Whatcha Sawin' ???

Darrel · May 23, 2018, 05:57:09 PM

Hey WV, I've been cleaning up too, still have a whole lot to do.

So I got to the customers place and got all ready to start the cant that I left on the mill the other day when it got too dark to see and right off the bat something went wrong.

I cut twenty 2" X 6" X 12' from that first cant and was just getting ready to take the first 1" X 12" off the next can't.

And the sky sprang a major leak!

Hoping the thunder storm will soon pass - YouTube

At about 1 pm I decided to call it a day.

WDH · May 23, 2018, 07:59:46 PM

Looks like some nicely blued stuff.

WV Sawmiller · May 23, 2018, 09:11:44 PM

Darrel,

Looks like our weather here. We have been having violent thunderstorms in the afternoons. Flash flooding in the creeks and rivers. At one point the run-off was coming right down my main 4 wheeler path and directly under my mill.

I just finished cutting and stacking my results out of my trash logs. I got over 500 2' stickers, a dozen 3' stickers, 13 ash tomato stakes, a couple dozen 1' stickers, 9-3"X6"X2' ash crib blocks, 24 bf of 1X6 poplar 4/4 boards and 3- 2"X3' live edge ash slabs for benches. I still have a few more ash logs laying around I will cut into 8/4 live edge slabs for benches. I can always edge the 8/4 slabs later if I need framing lumber.

I also have 3-8' spruce logs I will likely go ahead and cut into 4/4 stock. Might try to get a 4" live edge mantel out of the butt log just because I don't have one in stock.

I still have an assortment of walnut and cherry crotches and small logs but they are more durable than the others so I can let them ride a little longer.

Darrel · May 23, 2018, 09:53:28 PM

WDH, That is some of the prettiest bluing I've ever seen.

WVSawyer, I love spring time here on the western edge of Oregon's high desert. I sure wanted to finish off this small whack of logs though. Thunder storms aren't usually to violent here. But the lightning and the thunder happened at the same time today. And my hair was standing on end as I sat in my car. That was too close!

Magicman · May 24, 2018, 07:48:12 AM

Our weather pattern is PM thunderstorms for the 10 days being caused by the Tropical depression. Much rain and no sawing.

Jim_Rogers · May 24, 2018, 04:16:47 PM

A while ago, I sawed up a very large red oak log to get some trailer planks 1 1/2" thick for my order.
When I was done, I had two 16' long pieces 16" wide left over.

After the gathering last Saturday, I decided to try selling them on Facebook market place, like Bruno of NH does. He helped me understand how to do it.
I listed them yesterday.
I sold them today.
He cut them in half to load them up and haul them out.
I should have had him pay me first, but I asked him if he had the cash and he said he did.
I had listed them at one price, but that was "each" and I forgot to put the word "each" in the listing.
He paid for both of them. I was lucky and I won't make that mistake again.

Jim Rogers

Magicman · May 24, 2018, 04:50:20 PM

The "hidden" value of the gatherings continues and another niche market is developed. 8)

Southside · May 24, 2018, 08:08:31 PM

Sounds like you had an honest customer there, maybe given the mis-understanding and eventual resolution you could throw him a bone to come back again. Given what you explained I can understand both sides of that deal. I have some multiple repeat customers who first came here for the free wood off the slab pile.

Busysawyer · May 24, 2018, 09:04:00 PM

Sawin a little maple and a little poplar. Need to cut my teeth on my small junk logs before I move on to the good stuff. Gotta learn to walk before I can run.

paul case · May 24, 2018, 09:29:08 PM

I like how you are walking. Looks like you got the hang of it.

PC

Crossroads · May 25, 2018, 01:36:26 AM

Started a job milling Sitka spruce into 2x6's yesterday. Showed up and was ready to saw at 8:00, but the rental company didn't show up with the skid steer until 10:00. Most of what we cut was big, there were a few small logs and a couple in the 20-30" range.

The customer stacked everything on a car trailer and at the end of the day we had a stack 19 high by 13 wide for 247 2x6's an average of 12' long for a total of 2964 bdft in 7 hours. Today the stack grew to 26 high before he starte putting them on the ground.

I didn't even try to count the ground stack, but assumed we had about the same production today except we put in 8 hours.

After 15 hours we had roughly 6,000 board feet of lumber and a happy customer, who was already pointing out more trees that will be coming down.

Darrel · May 25, 2018, 01:54:19 AM

Some pretty nice looking Sitka spruce there. I've broke planer knives on the knots. Those big red knots are harder than rocks.

fishfighter · May 25, 2018, 05:45:07 AM

Quote from: Magicman on May 24, 2018, 07:48:12 AM
Our weather pattern is PM thunderstorms for the 10 days being caused by the Tropical depression. Much rain and no sawing.

Only one small shower here going on 6 weeks. Looks as if we will get little to no rain from that storm. :(

ljmathias · May 25, 2018, 05:52:26 AM

So the subject of sweet gum popped up again. It's something I need to find out more about since I have so much of the darn stuff on my land, some of it over 20" diameter, some even more. Tried sawing some back when I was trying out my new-to-me-then LT40. Bad enough sawing it (30" one and fresh cut) but drying it? That stuff twisted so bad the stickered pile looked like a wave machine output at the lake, or maybe a Ruffles potato chip.

Anyhow, tried to be creative and use the bowed and twisted 2" thick slabs for benches, but it's hard to make even novelty stuff that sits well. Gave up on that...

Now I've got a tree that died on its own, still don't know why. Thought "what the heck, give it another try." (I often talk to myself since I'm the only one who listens anyway.) Thought maybe quarter sawing might help and ended up with some really nice looking spalted sweet gum. Never would have guessed how pretty the stuff is. Should have taken a picture but it was during work week and no time. I'll let it air dry till next year, then see what's in the mess. Doesn't seem to be twisting so far, and I layered a stack of 4X4's on top, might help.

