I'm just now getting around to post it, but we were given a red oak about a month ago. The tree had been on the ground about a year and a half, (wind damage), but we still got a lot of beautiful lumber out of it. We cut it all with Woodmaster C Sharp 10 degree blades, and they did an amazing job! We cut everything into live-edge 1" stuff and got it stacked and stickered in the shed. It was all that little 18HP Kohler could do when she was cutting through the 20" heart of some of those! Definitely need to upgrade... anyone want to give us a 25HP diesel to stick up there? ;) The butt log had a bad spot all the way through, (heart rot?), so we didn't even mill it. It'll make some great firewood, and maybe even some hardwood charcoal.
And we decided that the JD 5303, (64 HP open cab), was probably big enough for us, but we really wanted a loader. So we put it on the market and sold it, and then just happened to find a great deal on another tractor. It's a 2001 Kubota M110, (110HP), with a full cab and a loader! Definitely an upgrade... And even though it isn't in the pics, we've got a set of forks for the loader, too.
Now we just need to do a bunch of work on the mill and the log arch before Fall!
It was all that trailer wanted and then some!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/2013-06-22_11_07_50.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/2013-06-22_11_08_08.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/2013-06-22_11_07_59.jpg)
Because it's so hot right now, we milled the lumber after dark, stacked it on the trailer as it came off the mill, and then stuck the trailer in the barn. By the time we got to stacking it the next day, it had already started to mildew.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/IMG_0036.jpg)
And then this is a shot of a small piece that Dad ran through the planer just to see how it would come out. that is truly some gorgeous wood!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/IMG_0038.jpg)
This will make log handling SOOOO much easier!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/2013-07-14_18_53_25.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32038/2013-07-14_18_53_35.jpg)
I swear that looks an awful lot like sweetgum :-\
I was just thinking "them Ms boys' red oak bark sure looks a lot different than arkansas red oak". Sure looks elmy to me
Quote from: hackberry jake on July 25, 2013, 02:42:34 PM
I was just thinking "them Ms boys' red oak bark sure looks a lot different than arkansas red oak". Sure looks elmy to me
Not sure why... bark looks pretty much just like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bark_red_oak_8777.jpg
Sweetgum looks pretty similar: http://www.carolinanature.com/trees/list4707.jpg
But it was pretty obvious it was oak when you bit into it with the chainsaw. The smell is pretty unmistakable. And does the grain in a sweetgum look similar to that one?
We definitely do some things a little different down here, but I didn't think it was that far off! :)
Rub a piece of steel on it. Then come back and look at it 30 min later. If its red oak it'll turn black
It may be oak, but it is not Red oak either. I will have to get my tree book out. Funny, it kinda looks like my "Mossy Oak" hunting shirt.
If you've still got the butt log you might as well mill it too. Some of the best grade boards will be there, just mill until you get hit rot.
EZland
Happy birthday!
Hackberry Jake that is interesting. steel black in 30 mins.
The oak turns black. not the steel ;D
that board sure don't look like red oak to me . Are ther any ray flecks in the quarter sawn boards.
Quebecnewf
It is very, very sweetgummy looking to me too.
Bark looks like white oak, but a lot of sap wood for WO. board looks nothing like oak that I'm familiar with, but the smell IS unmistakable. if it smells like oak, then it's Oak. ;)
Quote from: hackberry jake on July 25, 2013, 03:36:04 PM
Rub a piece of steel on it. Then come back and look at it 30 min later. If its red oak it'll turn black
30 min. and black would be showing on the other side of the board. :D :D 2-3 minutes will do it.
I have to be on the sweet gum wagon. However I have been known to be wrong before.
I can't speak for sweetgum, because I have never come across it around here. :D :D
But, when I first saw the picture of the logs and then especially the wood itself, I would have say that it doesn't look like red oak to me. The bark is more like white oak, but the grain of the wood doesn't seem to fit either white or red. Even still, I have been known to be wrong more often than not when it comes to identifying wood. :)
If I had a hundred dollars to bet, I would put it on sweetgum.
I have never cut red oak on my mill,just for firewood. But the red oak I have in Maine, the ends don't look like that.
I have no idea about sweet gum,but as WDH said,if I had a hundred dollars to bet,I would bet it was not red oak.
I guess I have to find that member that was wrapping up something in $100 biils.
Most importantly, you got to spend time with your dad, doing something you both enjoy. Also, you have a nice tractor and made beautiful lumber. The more you mill the better you will get at log/lumber ID. I wouldn't ever wager against Danny and Jake :)
You put it very well fishpharmer because the sawing experience is far more important than the species. I read this thread immediately after it was posted and instantly "thought" Sweetgum.
In the ongoing Sweetgum thread I commented a couple of times about the beauty of Sweetgum lumber although I do not have any pictures. If these logs are indeed Sweetgum, the picture of the planed lumber verifies the beauty of the wood. The different colors will range from yellow, brown, gray, and even sometimes have black streaks.
