Sawing Hickory

Neil_B · July 17, 2003, 06:26:30 AM

I did a search for Hickory and all I could really find was about shirts :

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I've got a bunch of bitternut hickory that I picked up cheap for pallet material but there are some nice logs in the pile.

That is one of them.

Question is, what is usually the best dimensions for lumber that I should saw out of them? Mainly thickness I guess as width will be based on the size of the cant. Also should I be sawing away the sapwood and keep the heartwood or can I leave the sapwood on?
I don't have a market for it right now so that's why I wondering how to saw it. I don't want to make a bunch of 1" boards if a tool maker or such uses 2" or thicker for handles.

biziedizie · July 17, 2003, 07:04:25 AM

Hey Neil I thought you lived in Canada??? How come you don't have any snow on the ground??? ;D

Steve

Bibbyman · July 17, 2003, 07:18:02 AM

There is probably a market in your area for grade hickory. If you've got a broker you are sawing for, give them a call and see if they are buying and how much they are paying. We sawed about 1,500 bf of 4/4 shagbark hickory a couple of weeks ago but they were not our logs and we didn't market the lumber.

It would be a good idea to find out soon and get the logs "under the knife" ASAP before they start to crack. End seal the logs - if you got it - then the lumber after sawn. Get it on truck and gone before the bugs set in.

Neil_B · July 17, 2003, 09:14:06 AM

Bizie, We had a heat wave and it all melted away. :D I'm sure it'll be back soon though ;)

Bibbyman, unfortunatly the broker I was going to be selling to isn't buying anything right now as he sells to the US and our dollar is worth so much right now ;D that you guys aren't buying. I still may send him a note to let him know I have it anyway. He also has a flooring division and may be interested in it so I'll have to see. Guess it doesn't hurt to ask eh?

Bibbyman · July 17, 2003, 09:18:20 AM

That's almost always the case, get the logs and then don't have a market. Got the market and then can't get the logs.

Neil_B · July 17, 2003, 10:47:58 AM

Your exactly right Bibby.
Had a line on logs this winter. No mill yet. >:(
Got some orders when mill arrived. Mill didn't work. ???
Got the mill working. Muddy season, no logs. :'(
Mill working, have logs. No market

I bought this hickory to do pallet stock with as it was really cheap and I do have a market for the pallet lumber. Only thing is, there are some nice logs in the pile that I would just hate to saw into pallets if I thought I could get rid of some higher grade. Do you saw much hickory besides that 1500 and is it usually 4/4?

Bibbyman · July 17, 2003, 11:44:40 AM

We saw hickory from time to time for blocking and such. This was the first we've sawn for grade lumber and, like I said, the logs and lumber were not ours so I don't know the price paid or the money returned. They were exceptional shagbark hickory though.

Maybe Inspectorywoody can fill us in a little more on the grade hickory market.

P.S. How do you get those logs up on that bucket like that? Looks like it had a good chance of coming over the back and getting you.

Neil_B · July 17, 2003, 01:23:23 PM

the log on the bucket is a little trick I picked up when I was too lazy to put the forks on ;). There is a 2 1/2" lip on the cutting edge that'll hold most logs on there till I roll the bucket back. The only danger I would have with it rolling back is when I lift it up to almost full height. There is enough of an angle on the back of the bucket to hold it, but when lifted to full height the bucket is almost level and could roll backwards. I just don't lift it too high

Tom · July 17, 2003, 01:35:44 PM

I don't saw it to sell, but saw a lot for customers who request it sporadically.

The best application I've seen for it was kitchen cabinets and a kitchen island. It makes beautiful stuff.

I just gave about a hundred feet of it, cut in 2x, to a neighbors niece and soon to be nephew for molding around a granite kitchen drainboard. I've had this cut since 1992 and it is hard as a rock. Luckily there were no bugs in it. The bulk was heart wood but there were traces of sap wood. The bugs love the sap wood of Hickory.

If you cut it into boards, don't skimp on the thickness. You will get cupping and 5/4 gives you room to plane a 1" board.

At least cut it 1 1/8.

5/4 boards can be used for hammer and axe handles too, even though many prefer 6/4 and some die-hards want 8/4.

Save a few pieces of 3x3 for the repair of cant hook handles. One of these days you may be glad you did.

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Tom · July 17, 2003, 02:02:45 PM

I just did a search on Hickory too. I came up with well over 200 hits, some of which are below.

Notice that the search is set for 1000 days and 25 items. If you put 999 in the items box, you will get better results. Sometimes you have to tamper with the presets to find what you want from the beginning of the forum. It's a fun way to find good stuff to read too. Play with the search and you can even make small windows of search to find something within a particular year.

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=992991750;start=21#21

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=tree_id;action=display;num=994943134;start=6#6

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=sawmill;action=display;num=1001464790;start=10#10

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=Business;action=display;num=1004216814;start=13#13

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=Ask;action=display;num=1011188645;start=4#4

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=sawmill;action=display;num=1014342980;start=4#4

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=Business;action=display;num=1016945802;start=19#19

Ron Wenrich · July 17, 2003, 02:56:23 PM

I cut about 10 Mbf of grade hickory each year, maybe a little more. The only market that we've found is the 4/4 market. If I was building a house, I would have hickory cabinets.

We pull the upper grades and throw the rest of the log into ties. Ties pay much better than blocking or 2 Com.

inspectorwoody · July 17, 2003, 03:16:36 PM

We cut our Hickory at 4/4 3A and better and 5/4 Uppers with some 1c, 8' only.

We must have a pretty good market for it when we do cut it because we take it right down to the 4x6.

If your broker has a flooring division than you may look at cutting it down to 3A grade which is used for flooring.

If you got a good price on these logs since they were pallet material, pallet logs going for about .17/ft around here, than I would take a good stab at cutting some grade lumber out of them if some of the logs are pretty nice. I would prob go with a 4" opening face.

Neil_B · July 17, 2003, 03:21:07 PM

QuoteSave a few pieces of 3x3 for the repair of cant hook handles. One of these days you may be glad you did. .

Geesh, I'm in good shape but I only weight 155lbs. The only way for me to break my handle would be to run over it with the backhoe ;D

That was the info I was looking for. At least I will know to saw a bit of each just in case.
I always figured the 25 items box was the number that it would list per page. Guess I should pay more attention. Thanks Tom

I agree with Ron, it is nice stuff from what little I've sawn up so far. Basically just the smaller stuff and left the big uns until I got more info.

Maybe I'll tear out our cherry cabinets and replace with the hickory if I don't sell it :D