Hello all,
My wife and I recently pruchased a lake lot. I’m busy most weekends cleaning up the brush and clearing trees down on the water.
There are quite a few cedar trees that would make decent rustic furniture. I’m looking for inexpensive ideas on how to rough cut these logs. I have a chainsaw, but am interested to know if there any smaller(size and kerf), handheld saws that will do this job (short of buying a big bandsaw rough cutting machine.)
Let me know what you think…
Replies
Hi jj,
Where are you located?
See if there is anyone in the area with a Wood Miser (or equivelent) band saw mill. They are all over the place. You should be able to find someone to mill your cedar for a reasonable price.
I would have some milled at 6/4 for planing to 5/4 and some cut 4/4 for planing to 3/4. Sticker it under cover for 2-3 years and you'll have a real treat in store.
I just bought a local white oak tree that fell in a neighbor's yard, estimated to hold about 1000 BF, along with a real fine Doug fir at about 500 BF. The sawyer will move them to his mill in a day or two. I just can't wait to sink my teeth into that beautiful white oak.
I don't know what the rate will be in your area, but my sawyer charges about $250/1000BF.
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Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
there is a lot of work involved in turning trees into wood. Most of it is heavy back breaking work that is best done with proper equipment. Having said that I can't tell you how much joy I take in the wood that I get rough and green from a mill and turn into something for my house.
I'm connected to that house in a far more intimate and direct way than most everyone else. Wood you make will do that to you. the most mundane piece of anything will have special meaning to you all of the rest of your life.
That's why I hired a sawyer who has all the right equipment to get the job done. He will transport the logs to his mill sight, and cut the planks. Then we will move them back to my place to air dry them under my shed. Three years or so hence - beautiful white oak projects.
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Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
Be careful about your assumptions about air dying white oak.
The old rule about one year per foot is way out of wack. I carefully air dried my white oak and found that most timbers/ planks were still very "green" 4 years after they were stickered up. The surface was dry or so my moisture meter told me some less than 6% yet as soon as I drilled into or cut into them they were almost as green as if I had cut the tree last week.
In addition I tried very hard to eliminate checking without any noticeble degree of success. As soon as timbers went up they checked. This was in a frame that was not heated or evan closed in and still they checked.
While the timbers were all heavily weighted and tarped they moved around like a drunken snake. I don't seem to have any of those problems with the 4/4 boards I dried or evan the 6/4, some of the 8/4 boards checked and moved a little.
None of the cherry, hard maple black walnut or Tamarck were anything less than perfect (again except for the few 6"x12" tamarck which managed to do a full 1/2 gainer with a back flip.)
Frenchy wrote: Be careful about your assumptions about air dying white oak.
Considering that I haven't done this before, I'm planning on taking it very carefully, one step at a time. I'm all ears for any advice you might want to give.
frenchy: The old rule about one year per foot is way out of wack....
Well, I have my own space to put them in and I am willing to wait for as long as it takes. I plan to buy one of the new pinless moisture meters, one that claims to measure some considerable distance below the surface. I konw they're not infallible but they can be useful.
frenchy: In addition I tried very hard to eliminate checking without any noticeble degree of success. ...
How long were your boards and just how much length did you lose to checking? I have to assume that you painted the ends, since you really seem to know what you are doing. One advantage I might have here is wet winters. Hopefully, when they are freshly cut, the weather will be damp enough, with our usual Nov-Jan fogs, and the rate of drying will be slow enough to prevent checking.
frenchy: While the timbers were all heavily weighted and tarped they moved around like a drunken snake....
I plan on cutting 4/4, 6/4, and a little 8/4, No big timbers, as I have little need of them. Most lengths will be about 8 feet as it will be necessary to enable moving the logs with the equipment available. All that can be will be quarter sawn, at the discretion of the sawyer, whom I trust explicitly (2nd generation sawyer). Quarter sawing should help with the twisting and turning.
frenchy: None of the cherry, hard maple black walnut or Tamarck were anything less than perfect (again except for the few 6"x12" tamarck which managed to do a full 1/2 gainer with a back flip.)
