Do I NEED a planer attachment?

MisterOzark · July 13, 2015, 02:26:41 PM

My goal is to build my own timber frame home, with wood cut from my 46 acres of red/white/black oak.
I'm looking at an EZ Boardwalk Jr mill, because of the price point and the great reviews I've read. (Dad wants to reclaim an old family circular saw mill and use it, but I think that'd be more misery than joy)
But I'm an utter novice, having never run a mill in my life. The largest timbers I expect I'll be cutting are 7"x12"s for my beams.
So, 2 questions:
1. Is milling something that a guy can readily learn how to do, using something like the EZ? I'm not a stranger to small power tools.
2. Do I need a mill with a planer attachment in order to end up with square timbers? I'm a bit confused on this -- looks like WoodMizer has this kind of thing, but EZ doesn't. I'm comfortable with checking and making minor adjustments for perfect-squareness at my reference points on the timber... so what's the point of planing? Just a smoother board face?
Pardon my ignorance, I know it's showing

taylorsmissbeehaven · July 13, 2015, 02:43:08 PM

You can cut square timbers without a planer. There is a bit of a learning curve and some mistakes will be made. I have been sawing for 5 years now and still have to look and be sure I will clear the backstops!!. This being said, you can pick up on ways of handling logs and lumber pretty quickly. Be patient and pay attention and you should learn quickly. There are many folks here with far more experience that can help answer questions as they arise.
As for planning the wood, I think it is a question of aesthetics. A band mill leaves you with a very nice finish, but it is rough cut. A planed beam would probably take a coat of poly better and have a slicker look. Its all in what your after. Someone with more experience will be able to answer that better than I. Go for it and good luck, Brian

Ocklawahaboy · July 13, 2015, 02:43:20 PM

I cants answer your planer question directly but, from what I've read on here, knowing how to handle the stress in the log is way more critical when looking for a straight timber frame beam.

You can easily teach yourself basic milling principles. YouTube and the forum are there for you. There are likely other forum members near you that would let you watch/tail for a day.

Good luck on the new mill!

beenthere · July 13, 2015, 03:48:35 PM

Go With Dad, and enjoy his company with the old family circle saw. IMO.

Pics of the old saw would help. (a primer on posting pics here found on the "Home" page near the bottom)

MisterOzark · July 13, 2015, 05:35:51 PM

Quote from: beenthere on July 13, 2015, 03:48:35 PM
Go With Dad, and enjoy his company with the old family circle saw. IMO.

Pics of the old saw would help. (a primer on posting pics here found on the "Home" page near the bottom)

Haha, I guess I'd rather work with something that has "EZ" in its name. Since I'm doing everything else the hard way :D We'd have to track down the old thing -- it was given to so-and-so... and all that. That's part of the "misery" I mentioned. Hence, no photos.
Am I wrong in thinking that a bandsaw mill would be much easier to operate? I guess I'm the kind of optimist that thinks that at least some things are made better these days than 50 years ago

Though obviously the circular saw mill has the cool factor of being a functional family heirloom.

fishfighter · July 13, 2015, 05:43:59 PM

The biggest factor is, do you have support equipment like a tractor?

Stress is a big factor when sawing a log. If you have your pick of trees to be milled, that helps.

Now on a planner. What finish are you looking for? If you plan on drying out the post and beams and want a fine finish, one just over size cuts everything due to shrinkage. Once dried, one can just set up a table top planner by removing the base and set up a rail system.

The timber section on this forum has a lot of good info.

I am building a camp that is post and beam and stick built using my Woodland 126. No problems getting square post and beams sawed off it.

sigidi · July 14, 2015, 03:42:10 PM

Misterozark, yep you are wrong in thinking a bandmill is easier...there is a much longer learning curve on a band mill versus a mill like a Lucas or equivalent. Having said that, they are all hard work, easy isn't a word usually thrown around a sawmill ;)

Brad_bb · July 14, 2015, 04:47:12 PM

I did what you describe I bough a woodmizer LT15 mill last year along with the MP100 planer that rides on the same tracks(using at least 2 extensions.

There are two benefits to the planer, it allow you to fine tune to get a very square timber. With just the saw, once you make the cut, you have what you have. You can't cut 1/32 or 1/16th off the top. The blade will rise up with no pressure on the top and taking to thin of a cut.

