Whatcha Sawin' 2021 ??

[terrifictimbersllc]

Today's job started with two 15' x 18" white oak logs that the customer wanted quartersawn.

Besides the diameter, the other problem was that they were curved and not just in one dimension.  And not slightly curved either.
Also he wanted full length deck boards which needed to be heartwood only.  
I tried words which only confused both of us.  

Ended up as a stack of mostly 12" boards cant sawn so they stayed pretty flat.
Looking at what the pith was doing in these explained what the words couldnt.  
There would have been not a single full length quartersawn board wider than 3" had we even tried for that.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did not saw anything today but loaded up a trailer and truck load of assorted wood to take to the flea market to sell and as an advertising trip tomorrow. I think I had 15 benches. I sanded and re-applied tung oil to 3 maple and 2 walnut benches. Added a 2nd metal sledgehammer type wedge to 2 WO benches with loose legs that really seemed to have done the trick on tightening them. I loaded a 4'X2'X1' on 3' legs raised bed planter, 10-12 dozen tomato stakes, birdhouses, some walnut cookies, a Lictenburg RO slab, 5 new log planters, some crates and some square inch pricing trimmed out walnut pieces, etc. I'll talk and pass out cards and maybe sell a few small items - hopefully enough to pay the mileage and lot fee. Mostly such trips results in a mobile sawing job or two. I will also take dozens of photos from around the world and the local area my wife took and printed up.

    While loading up I got a call from a guy wanting 25' long logs sawed into beams I think. I told him look for someone with a mill with an extension but if no luck to call back and I'd try it. I have not used the technique for sawing logs longer than the mill but reviewed it again here in the Knowledge base and would try it if necessary. Sounded like he needed about 15 logs sawed for some timber framing technique. I think he is going to come see me at the flea market tomorrow as it is not far from his home.

   Then a neighbor/customer called and wanted 2 more 6"X6"X10' poplar posts to add to some he bought a while back. I offered to cut them out of a 16' stock log I have today but he was in no hurry so I'll likely go see if I can't get them out of a 16-18 inch log that fell just inside my property line last week. It looked to be hollow at the base so I don't know how far up I have to cut to get to solid wood but I'll see. I'll get them next week from it or another as needed. 

[Larry]

Hank say's this one smells like money!




The perfect walnut for me to slab on my mill.  31" on the big end, 37" across the crotch which will take minimal trimming.  14' long and fairly straight.  Has just the right amount of defect to make for interesting slabs.

[longtime lurker]

 



 
 

After 14 days of unbroken rain we finally saw the sun Friday and today I managed to get the fire going with a couple gallons of diesel.

There were still wisps of smoke coming out from underneath but I was concerned that more rain might be coming and wanted to reduce the volume while I could.

That's the first match I've used since about August last year. One day I'm going to build a big Stirling Cycle engine to run an alternator with and use all that waste heat wisely.

[SpaceBus]

Brandi - there are two types of sawyers.  Those who try to saw off pieces of their sawmill - and those who deny having tried to do so....  :D

I think I hit one of my aluminum log clamps within the first five passes! Last fall I bumped the guide rail with my top handle chainsaw while cutting a knot. Learned my lesson both times! 

[caveman]

John and I sawed a few cypress logs Thursday after work and a few more yesterday evening.  We spent more time pulling them out of the pond than we did sawing.  These wont be on sticks long but I did not want them to mold while awaiting pickup.  With the price of lumber and the limited amount of cypress we have on hand we did not slab them heavy and ended up with a cull stack of shorter than 16' and narrower than 6' boards.  


 

 

[terrifictimbersllc]

Nice looking lumber.

[cutterboy]

I have been sawing white pine the last few days. I logged some of these last November and some this past January. These logs were not the best. They would never win a prize unless it was for ugly.
How's this for a centered pith?


 
And a little bit of rot to make it fun.


 
This log showed a lot of red.


 
This next one looks a lot better as a cant than a log.


 

 
This next log is probably the best of the lot. At least it was straight and round without any big knots and it gave some pretty good lumber.


 

 

 
I just have two more logs to saw. Should finish them up tomorrow.
A couple of beauties. :


 
Not the best logs or lumber but the boards will be fine for building a shed or making a fence or whatever. It will all sell.

Happy sawing.....Cutter

[Magicman]

How's this for a centered pith?

Actually very good and you will saw through from either the horn or hump side and produce lumber which will bow rather than crook which is fine for your stated use.

[Dave Shepard]

I'd be surprised if it did much of anything. White pine mostly just lays there. Like an odd barn cat that just can't be bothered to get off a bale of hay and chase that mouse. :D

[WV Sawmiller]

 

I got a call from a guy down the road last week wanting 2- 10'X6"X6" poplar posts so I cut a tree and these logs out of the top and dragged them to the mill. We had a break in the weather for a while so I decided to saw them today. When I removed the cover I found the plastic plug going into the aluminum block in the fuel tank had broken so I called WM NC and they had one in stock and are shipping it today. I think I had broken the other end once before and found I could just stick the hose in the tank and it would feed so I tried again and it did. I topped up the tank a little to make sure the end was under the surface. I sawed the 2 posts and got 34 bf of 1" 8' & 10' side lumber. I did not get a completed picture because it started thundering and I just barely got the mill covered and the tools put up. It was raining when I came back to the house.