Well, I'd have to score that dive as a perfect 10. Thanks, Frenchy, for your advice and concern. I really appreciate it and hope that we can stay in touch throughout the drying process so we can compare notes along the way.
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Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
Lee,
sealing the ends. don't expect paint to help much. I did and they checked...badly. then I started using green wood end sealer and had much better luck.
The rule about one inch per year is workable up to about 1 1/2 inches . then you'd better plan on something like almost 3 years for 2 inch thick stuff etc. Now if you move it indoors to heated rooms, during the winter I've been able to pull moisture down in about a month and a half, down to 6%
I guess the point I'm making is that local conditions have a lot to do with drying.....
As for the length of my wood, well some were 24 feet a lot were 18/19 feet and none less than10 feet. they also varied in thickness from 12"x12" down to 4/4
the checking is the part that frustrates me. Now I guess there is no way to keep thicker timbers from checking, but I thought slow carefull drying would reduce it somewhat. It sure didn't seem to.
just this year I stopped using weights and went to ratchiting tie down straps with much greater success. get them tight and a month later retighten them (it gives you a chance to check everything) after about 6 months take the stack apart and restack. I wound up with much straighter wood that way.
Make certain all of your stickers are directly over each other. This is a case where close isn't close enough. Use very dry wood ( or plastic) as your stickers or you'll get sticker stain.
frenchy wrote: sealing the ends. don't expect paint to help much. I did and they checked...badly. then I started using green wood end sealer and had much better luck.
Proper end seal is what they are using. I said "paint" just in a manner of speaking.
I might mention that my sawyer worked several years in a local mill in charge of both the kilns and the air dry yard. We plan on working together on this whole project, right on through the drying, as well as other projects in the future. And his dad has been a sawyer for a good part of his life. They have been working together in this business for about 10 years now. I feel pretty confident in their abilities.
frenchy wrote: The rule about one inch per year is workable up to about 1 1/2 inches....
We'll be cutting 4/4 & 8/4, with a smattering of 6/4, mostly VG. I guess I'll just have to wait longer for the thicker stuff.
frenchy wrote: I guess the point I'm making is that local conditions have a lot to do with drying.....
frenchy wrote: As for the length of my wood, well some were 24 feet a lot were 18/19 feet and none less than 10 feet....
Mine will be pretty much 8'+ due to limitations of loading equipment. They tried to pick up a 16'er and the loader rear wheels just lifted right off the ground. Even an 8' section of crotch did it to them. Lotta water in that tree.
frenchy wrote: the checking is the part that frustrates me.
I know what you mean. The fir log, included as a bonus, was cut down a week ago and the ends were already showing some minor checking. The oak was still OK. The will have gotten the seal on the ends this afternoon, at least the stuff we got moved today.
frenchy wrote: just this year I stopped using weights and went to ratchiting tie down straps....
Did you ratchet it to the floor or just around the stack ends?
frenchy wrote: Make certain all of your stickers are directly over each other....Use very dry wood as your stickers or you'll get sticker stain.
That's one problem I know about. I will take special care to align them accurately. I've got some really dry pine offcuts that I can rip down for stickers.
I'll keep you informed of progress as we get it cut and stickered. Cutting will be in a week or two.
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Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
Edited 10/19/2002 3:36:37 AM ET by Lee
Frenchy you better tell me that you didnt kiln dry all that walnut you stole. Thats more a sin then you bragging how cheap you get that beautiful chocolate brown with hints of a purple goodness!
Lee,
almost all of the wood except the hard maple was air dried over a 4 year period. Some of the burl oak was dried inside as was all of the hard maple.
It was warm enough and dry enough to work as well as a kiln. I used a dehumidifier in the room the wood was dried in and can testify as to the amount of water in green wood.
I strapped it around the bunker of wood taking care to line the straps up with the stickers.
Any one here ever build a solar kiln. A green house where you put your wood on rack 12" apart and clamp it down to the rack. A small fan inside the moves air over the wood.
I've seen a few and none of them are in use currently.
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