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Walnut, Best Practice?

Started by Dana Stanley, August 17, 2020, 08:05:01 AM

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Dana Stanley

So I have a guy coming Thursday with some black walnut. I told him I will mill for 1/2 of the wood. He will help. They are all 5' or less, and the biggest 22". I thought I should just slab them as much as possible, he wants 1" and 2" boards . Any advise? Should I quarter saw as much as I can? Should I at least cut my part into finished boards later, or save as slabs. Center the pith in a 2" board or cut it out into a 4x4?

I know some would say they wouldn't do it for that, but I am a hobby sawyer, I don't mind. So no need to go there!

Thanks
Making Sawdust, boards and signs.
Woodland Mills HM-126
Kabota B-7800 with backhoe and loader
Ford Ranger, Husqvarna 455 20", Mac 610 24", other chainsaws 14", 23 ton log splitter
Matthew 3:10

WV Sawmiller

   My experience is most sawyers almost never quartersaw walnut as it does not have the obvious rays/fleck like you get from oak or sycamore or such.

   How are you dividing the wood? Often people who saw on shares divide the logs not the wood. Then you saw the customer's pile into whatever he wants and you can saw yours into whatever strikes your fancy. One way to do that is to divide the logs into two piles as nearly equal as possible then flip a coin to see who gets which pile.

  If you let the customer divide the logs into 2 piles then flip a coin or high card picks or whatever you decide he will have personal incentive to be fair and get the piles as even as humanly possible (Like letting one kid slice the watermelon or pie then the other gets to make the first pick which slice he gets.  :D) In the past I have divided the logs into piles as equal as I could make them, let the customer agree, then when it came time to flip a coin, I'd just tell the customer "you go ahead and pick". That way he knew it was fair. What you don't ever want to do is have a perception you took advantage of him.

  You will likely hear horror stories of sawing on shares but there can be a time and place for it. I sawed a bunch of cherry last summer and what I learned was I need to let the customer bring them to me as I had too much mileage involved. Instead of one trip to saw I had to make 3-4 to saw and go get my share of the lumber. It worked out for both of us and I'll make money off my share but I spent more time and effort doing it. JMHO. Good luck.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

KenMac

I might suggest that you let the customer have all butt cuts and agree to cover cost of blades damaged by metal strikes. Been there and done that! ;)
Cook's AC3667t, Cat Claw sharpener, Dual tooth setter, and Band Roller, Kubota B26 TLB, Takeuchi TB260C

stavebuyer

Quote from: KenMac on August 17, 2020, 06:41:58 PM
I might suggest that you let the customer have all butt cuts and agree to cover cost of blades damaged by metal strikes. Been there and done that! ;)
For some reason farmers in this area felt obligated to nail every scrap of fence to a walnut tree even if it meant zig-zagging 20' feet out of the fence line to to do so.

moodnacreek

Quote from: stavebuyer on August 17, 2020, 07:02:14 PM
Quote from: KenMac on August 17, 2020, 06:41:58 PM
I might suggest that you let the customer have all butt cuts and agree to cover cost of blades damaged by metal strikes. Been there and done that! ;)
For some reason farmers in this area felt obligated to nail every scrap of fence to a walnut tree even if it meant zig-zagging 20' feet out of the fence line to to do so.
A few when they got older bought small band mill and enjoyed sawing their own metal.  On the walnut sawing you could saw the jacket boards 1" and some clear 2nd cuts and 2" the center cant.

Larry

I've had two conversations in two days about what to saw out of walnut logs.  The consensus is slab the ugly 9/4 and plain saw the rest at 4/4.  The reason is only interesting slabs with a lots of character sell.  Grade lumber with a lot of defects does not sell.

I'm on a custom job with 4,000 board foot of walnut and the very next job is another 2,000 bf of walnut.  I plain saw and go around the log hunting for the highest grade.  I keep the grain centered in my boards.  When I get down to a 5 or 6" cant (5" boards can still be FAS in walnut) I saw to the bed.





This one was  still kicking when I rolled it on the mill! :D

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Brad_bb

Are you sure you will be able to clamp them up.  If they are really short like 3ft or under, you may need to rig up a fixture to hold them?

No Quartersaw.

The thickness you mill just depends on what you (and the customer) want.  What do you see yourself using it for?  Only you two can answer that.

If he wants 1" and 2" boards, better explain how much the wood will shrink, and how much extra thickness to leave so that they will clean up when planed to the final dimension desired.

If you want to end up with 1" board after drying and clean up, better cut it 1.25" or so.  Same goes for 2".  If you are cutting 8/4 or 9/4, center the pith in that slab.  Also, level the pith from end to end before milling so that you can center the pith in one slab.

I always debark first.  HOpefully you have a bark spud.
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

Dana Stanley

This is the pic he sent of the logs

 
Making Sawdust, boards and signs.
Woodland Mills HM-126
Kabota B-7800 with backhoe and loader
Ford Ranger, Husqvarna 455 20", Mac 610 24", other chainsaws 14", 23 ton log splitter
Matthew 3:10

WV Sawmiller

   I've seen/sawed worse. I'd cut the firewood pieces into 8/4 cookies and paint both sides with anchorseal, sticker them and still not be surprised when they cracked. The others should make nice slabs or short boards. Maybe cut some 4X4 or 3X3 square stock for table legs. Since I make primitive benches I often cut 9/4 square stock for bench legs.

   Did you come up with a plan to divide the logs/lumber? 
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Dana Stanley

I like your Idea. Split it up and flip a coin. I thought I would use the short ones for bowls, also considered cookies!
Making Sawdust, boards and signs.
Woodland Mills HM-126
Kabota B-7800 with backhoe and loader
Ford Ranger, Husqvarna 455 20", Mac 610 24", other chainsaws 14", 23 ton log splitter
Matthew 3:10

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