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live oak

Started by pbottle, October 06, 2004, 07:25:02 AM

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pbottle

Howdy folks!

I'm not a professional logger, but I have cut timber for my timber frames with a fellow who has a fairly new wood-mizer.

Here's my question: do any of you all have experience or know somebody who has cut live-oak? I have a property in Fla with a lot of it growing, and a lot of wind-falls. I would really like to get some of those interesting grown-curves sawed out. The local sawyers there tell me the stuff is too dense to cut with circular mills.

I've heard that a bandsaw mill with the right blade and enough hp can do it.

Thanks for any info,

Pat  

Tom

It's not that the circle mills can't cut it, it's that the sawyer doesn't want to cut it.  Live oak is a pain in the neck regardless of what you use.  It is a hard, heavy and dense wood.  Even when you have taken the log apart it is hard on shop tools.  Sawmill blades don't last a long time cutting it.  I have cut it but don't relish the idea.  

It is a pretty wood with convoluted grain.  Better for table tops and thicker applications than paneling or boards.  Cutting contorted logs can be a job dogging on any sawmill and getting a mill that can reach through all the convolutions is necessary too.  Twisted logs will not want to dry straight.  Expect a lot of degrade.

Fla._Deadheader

 pbottle ??? I ain't even gonna ask ::) ::) :D :D

 We have cut Live Oak. It is hard. It is heavy, It is crooked. It makes great decking for trailers. You get a really sharp blade and keep the logs CLEAN, and it will saw pretty well. Can't push the travel speed too much.

  Where is the property located in Fl ???
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

pbottle

Thanks for the replies.

I do woodworking for a living, and my Dad just set up a pretty good shop at the place, so getting some stock right off the property would be nice.

I'd love to build a little house there with a timber-frame roof out of that crazy oak. Also, those grown-curves could find a nice little market up here with the boat-builders.

Deadheader, it's a one-horse town called Bushnell, a cattle town about  forty minutes down the railroad from Ocala.

Fla._Deadheader

 Yer just south of Orlando on the west side. Hope ya find a sawyer over there. Maybe the "BigDogPC" might saw for ya. He's in the Ocala area. ;) ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

sigidi

Pbottle,

can ya send us a pic of the tree's, I'm a bit far away and can't quite see 'em :D

Seriously, don't know what they are would like to see what they are to understand the issues a bit better.

TIA
Always willing to help - Allan

ellmoe

pbottle,
   I'm in Bushnell!  Bushnell Sawmill, WC48 , 3.5 west of I-75. Stop on by. I've cut some live oak, but there's live oak I'll cut and then there's that other live oak!  Stop on in anytime , welcome to the neighborhood.
Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

Fla._Deadheader

  Sigidi, here's some typical Live Oak trees




All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

pbottle

Hey Mark!

Yeah, I've been to your place several times over the last few years - you may remember, caint be that many yankees stoppin by. Actually, I'm a yankee by license plate only, all my family is from floridy. Last winter I stopped in to get a price for pine boards from ya to side a little cabin I built; I ended up using some old fir 2x10s we had, looks good - kinda like a squared log cabin.

What I'm looking for is to bring a portable mill onto the property, one that's right tweaked to cut that stuff. I heard that someone in south carolina cut a bunch of live oak on a wood-mizer for a wooden-ship replica. I've also heard that a blade with very little or zero hook is necessary for serious cutting of such dense and quilted wood?

Fla._Deadheader

  We use 13° hook for everything. Probably would be better to drop back to 4°, but, I don't want to change the setting on the sharpener, now that I got it where it saws well.
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

ellmoe

pbottle,
      You'd be surprised how many "Yanks" stop by the mill. I can always tell when it's warming up in our northern climates- all the "snowbirds" stop by "to get some cypress for ole Fred from down the street- you know we don't have cypress in Michigan (or New York, or ...)." :) We listen to their stories, load up the RV , and send them off till next year. It's amazing how many worked in a mill in their younger years.
    We've cut good ,straight live oak, not too twisted, with the standard hardwood blades from woodmizer. I usually have a magazine to read while I'm sawing it though, it can be slow going. :) There are a couple of portables in the area, ours are both electric. When you get back down here, call, I'll give you their number.
Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

pbottle

Thanks Mark. I may be down there this winter or early spring.

Yeah, I've noticed most of the snow-birds in your area are from the mid-west. Around here, even upstate newyork is considered the west.

Hey, by the way, if you know any local builder/carpenters looking for a job this winter, tell em to contact me. We're looking to get a shell built for my folks house.    

Bigdogpc

The 'dog has cut live oak and yup, there's some I'll cut and some I won't. ;D  I've had pretty good luck with the monkey blades right out of the box.  Have yerself a fine one!!!

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