Anyone else out there have good luck (or any kind of luck) with sweet gum? Reason I ask (now to the good part) is that I built a food storage set of shelves for son and daughter in law a while back last year. One-side live edge boards came off one of my older piles so I didn't have a clue what it was till I planed it. Sure looks like the spalted sweet gum I just cut. And it has stayed flat and square although I warned the kids I might have to do repairs on the shelves if they twisted. Point is: that wood looks absolutely beautiful with clear coat on it, which means I really want to make some more like it, if only...

If only I knew how to spalt the stuff on purpose. Not likely the "let it lay around to see if it does on its own" will work- stuff rots with any moisture at all. Maybe ring-kill a tree and let it stand? The one I just cut made me think of that, but maybe someone on the forum has actually tried to make sweet gum into something useful? Help!

LJ

WDH · May 25, 2018, 07:27:39 AM

Poston saws it for barn siding. I saw it into cookies. The spiral grain can help with the cracking. I NEVER flat saw it. If I do saw any boards or slabs, they will have to be quartersawn. The problem with live edge slabs is that there is only about two quartersawn slabs per log.

Magicman · May 25, 2018, 07:38:21 AM

I find it best to take those 2 maybe 3 QS slabs from the center, rotate it 90°, take the QS from the center, and then use the 4 remaining rift sawn cants for dunnage of some sort.

ljmathias · May 25, 2018, 10:13:02 AM

Should have been more diligent in my quest- google search turned up pages on this forum and the woodweb forum dealing with sweet gum. Seems the consensus is about what MM states above, although the spalting process and how to make it more reliable is still not clear to me.

Oh, well, time to experiment. Got a half dozen or so "volunteer" sweet gums that have sprung up 20-30' from the base of our 30' high dam. Didn't think that would be a problem so I left them to their own inclinations for the last 20 years. Forgot that trees love water, and wouldn't you know it, our lake has water in it! Dang trees now have roots extending at least half way up the face of the dam. I'm going to fell the trees and treat with triclorpyr, see if I can stop the invasion. Alas, I fear the damage may already be done and if I kill the trees and roots, the rotten leftovers and hollowed out shells will drain the lake. But if I don't, dam will be compromised for sure. Suggestions?

I'll post a couple of pictures of the shelving made with spalted sweet gum as soon as I remember how...

LJ

Crossroads · May 25, 2018, 10:53:40 AM

Quote from: Darrel on May 25, 2018, 01:54:19 AM
Some pretty nice looking Sitka spruce there. I've broke planer knives on the knots. Those big red knots are harder than rocks.

Yes, they are extremely hard. Surprisingly I've not had very good luck with the 4° blades, but the 7's seem to cut straight as long as they're sharp and I can lean on them a bit harder than the 4.

ljmathias · May 25, 2018, 12:30:34 PM

I know this thread jumps around a lot and don't mean to make that worse, but here's a few pictures I just took and uploaded of spalted sweet gum used to make shelves for my son and his family. Below that is a picture of yellow popular shelves I made for the wife of 51+ years...

ljmathias · May 25, 2018, 12:34:28 PM

Pictures didn't make it last try; maybe this time: top one is poplar, bottom is spalted sweet gum if memory serves me right (and it often doesn't).

ljmathias · May 25, 2018, 12:59:28 PM

And now to the REALLY fun stuff I've been sawing lately: cypress. Strange as it may seem, sometimes a falling log hits you in the head just right to make for great stuff. Not to be cryptic but a new food emporium has been built here in the wonderful city of Hattiesburg, MS, called Conway's Irish Pub. It's the only Irish pub in the area. To make it more pub-like, the building has huge cypress posts all around, inside and out. Why cypress? Doesn't seem to be Irish to me, but hey, that's my wife's area (she IS half Irish).

So, I drive over one day to help my son (co-manager) with some stuff, and laying on the ground next to the pub are a stack of 4-5' long cants, some 12" and most 14" square. Seems these were the cut-offs of the posts. They had no use for them, were going to dump or burn and I raised my hand and politely asked, "Please, sir, may I have them?"

Now I'm not always that polite but it worked this time. Three trips with my F250 and wham! whole lot of wood to play with (oops, build some stuff with). The stack below is minus the five I've already cut into slabs.

They figured these were just garbage but I figured another man's garbage, well, fill in what you want. All the same, it sliced up pretty nice with the top picture below showing rough cut slabs and leg blanks, the next a bench top.

Made legs and braces out of the same stuff, now in six benches that I'm just finishing up finishing with spar varnish. Some of them will be outside, some next to a window, so I figured spar varnish would help them not discolor or turn grey: sound right to you all?

Now to the really fun part. The pub made its bar top out of Spanish cedar 15" across and 2" thick. Turns out they had too much so they kindly passed some on to me to play with. That play involves giving them back some of the benches and the beautiful table I've just about got finished. The picture below just shows the top. They had a space (they said is called a "snug" whatever that is) needing a 36"X36" table with the benches I made around it. Anyway, I didn't have enough cedar to patch in (what you see length wise was all I had) so I patched in some of the cypress to tie in the table top with the benches (believe that? Naw, real answer is that cypress was the only fresh cut wood I could lay my hands on quick). I think it looks interesting, maybe good enough for public use in a food establishment. One more coat of spar varnish, day or two of drying and it'll be delivered.

Now if they could just get the beer license they need (being IN a dry county but right NEXT to a wet one- legal issues), they'd be set. By the way: the food there is incredible!

LJ