Do you need perfectly square timbers for a timberframe? No. Using square rule you layout and make the joinery work. It's easier the more square it is though.

The other reason for a planed finish is dust. A rough sawn timber will tend to collect and hold dust better. Compressed air might be the best way to clean it out, but who has that in their house? Planed also makes it easier to apply a finish and it will require less. With that said though, most timberframes just get Landark oil (from Heritage Natural Finishes) anyway.

I do like having the ability of the beam planer. I've taken many twisted reclaimed beams and remilled them and planed them square and because they have been long dry, they aren't going to move anymore. Also if you have an issue in a piece with blade diving or wavy, you can take that out with the planer without removing excess material. The only down side to a planer like this is that you can only do one side at a time. So it'll take a little more time than a big mill's 4 sided planer, but it's fine with me.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,54089.0.html

PS. A beam planer will make a lot of shavings. In the above post link, you'll see the box I built to catch shavings. I had a local horse farm that was happy to take the shavings so long as there was no Walnut or red maple in them.

Carpenter · July 15, 2015, 02:56:56 AM

You can make square beams with an EZ Boardwalk. I've got the EZ boardwalk 40 and have done some timberframing with the timbers off of the EZ Boardwalk. They work just fine as is, with square rule as a few people have already mentioned. You can even use hand hewn timbers with square rule (unless they are a long ways out of square in which case you may be able to use them by scribing them to get a somewhat square building). It did take a little bit of practice to get square timbers with the EZ boardwalk, mostly because on the second cut you have to roll the log into the log stops and clamp with just the right amount of pressure to keep it square to the stops. It takes a few practice logs to get this right, (I know my first cants did not turn out square, and I've taught a few other people and their first ones don't turn out square either). It's hard to describe, but if you over clamp, or if you under clamp or if you clamp in the wrong spot, in relation to the stop your cant won't turn out square. But, if you take your time with a critical eye and make sure that your first cut is fully in contact with the stop it should turn out fine. After the second cut it gets really easy as the initial cut lays right on the bunks. So, If your second cut was perfectly square you're first cut should be in contact with the bunks and your second cut should make 100% contact with the stops, which on the EZ Boardwalk are connected to the clamps and move up and down with the clamps. If your second cut was not square use a few shims and get it your third cut square to the stops. (If you have to shim it be sure to true up your first cut).
I re-built an old circle mill but I never could make the thing cut true. I had blade heating issues. In theory it would have been simpler to cut square on the circle mill. Just open the log and flip the cut down on the log bunks and as long as they were square to the blade the second cut should be square. But, with the blade heating issues it didn't work that way. Also, to run the circle mill efficiently I really needed 4 or 5 guys to bring logs and off bear lumber, otherwise I just had the 100 hp diesel engine running and not producing much lumber. That was why I switched to the bandmill.
Some guys use rough cut lumber in a barn or shop and use planed lumber for a house, because planed lumber is easier to clean than rough cut. I guess if I had my choice I'd use nothing but kiln dried S4S lumber that was perfect. But, we're not in a perfect world, so I've had to get by with what I can get. Actually the finish from the EZ Boardwalk is pretty good, a lot of that depends on your bands. But, personally I like to see the 15 degree saw marks, and they are usually pretty light. Of course I like to see the old circle saw marks as well, and I get really excited when I see ax marks, or uneven heavy saw marks, as these are usually a sign of pitsawn lumber. I love history, that's one of the reasons I was drawn to timber framing in the first place.

MisterOzark · July 22, 2015, 04:29:01 AM

Thanks all for the words of wisdom. After reading, and discussing with a local Amish man who referred me to the EZ Boardwalk (I think they're built by some Amish folks... not too far from where I live), I'm gonna see what the finish is like without the planer. I've now had multiple folks (including Carpenter above) tell me the surface is pretty smooth with the EZ... and I'm not trying to get them to be glass-smooth, so we'll see how that goes.
But I've begun to wonder what kind of tractor/equipment I'm going to need to even lift these logs into place! Will end up milling 7"x10" 16-foot beams. With white oak, I'm worried that will get awful heavy!