Whatcha Sawin' 2024 ??

[TimW]

I ordered some AnchorSeal.  Suppose to be here Tuesday.

[doc henderson]

first class.  sometimes I use the color to remember the tree and species of a log in my yard.  I have had red, green, blue, as well as clear.

[Magicman]

Coating the lumber ends after it has been sawn is more labor intensive but coating the log ends before sawing can interfere with your ability to see the growth rings while sawing, especially QS which those logs need.

The Anchor-Seal that I have goes on white and then turns mostly clear.

[barbender]

 Many of the forces that split logs are alleviated by sawing them into lumber. I'm not saying don't coat them, but the best thing to do is saw them quickly imo.

[Magicman]

Studying the log and properly turning it to avoid having the log's pith check vertical within the "saw through" cant will prevent much board splitting.  EXAMPLE

Had the above log been sawed differently, every board would have split from end to end.  Note that the customer only wanted 12" boards so orienting the pith check @ 45° and edging was not an option.

[TimW]

I am rereading Yellowhammer's Reverse Quarter Sawing thread and he doesn't anchorseal before cutting to see the grain, like MM mentioned.

[Andries]

. . .  I am rereading Yellowhammer's Reverse Quarter Sawing thread and he doesn't anchorseal before cutting to see the grain, like MM mentioned. . .

. .  The Anchor-Seal that I have goes on white and then turns mostly clear. . .

My log sealer does the same thing.
This guy's glacial experience in the up yonder, is that the sooner you apply the sealer, mill the log, sticker and stack, the less waste (checking, twist and bow) there is.
.
@YellowHammer is generally acknowledged to the Yoda of Sawmillers - his felled trees doesn't bounce twice before he has them milled, stacked and air drying in a shady nook. They just don't know what hit'em.
We may try, however, it's difficult impossible for the rest of us mere mortals to raise ourselves to his levels . . . unless it's say, Customsawyer.    (favourite Canadian emoji)

[TroyC]

Careful Andries, while most of what you said is true, say much more and Yellowhammer's head might not fit his new gun!

[Andries]

Good advice Troy.
Sounds like you know him well.
That new sharpshooter's dream could probably reach out and 'touch' me where I live.
What's your group spacing at that distance Robert?

[WV Sawmiller]

I went out and cut another 7' "log" off my elm (???) for bench legs. I just cut it into 3 slabs then cut them in thirds at 9/4. Some had too much wane to really use but I got enough to make another 5 and probably 6 benches out of it. I cut a cookie off one end so viewers can see and maybe help confirm if it is elm or other thoughts on it.

   The look at the end almost looks like cherry and it could be but the wood is much darker brown than what it seems to be in the picture.

[Wlmedley]

MM, thank you for putting the example link in your post. I went back and read the whole thread and hopefully learned a little more about sawing. There sure is a lot of good information in alot of the old threads if you know where to look.

[Magicman]

Howard,  Take your magnifying glass and look at the end grain.  Elm will be wavy.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I have a customer coming in the morning to resaw some beams and I'll check the cookie if I can find it and the boards if not. The lines look wavy in the picture when I blow it up but I've shrunk it so much it gets unclear when I blow it up. I've got to come up with a better system on this photo resizing thing.

[TimW]

I finished up this cant cutting it into six 1x15s and three 4x4s.https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=11417;image


I got the Water Oak on the mill.  First time 25 cent sawing will be tomorrow.  My eyeball measurements taken from the tractor seat were off.  It is 10 foot long and 26 inches big end.
I went to buck it today and saw a clothes line wire buried into it just past 8 foot.  So I bucked it down to a hair over 8 feet.

[cutterboy]

Tim, nice looking lumber.

[WV Sawmiller]

  I had a couple of reverse snowbirds (Live in Fla but have 260 acres and an old farmhouse here) come by today to have me re-saw some old barn timbers into beams and posts for them. They wanted to save the hewed side for faces and the sawed sides will be against the wall. Not a big job but they were happy and tipped well. I suspect they will be back in the future.

  I checked my cookie from yesterday and can't find the waves like in the picture Lynn posted so now I am not sure what kind of wood it is.

[TimW]

I would consider quartersawing that one at 5/4.

