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Sawing Cottonwood

Started by Mark M, January 17, 2003, 10:33:38 AM

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doc henderson

I dug out a double trunked cottonwood root ball.  it had to ride up on the rails of my dump truck.  too big to fit in the 5 yard bed.  weight at the dump, 12 k.

using the tool that log was well over 3k pounds
edit:  closer to 5 k.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

mart

I saw a lot of cottonwood. Perhaps our Alaskan cottonwood is a little different but I don't have an issue with warping or twisting. It seems to stay pretty flat through the drying process.

I have cut it for paneling, cabinets, structural lumber, sheathing, rig mats and beams. I even floored my wood shed with it. We don't have a lot of options in south central Alaska for timber. Spruce, birch and cottonwood. Right now with the massive beetlekill spruce problem, it's sometimes difficult to get spruce that will make 2x material that isn't severely cracked or showing some dry rot.

I put a pretty big cottonwood log on the LT15 yesterday. I'm prepping to pour a slab for the sawmill shed and needed some form boards and a long screed board. I need some 24' 2x6s for trusses later so cut mostly that from the log. I ended up with 16 24' 2x6s, 2 20' 2x10s and 2 16' 2x6s from the log. 18" on the small end and 22" on the big end. It was everything my 37 horse Branson wanted to pick up. I have a 1500 pound three point hitch counter weight and needed every ounce of it. I'll cut the rest of the form boards this week.

I retired Friday and am looking forward to making a lot more sawdust and enjoying the autumn years with Etta. Here's a few pics.

This log really put a strain on the Armstrong log turner.





Some of the 24' 2x6s





The flooring and siding of the woodshed are cottonwood.





Some cottonwood rig mats I keep around to rent out during the spring.



I was young and dumb once. I got over being young a long time ago.

LT15 w/19 hp - 24' bed
Branson 3725
Stihl MS362
Husqvarna 450

Walnut Beast

Looks like you have a pretty nice setup. Thanks for the pictures and input 👍

Walnut Beast

Quote from: doc henderson on September 13, 2020, 12:04:28 PM
left over slab of CW 2 x 24 x 18 left outside.

 


 



Thanks Doc. It still looks good. What are your plans with it. Or is it going to sit there for a few more years 😂

mart

Thanks. It's getting there. Hoping to get a 20x40 pad poured behind where the mill sits before cold weather sets in. My buddy is coming over Friday and we'll get it all prepped for the pour. After the slab is poured and the mill moved to the pad I'll start milling 6x6s for the posts and building trusses from the long 2x6s. Got a few more to mill yet. 

But tomorrow is moose hunting time. And I have a caribou tag to fill yet. 
I was young and dumb once. I got over being young a long time ago.

LT15 w/19 hp - 24' bed
Branson 3725
Stihl MS362
Husqvarna 450

Walnut Beast

Im jealous 😂. Hunting of many big game species in your backyard. Good luck 👍 

farmfromkansas

A neighbor has a couple sheds built entirely of cottonwood, and about 100 years old.  But the shingles are not cottonwood.  Just framing, siding, and flooring. If you use it for trailer decking, should you oil the wood before installing?
Most everything I enjoy doing turns out to be work

mart

Quote from: Walnut Beast on September 13, 2020, 07:36:33 PM
Im jealous 😂. Hunting of many big game species in your backyard. Good luck 👍
Thanks. Not quite in my back yard though. If a legal moose set foot in my yard I'd be all over it. They seem to stay out of my yard until the season is over or the brussel sprouts are ready. I'll drive about 40 miles tomorrow morning to my favorite moose spot. The caribou are about 3 hours away.
I was young and dumb once. I got over being young a long time ago.

LT15 w/19 hp - 24' bed
Branson 3725
Stihl MS362
Husqvarna 450

doc henderson

that might be best.  they just sprayed it onto the top I think.  I did not help install it, but I ask about it from time to time.  i would think it would be good to repeat occ.  especially if it got mud from tracks all over it and it was pressure washed off.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

nopoint

It makes great blocking. I do some occasional building moving and straightening. Cottonwood blocks weight like pine, but are strong like oak.

Percy

THis is planed airdried cottonwood.....when it was green, it was just that, kinda green looking...dried out after a couple years in the forgotten shed...surprisingly nice grain..

<br


 
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

WLC

Quote from: mart on September 13, 2020, 12:09:14 PM
I saw a lot of cottonwood. Perhaps our Alaskan cottonwood is a little different but I don't have an issue with warping or twisting. It seems to stay pretty flat through the drying process.

I have cut it for paneling, cabinets, structural lumber, sheathing, rig mats and beams. I even floored my wood shed with it. We don't have a lot of options in south central Alaska for timber. Spruce, birch and cottonwood. Right now with the massive beetlekill spruce problem, it's sometimes difficult to get spruce that will make 2x material that isn't severely cracked or showing some dry rot.

I put a pretty big cottonwood log on the LT15 yesterday. I'm prepping to pour a slab for the sawmill shed and needed some form boards and a long screed board. I need some 24' 2x6s for trusses later so cut mostly that from the log. I ended up with 16 24' 2x6s, 2 20' 2x10s and 2 16' 2x6s from the log. 18" on the small end and 22" on the big end. It was everything my 37 horse Branson wanted to pick up. I have a 1500 pound three point hitch counter weight and needed every ounce of it. I'll cut the rest of the form boards this week.