[Crossroads]

Rolled into a new job site today, had about 5 Acers to set up on and found a nice flat spot. The logs were all brought to the mill with a grapple skidder. All nice 16' logs. The first 4 hours we cut 125 2x6x16 with quite a few 1x4 and 2x4 from side wood. Then the second half of the day we cut 1x3 and 1x8. Ended the day right at 3400 bd ft. Customer was very happy with the quality and production.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Nice! What diameter are these and are they hard on blades?

[Magicman]

Did I travel 76 miles to saw this?


 
Not even enough logs to make a whack.


 
The customer bringing me the first log.


 
And what is this??


 
The customer asked if I could saw a big "Cherry" log?


 
Yup the very rare and very elusive "Hackcherry".  


 
Minimum sawing job and I rolled out of there 5 hours after setting up. 

I have a local SYP framing lumber job scheduled for Saturday for a many times repeat customer.

[YellowHammer]

The old and highly valuable spalted Hackcherry.  Did you tell the customer?  

Even the pine were turning, did you tell him he should have called about a year ago? :D :D

[Magicman]

It seems that a year late is about my normal sometime, but it pays the same.  Those had pencil size worm holes a couple of inches deep so I slabbed deep.  No matter, just get what is there and cull the rest.

He had asked last time I was there if I could saw Cherry?  After we finished the SYP he brought the Hackcherry up.  I suppose that they had seen berries on it and assumed Cherry.  Anyway it became an 8X12 Mantel, plus the rest in various live edged stuff.

[YellowHammer]

I sawed several thousand bdft of this mineralized poplar.  I've been trying different sawing orientations, moving to a "vertical grain" or partial vertical grain much like pine flooring.  For some wood, the vertical grain really makes the contrast jump out.  It will also make it dry flatter.  



  

[Magicman]

Ouch!!!  That hurt my eyes, but you already knew that it was outstanding.  I would say that you get the daily prize and your name goes on da wall. 

[WDH]

Those should go into the Hall of Fame. 

[jpassardi]

YH: That poplar is definitely unique, customers must go crazy for it.

[woodyone.john]

Isn't it a pity that the  green/ purple fades so quickly. Sitting in the stack on the shed it lasts but out in the light for a few days you can see it turning brown. I made a casket for a friend , stunning in construction but died before delivery

[WV Sawmiller]

Those should go into the Hall of Fame.  

Or maybe the Hall of Frames. :D

Pretty wood there Robert.

[YellowHammer]

The mineralization is odd in that when exposed to UV light, it will darken a couple a shades or two.  The reds turn purple, the purples turn almost black, and the blacks turn jet black.  The light colored areas will stay light, and maintain a good contrast, which is striking.  So as it ages, it will almost look liked streaked walnut.  The red wavelengths will fade quick, but the darker stuff just stays dark.  That's one of the reasons I'm trying to vertical grain saw this stuff, even if the darks turn darker, and the lights stay light, it will still have some really wicked contrasting stripes and patterns vs just big blobs of pigment in flat sawn rainbow poplar.  

Since it's sensitive to UV, the best finishes are those that have UV blockers and inhibitors, and the worst are oils and yellow polyurethanes.  They will cause it to turn dark and loose the colors in a short time.  Especially the yellow polyurethanes, when added to the yellow shades of polar, really darken things up.  I've seen some polys turn the colors almost black in a matter of hours.  It still looks good, but not the intent.  Heavy epoxy finishes will do the same.  

The best are the extremely clear and highly UV resistant finishes, they will keep the colors for a very long time.    

[Crossroads]

Nice! What diameter are these and are they hard on blades?

In that pile, they ranged from 10" to 20", but the land owner was logging while we were milling, I ended up with a lot of butt cuts that range from 20-32" on the scale end. Everything that wouldn't fit through a 28" debarker ended up in my lap. He was logging with a grapple skidder and all of the logs were pretty dirty and were hard on blades. The red fir does seem to be a little harder on blades than the pine and they seem to go from good to not so good in one cut. This family was a pleasure to work with and they feed me lunch all 3 days. I will also be buying some of the logs in the picture that were left over after the cut list was filled. We ended up with 6750 bd ft in 19 hrs. Everything was 16' 2000' was 2x6 and the rest was 1x4 and 1x8. 

[Magicman]

I don't normally work Saturdays, but this was for a many times repeat customer that does not have the option to have days off during the week, so sometime we do what we do.



18 Smallish SYP logs 12" to 20" top ends and all fresh felled.  He brought each log to the sawmill with the tractor/FEL.


 
2533 bf of 2X4's, 6's, & 8's plus some White Oak 4X4's.