I have been reading threads on RRQS here and watching youtube videos.  Normally, to me, 5/4 would be 1.25 inches.  But I have seen other thicknesses being used for 5/4.  I gather quarter sawn boards shrink a little more.  So what do you cut your quarter sawn boards to?  1& 3/8"?  1& 7/16"?

[Magicman]

Thankfully I only saw what the customer wants, and that generally ranges from 1" to 1 3/8".

I just saws um and leaves um. 

[WV Sawmiller]

  Same here on customer picking the thickness. I will often saw a true 1" then a 1-1/8" or 1-3/16"and let them decide . Usually they want 1" or 1-1/8" depending on whether they are using it for sheeting or furniture or such but sometimes they will want to see what 3/4" or even 5/8" looks like. I am happy to cut a sample of each - it's their wood. I bill 5/4 (1.25") as 5/4 and anything thinner as 1" including if it is less than one inch where I tell the customer I drop back to square foot instead of board foot pricing. I bill my 6/4 (1.5") as 1.5". Today's sawing just was hourly. 3-4 cuts per log and we were done so the customer was happy with .4 hours. I mostly use the run meter on the mill like today. Once I start the mill I just leave it running on hourly jobs whereas I would normally shut it off between logs.

  We only found one nail and the customer spotted it before I sawed into it so no blades were injured in the making of today's movie.

Tim,

  I would always think of 1-1/4" for 5/4 but would understand 1-3/8" to allow for shrinkage. I'd be surprised if anyone would accept less then 1.25" as 5/4.

[TimW]

Same here on customer picking the thickness. I will often saw a true 1" then a 1-1/8" or 1-3/16"and let them decide . Usually they want 1" or 1-1/8" depending on whether they are using it for sheeting or furniture or such but sometimes they will want to see what 3/4" or even 5/8" looks like. I am happy to cut a sample of each - it's their wood. I bill 5/4 (1.25") as 5/4 and anything thinner as 1" including if it is less than one inch where I tell the customer I drop back to square foot instead of board foot pricing. I bill my 6/4 (1.5") as 1.5". Today's sawing just was hourly. 3-4 cuts per log and we were done so the customer was happy with .4 hours. I mostly use the run meter on the mill like today. Once I start the mill I just leave it running on hourly jobs whereas I would normally shut it off between logs.

  We only found one nail and the customer spotted it before I sawed into it so no blades were injured in the making of today's movie.

Tim,

  I would always think of 1-1/4" for 5/4 but would understand 1-3/8" to allow for shrinkage. I'd be surprised if anyone would accept less then 1.25" as 5/4.

I'm shooting in the dark here on what the customer's use or wanted thickness would be.  First time I have sawn Oak not in a 3 inch slab.
So we agree on at least 1-3/8.  So the main question is............how much more does quarter sawn lumber shrink compared to framing lumber?

[WV Sawmiller]

Tim,

    I'm sure not the right guy to ask about this as I don't own or use a kiln and those who dry wood would be a better source so hopefully they will chime in. I did find this article that may help. I know species will make a big difference.

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/

   My suggestion would be to ask the customer what thickness they want.

[TimW]

Tim,

    I'm sure not the right guy to ask about this as I don't own or use a kiln and those who dry wood would be a better source so hopefully they will chime in. I did find this article that may help. I know species will make a big difference.

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/

  My suggestion would be to ask the customer what thickness they want.

Thanks Howard.  That is the problem with speculation sawing for an unknown customer....I can't ask him.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Sorry, I thought you had a customer lined up for the wood. What I can tell for speculation sawing is "It is always the wrong size."  No matter what I saw they want it thicker/thinner, longer,/shorter wider/narrower.

   One thing to remember is you/they can always make it shorter/smaller. Just tell the customer this is what you have and they can take it or leave it. That is why I try to keep mine in log form as long as possible. I only saw stock when I am afraid it will go bad on me. Then I saw what I figure I can use or what has sold well in the past.

   Good luck.

[caveman]

There are many here who saw much more hardwood than we do.  Generally, we saw 1/8" more than the 5/4 or 4/4 (1 3/8 and 1 1/8 respectively).  

[SawyerTed]

"It is always the wrong size." No matter what I saw they want it thicker/thinner, longer,/shorter wider/narrower.

Murphy is cruel!