I retired Friday and am looking forward to making a lot more sawdust and enjoying the autumn years with Etta. Here's a few pics.

This log really put a strain on the Armstrong log turner.





Some of the 24' 2x6s





The flooring and siding of the woodshed are cottonwood.





Some cottonwood rig mats I keep around to rent out during the spring.







Congratulations Marty!!  Hope you enjoy every day of it!!
Woodmizer LT28
Branson 4wd tractor
Stihl chainsaws
Elbow grease.

mart

I was young and dumb once. I got over being young a long time ago.

LT15 w/19 hp - 24' bed
Branson 3725
Stihl MS362
Husqvarna 450

alan gage

Quote from: mart on September 13, 2020, 12:09:14 PM
I saw a lot of cottonwood. Perhaps our Alaskan cottonwood is a little different
Most likely.  It gets confusing because there are multiple species referred to simply as "Cottonwood". Most of us are referring to Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides).
Alan
Timberking B-16, a few chainsaws from small to large, and a Bobcat 873 Skidloader.

D6c

Amish around here saw a lot of cottonwood for pallet lumber.  I've sawed some for framing lumber and used it to build the walls on my solar kiln.  Most of what I sawed warped beyond useable and went on the burn pile.
I did quarter saw some and used it for decking on pallet racking.  Worked well with no cupping.

kantuckid

Quote from: farmfromkansas on September 13, 2020, 08:36:14 PM
A neighbor has a couple sheds built entirely of cottonwood, and about 100 years old.  But the shingles are not cottonwood.  Just framing, siding, and flooring. If you use it for trailer decking, should you oil the wood before installing?
I use crankcase/tranny oil on trailer floors, done when woods dry. Linseed oil, boiled or not is organic and feeds the little fellers that grow on wood. Protects but feeds, so best if it's used to include something in the mix that prevents that growth.
Early in my log homes life I mixed up a wood finish formula found in a U of AK log building pamphlet I had which used linseed as a base- maybe in ok in AK, but in KY you get mildew!  
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

97redjeep

Got a little excited when I saw this post, I have a bunch of standing dead cottonwood so I sawed on up and made a vanity for my wife, also sawed a bunch of green wood up for my brothers lowbed decking and he says it's holding up great, it's been a few months of abuse now. 

 

 

 

    
HM 126, a few useful tools, and a bunch of crap I don't need, but I love 😬

doc henderson

i just got a gallon of copper naphthenate, to treat outdoor wood.  will not be "pressure" treated, but the surface treatment should impair growth of mold and other organisms.  copper care is the brand, from amazon.  outside but off the soil is ok.  i hope this product will help on my hackberry pallet runners.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

doc henderson

redjeep i was looking at your sawhorses in the background, and i thought you made them just like mine.  i actually make and I beam with a 2 x 6 top and bottom the runs the length.  i refurbished a 22 foot o'day daysailer two fiberglass sailboat supported on two of them.  they are 8 feet long.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

97redjeep

Quote from: doc henderson on September 16, 2020, 05:48:15 PM
redjeep i was looking at your sawhorses in the background, and i thought you made them just like mine.  i actually make and I beam with a 2 x 6 top and bottom the runs the length.  i refurbished a 22 foot o'day daysailer two fiberglass sailboat supported on two of them.  they are 8 feet long.
Doc that's exactly what they are, other than only 4'. I initially built a set to set a old pickup camper on then realized they were way better than my old 2x4 ones and way lighter than my grandpas old timber ones, I even built him a set after he seen them, don't need a tractor to move them lol and they're surprisingly strong  ;D
HM 126, a few useful tools, and a bunch of crap I don't need, but I love 😬

doc henderson

even my 7 foot ones with 2 x 6s are easy to carry, center on my shoulder.  and the leg brace is plywood on the outside of the legs, so they will nest one on top of the other as well.  crazy minds think alike! :)
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

alan gage

Yesterday I was dead stacking some cottonwood that was sawed and stickered this spring. Some was sawn into 1x material and the rest was sawn for 2x framing lumber at 1 1/2" thick. Anticipating some movement I sawed it all a little extra wide so I could rip it to final width on the sawmill after drying. As expected most of the pieces did crook but not too bad. Should be plenty of extra material on most boards to rip them straight. Otherwise it dried nice and flat. Only a few pieces really misbehaved. There was some shake in the logs which ruined some boards but that was expected too. I should be able to save some shorter sections from the shakey boards.

I've sawn cottonwood before and some of it almost tie itself in a knot while drying so I was a little worried. But those were edge grown trees with off center piths and many of the logs were bowed. These were straight and clear with centered piths. Sawed super easy (other than handling the very large and heavy logs (30+"@12-15'). I'll be on the lookout for more as general utility/framing lumber isn't easy to come by around here.

The 1x boards probably stayed the straightest:




The 2x material showed a bit more crook. The two pieces to the left have opposing crook and were probably average, so it wasn't all that bad. Most were sawn around 7" with 5 1/2" being the intended target after straight lining





Only a few had fatal defects:





Some of it was very pretty coming off the mill. Will be interested to see how it looks after it's planed and finished:





Alan





Timberking B-16, a few chainsaws from small to large, and a Bobcat 873 Skidloader.

Walnut Beast


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