There is a tree a block away mine for the taking. Is in four foot sections and the cross section is from 2 feet to four feet. The biggest section appears to be the crotch of the tree. I have a shed in the backyard where I can allow the wood to dry. How can I change this felled tree into usable wood? This is in Chicagoland if anyone wants to help for a share of the wood.
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Replies
Don't mean to be picky but am getting a bit confused with your sections. Are you saying that the tree is cut into 4' logs (pulpwood lengths) that are from 2' to 4' in diameter? And, not that this has a bearing on your decision, but how do you know that it is spalted?
Most portable sawmills that I know about require the lengths to be at least 5' in order for the dogs to be able to grab the logs for slicing.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 6/6/2007 8:42 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Yes, these are shorter than 5 feet for the most part. I am thinking that if nothing else there should be a way to get it into pieces for turning. If I don't do something it will be wood chips in less than a week. I want to harvest what I can even if I have to use a two man hand saw.
the biggest section is a four foot wide and about five foot long crotch section that I know has beautiful wood. Does anyone have any suggestions about getting some useful pieces off of it?
Lee, your profile doesn't indicate whereabouts you live. You need to find someone with at least a chainsaw mill to cut it up. Or a Woodmizer type portable mill. It can be hard in urban areas to find these things. There might be other ways to do it -- anyone???
Where (geographically) is the tree?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I am in Northlake, IL. I did manage to get two decent sized pieces. I should be able to cut some blanks for turning at least from them.
I envy your turning abilities. It's easier to cut for a turning blank than to produce the 4/4 or 5/4 slices for lumber -- you can cut for a block instead of a slice.
Important to protect those so they don't crack/split. Have you got the information you need for doing that?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
If I had some good sized pieces of spalted maple I would sure as heck make every effort to get as much of it sawed into boards as I could. I have just 2 pieces 13/16"T x 8"W x 9'L that I just paid $20 for and I thought that was a bargain.Not too long ago I had a similar situation as you except the wood I was dealing with was cherry. I ended up with about 350 bf of some real nice wood for $.67/bf sawn and kiln dried!Regards,Bob @ Kidderville AcresA Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 6/7/2007 8:12 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Being a Woodmizer owner in Indiana, there isn't a Woodmizer Mill out there that will cut a 4' diameter tree. They say they will cut 36" diameter, but actually it's about 29 or 30" capacity.
It is not 4' round, but more of a 4' by 2.2 ' oval. It is an odd shape. There are plenty of logs that are under 30 inchesin diameter, including some of the longest ones. Wanna come up with your woodmizer and we can split the wood between us?
I just had some pearwood "logs" sawed with a portable saw mill, they were 4' long and the smallest was 6" in diameter, no problem sawing them.C.
You might try Ron Meyers at Meyers Woodworking in West Chicago. Can't say for sure if your lumber can be milled commercially, but he's a great resource and might point you in the right direction.
Thanks for visiting Northlake. Good luck in Stone Park!
tony b. (in Elmwood Park...over by dere...)
Northlake is a 1 1/2 hours from me, or I'd come and get them. You can definately get those milled if you wish. Do you have the capability of delivering the logs to a mill? There are several in the outlying burbs that can mill that for you.
Also, don't let the large size scare you away. The guy with the Woodmizer should know that if the log is too wide for the bandmill, you can saw it in half with a chain saw, or find someone with a swingmill, which can mill boards up to 8' in diameter. There are four owners of a Lucas Swing Mill in Illinois that I know of, and plenty more in Wisconsin. If the wood is nice, it would definately be worth the effort. Wood of this type is usually used for cabinet doors or furniture, anyway, and wouldn't be needed to be longer than 4', anyhow! Some of the nicest figured maple doors I've made came from cut up logs from local tree services that dump them every night at the local wood recycling center. Let me tell you, if wood turners ever find out about this place, they would go crazy with the stuff I see dumped off and ground into mulch!!
Where there's a log, there's a way!
Jeff
Jeff,
You are right, you can cut the tree in half with a chainsaw, but have you ever done that? An extremely unpleasant job. I would stay away from that and also look for a swing mill if possible. Especially with the heat of summer coming on here in Indiana and Chicago.
I had the pleasure of splitting a 10' Walnut log that was 40"+ in diameter 5 years ago with a chainsaw because it was too wide for the Woodmizer I was using. Without a doubt, it was a chore, but it was well worth it for the lumber I got.
That is definately why I recommended a swing mill, and also why I'm buying a Lucas Mill to replace the old Woodmizer. The Lucas has an option of adding a slabbing attachment that will cut monster slabs, and the combination of the two (swing mill and slabber) make it an extremely attractive mill for a woodworker, as well as creating hardwood lumber to sell to woodworkers.
Jeff
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