.  Not all mills or sawyers are created equal (because wood isn't aluminum, its not all the same).

   My advice would be to light a fire under that sawyer and get him to make boards you can't buy at the lumber yard.  Make 20" wide maple or flitches and quartersaw the rest.  Maybe you should make maple 4x4's for work bench legs and sell them green here on knots?  If you have 30', why not make 3x12s 10' long and sell them as workbench "hearts"?  As for the beech, if I had that tree I would make plane blanks and sell them to larry williams or over the internet.  Guys have a lot of trouble getting 3" QS beech.  I'll bet you could sell it and make pretty good money.  You could also do the same with the beech as with the maple.  Make yourself an 18th century French workbench out of it.

   Whatever you do, don't saw it into 6" wide 4/4 and don't cut it to 4' long because that's the longest piece you use. 

   Adam

1. 
   BruceS | Apr 19, 2006 03:01am | #9

   I too agree with another knotter,  Beech is a way under rated and under used lumber.  When quarter sawn it's in a league of its own.  Takes router bits very well, crisp and clean with virtually no fuzz or tear out.  You'll love working with it.Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S.  Counter Sales, Tech Rep.  http://WWW.EAGLEAMERICA.COM

    

    

5. 
   mikegagne | Apr 19, 2006 09:38am | #10

   you have described for yourself how to do it. Just do it and find out what you need as you go. 8-12 foot lengths are pretty standard. Paint the ends of the boards with latex paint or some other sealant designed for this use. One year (a season) is more than enough time to season your wood before kilning. Have fun and enjoy your harvest. aloha, mike

1. 
   10450 | Apr 19, 2006 10:21pm | #12

   I just replied to sidecutter about the log milling and Beech subject so you may have already read this but it sounds like you might be able to help me.
   Many of the Beech logs that I had qs 4/4 twisted. You mentioned in your reply to him that one year drying before going to the kiln is good. I guess I just assumed kiln-drying negated any need to air dry.
   Is this true and if so, could this be what happened?
   You're right about just doing it and learning. While my pocket book was drained (my wife still doesn't know how much the final sawing/drying cost was. I'd like to stay married) I've had a great time learning the process. Even with all the waste and not knowing exactly what you're going to get, I can't imagine the end monetary cost of the great wood I was able to use was anywhere near the cost of bought lumber.

6. 
   10450 | Apr 19, 2006 10:11pm | #11

   Sidecutter,

   I know exactly how you feel. I had never done any of this kind of thing before either. As a beginner/ammatuer woodworker, I caught the bug really bad but realized quickly that buying lumber was way out of my budget.
   So I went out and "gathered" about 8-10 logs, contacted a local saw mill and figured at $ .80/bd.ft.(cut and kiln-dried), how expensive could it be. Well with over 1,000 bd. ft., I quickly found out.
   But I'm learning how to mill as well as work wood which is time-consuming and laborious but I think it's important. Besides, in my mind, the satisfaction of a finished piece that came from tree you drug off the ground is well worth the effort.
   Lucky for me, I love to sit by a fire so the inevitable waste is still used. Pretty expensive fire wood I guess.

   Ironically, two of the logs I had were Beech. I had it quarter-sawn into 4/4 (wish I had gone thicker but remember I had no idea what I was doing). As others have said, it is a "diamond in the rough" when quarter-sawn.
   Quarter-sawing is supposed to make wood more stable (I think) but I have had MANY of the boards twist. If anyone else is reading this, maybe they might have some insight into the reason this happened.

   Have fun! The anticipation of what will come out of those logs is half the fun. And by the way, all of the logs I obtained were already down and waiting for the chipper. Not sure if that matters to anyone else but it does make me feel a little better making some use of otherwise wasted trees.