Quote from: fishpharmer on July 26, 2013, 08:17:10 AM
Most importantly, you got to spend time with your dad, doing something you both enjoy.
That's what it's all about right there :)
Well, you all may be right. The guy we got it from said it was oak; it looked pretty close to red oak; we took his word for it. Unfortunately, it had been on the ground for a while and he had already cut the top up for firewood, so there weren't any leaves or acorns/gumballs to look at. I'll be out of town this weekend, but I'll get Dad to try the steel bar trick and I'll let you know what happens.
The point, though, is that we got some free (not pine) logs, got to make some sawdust, and now we have a tractor big enough to help us handle the big trees that are coming this Fall! ;D ;D
Guess it's a good thing we aren't in the lumber business, though! lol
I had moment at lunch time to snap a couple pictures. This is what red and white oak looks like around here.
Red oak logs: (the one on top is aspen)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27084/IMG_1103.JPG)
Quarter sawn board:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27084/IMG_1107.JPG)
Flat sawn board:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27084/IMG_1105.JPG)
Close up of grain:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27084/IMG_1106.JPG)
Here are a couple pictures of white oak:
First the log: (there's ash and maple in the background)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27084/IMG_1111.JPG)
Close up of a flitch:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27084/IMG_1110.JPG)
Quote from: VT_Forestry on July 26, 2013, 09:16:03 AM
Quote from: fishpharmer on July 26, 2013, 08:17:10 AM
Most importantly, you got to spend time with your dad, doing something you both enjoy.
That's what it's all about right there :)
X2. The species don't mean a flip.
Quote from: MSSawmill on July 26, 2013, 10:35:53 AM
I'll be out of town this weekend, but I'll get Dad to try the steel bar trick and I'll let you know what happens.
That only works when the wood is freshly sawn. Once the surface is dry, there's not enough moisture available for the chemical reaction to take place. You can wet it down, though. But I wouldn't bother with the test - it's sweetgum ;).
Yeah, pretty sure you're right. We found some more pics of sawn boards from sweetgum and red oak. Pretty confident now that this was a sweetgum. Oh well!
Thanks for the insight!
Quote from: MSSawmill on July 26, 2013, 10:35:53 AM
The point, though, is that we got some free (not pine) logs, got to make some sawdust, and now we have a tractor big enough to help us handle the big trees that are coming this Fall! ;D ;D
smiley_thumbsup
I wish I had a tractor big enough... ;)
As been already mentioned if it were oak the smell is unmistakable .
After thought : I'm not familiar with a bandsaw but with a chain saw cutting much oak the tannin in the wood will cause the chain cutters and bar to turn black from the acidic reaction.
Congratulations on the mill and the logs. One thing about the forum, there are always folks who put things in the perspective of the bigger picture, as well as noticing details. Speaking of details, did the blade take a dive into the wood (looks like it might have, from your picture of the board)? If so, you might want to increase the blade tension, and possibly change blades. Sweet gum ought to saw pretty straight. It takes a lot of hours of sawing to get everything dialed in, and there are a lot of variables to solve before you find that "sweet spot". The main thing here is that the mill should cut straight, and to figure out how to make it do it.
Thanks, dboyt. I definitely have a lot to learn, but you have to start somewhere.
And I don't think the blade dives into the log. I think, and it's been a few weeks since we've run it so I'm struggling to remember, but I think it actually starts low and them climbs up the cut a little and then levels off. So the start of the cut is actually lower than the rest of the cut. Once it levels out, it's nice and straight, but the first 4 inches or so are a rise.
At least, I think that is what was happening. It might have been that it started out high and dove until it leveled out...
On that note, is there way to add a blade tension gauge to a homemade mill? The fluid filled one on the Woodmizer we helped out on was great, but can I get anything like it for our mill?
MSSawmill, I think dboyt is referring to the 5th picture where the board is a lot narrower near the knot.
MS, if you have the gumption to build a mill, building a woodmizer style blade tensioner would be a piece of cake. Peek at a woodmizer parts manual to see how simple and elegant the design is. Couple of blocks of aluminum, rod out of a hydraulic cylinder and 2 simple cheap seals..The indicator is a standard off-the-shelf pressure gauge.
In the OP he stated that he sawed everything "live edge". My take on that planed board was that the live edge dipped in, not the blade.
Thanks, pineywoods. I'll check into that.
And you're right, magicman. That's the edge of the log.
Sweetgummery! Very beautiful wood. Congrats on some nice big sweetgums.
One thing I've always noticed about the heartwood on sweetgum, is that the heartwood is irregularly shaped (is neither circular, nor does in mimic the outline of the bark). It is often star-shaped, approximately, or what I call "antarctica-shaped".