Free log, good practice!

[Longshot1911]

Free craigslist log, 5' across, 24' long.  Had to trim some of each end to make room for the mill carriage.  No equipment available.  Rolled the log with a high lift jack!













One of the branch stubs was full of rot.  A good portion of the middle of the tree was unsalvageable, however, I loaded a 16' trailer with a stack of odd length 6/4 x 6" boards.  The local farmer said the old tree was a white oak.  The power company had trimmed/dropped it several months earlier.  Firewood scavengers had removed all but the biggest stuff. 

Trimmed to 20', this log fully utilized the capacity of my Peterson 10" WPF

6 hours of work, and many lessons learned!

[mmartone]

Thats awesome, thanks for sharing the pics!

[Ocklawahaboy]

Nice to be allowed to work right on the roadway.  That's a great way to spend a day.

[golddredger]

That is a sweet log! Gotta love free logs off craigslist. I get them all the time. I have not paid for logs to mill yet! There is over 100 logs in my deck now. Cost me time and gas. Thanks for the pictures i bet you came out with some great boards. Better than someone pouring gas on the log and burning it. Or just letting it rot away in it,s spot.
A tip for you fellow log hunters. I call and give my information to the craigslist adds even if they are asking money for the logs. After a few months of it laying there with no one coming to buy there logs they will call back and have us come and haul it away for free. If it is a tree from a front yard from an older person I will saw a chunck off a logs soon as I get home. I then rough turn that into a bowl on the wood lathe. A few months later I finish the bowl and drop it off to the people that gave me the logs. This surprise blows there mind and they love it as it came from there tree. I think this good carma comes back ten fold which is why I have not bought a log yet.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Its great that you had your Peterson. If that log was mine, I would have had to split it at 55 mph with my D4 and spear. 

[47sawdust]

You had the perfect saw for that log.Looks like a nice place to set up and saw.Craigslist @ its best.

[drobertson]

 Not sure how they fell it, or you? but nicely done all the way around, that one was a brut.

[EZ]

Here we go with the 55 thing. Some guys just can't let it go.lol. nice log and good job. EZ

[Longshot1911]

Still a bit sore... That was a full Sunday. 

One lesson learned- on big jobs, try to set up where you can leave the mill overnight.  Not an option with this job, as the log was on the side of a quiet country road, but something to consider when choosing future jobs.

Love the bowl idea!  I am big on random acts of kindness.  Though the log was free, I gave the owner 25% for temp storage.  When prepping the log, we trimmed off several large knobs.  My wife found one (about 24" across) that she picked up and threw in the trailer, insisting I make her a bowl :D

I already have my next job lined up.  Believe it or not, the next one is even bigger (pics to come) at 5' small end, 24'.   I wish I had a slabbing attachment, but even so, I would not be able to move the slabs.  The owners agreed to my bid, with the whole of the log to become quartersawn flooring!

[Magicman]

Those "next jobs" keep us going.   8)

[dboyt]

Thanks for posting.  A few more jobs like that, and you'll be ordering a slabber, for sure!