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Stripping bark with a pressure washer?

Started by nybhh, March 19, 2019, 12:25:55 PM

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nybhh

I had a light bulb go off this morning and was wondering if anyone uses a pressure washer to strip the bark off of logs before milling?  If so, how did it go?  I have a 3200 PSI Simpson PW with the typical assortment of spray tips and feel like the right combo might make quick work of it.  I need to mill about 1200 BF of EWP for barn roof decking and feel like the bark of pine is responsible for about 75% of blade wear.  
Woodmizer LT15, Kubota L3800, Stihl MS261 & 40 acres of ticks trees.

Percy

I tried that a few years ago but the logs I was cutting didn't cooperate that well. The net result though was longer blade life as even though I wasn't removing much bark, I was removing some dirt. 
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

Deese

The bark collects dirt, sand, etc over time and that's primarily what dulls your blade prematurely. Pressure washing would work great even if the bark is not removed. 
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
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Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

YellowHammer

I did it for awhile and it does work well. Pretty wet and messy though.  Doesn't really remove the bark but strips off most of the mud.

If I have muddy bark on logs, I will generally use my forklift attachment on the loader to bear down on the log's side and strip the bark off in big chunks like peeling an onion.  Sometimes on pine, just dropping them a few times will flake the bark off.  
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If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

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nybhh

Most of my logs get carried out of the woods with my FEL so they tend to not get too dirty as long as they don't exceed my loader capacity.  Sounds like it might not be worth the hassle if the logs are pretty clean to begin with.  I wonder how much of blade wear is the result of the bark itself or just dirt and abrasives that tend to get caught in the bark? 
Woodmizer LT15, Kubota L3800, Stihl MS261 & 40 acres of ticks trees.

bandmiller2

I'm not a big production sawyer, I clean the band/saws path with a wire brush. Many times wile cleaning I find small stones or hardware and can remove them. I have used a debarker and was glad to shut it off beep, beep, beep. Debarkers are handy especially if you mill from a remote position. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

whatwas

On the topic of pressure washing dirt out of the bark I have a question.
One of the granite quarries I work out of has some nice Oaks that are  destined to be cut down but talking to one of the old timers that has worked there for years, he says the dust from years (35yrs+) of crushing  has embedded rock dust into the trees and will dull a chainsaw (or bandsaw) in seconds. I'm not sure whether to believe him or he's saying that to discourage me from asking the owners about getting some logs. If the dirt is just in the bark than a pressure washer should work but can the dust penetrate the log as it grows over the years?
life is good

thecfarm

That bark is close to peeling now. Here in another month or really 2 when it gets above freezing day and night,that bark will peel off real easy with a spud. It will peel easy right up until July here. I run the chainsaw the length of the log and that gives me a place to put the spud in and start peeling. I peeled all my hemlock a few years ago.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

moodnacreek

Had a customer that would do this to e.red cedar for pole projects, came off very clean.

WDH

Quote from: whatwas on March 19, 2019, 08:21:09 PM
If the dirt is just in the bark than a pressure washer should work but can the dust penetrate the log as it grows over the years?
No, the dust cannot get into the wood.  Old bark, as it ages, sloughs off, and new bark is formed at the cambium. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

GullyBog

Whatwas, that's interesting.  Microscopic diseases enter through small cracks in the bark and I imagine dust could too. Anything that gets through the bark ends up in the wood.  The dust on the outside of the bark shouldn't affect the wood inside.  The dust in the soil shouldn't matter either.  I'd like to mill one of those just to see, especially if they're older than the crusher.  The earlier tree rings should be "softer" if the dust is getting into the wood.  
There might be a little dust on the butt log, but don't let if fool ya bout what's inside

WDH

The dust cannot get into the wood because of the way the cambium divides.  The cambium makes wood on the inside and bark on the outside. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

GullyBog

I respectfully disagree.  The bark protects the cambium.  If something is able to penetrate the bark it I think it could become imbedded in both the wood and bark that is formed by the cambium.  When trees grow fast there are "splits" in the bark, chestnut blight spores are an example of something dust sized that penetrate bark splits and infect the cambium.  This fascinates me, if I put a grain of sand into the cambium what would happen?  I think it would be imbedded in the wood.  Now I'm making tree pearls, time for bed.
There might be a little dust on the butt log, but don't let if fool ya bout what's inside

Brucer

One of my customers wanted to strip the bark on a Douglas-Fir log that he was going to turn into a handrail. I loaned him my draw knife, but he brought it right back :D. Then he tried an 1800 PSI electric pressure washer, which didn't to a thing :(. Next he tried a 2200 PSI electric pressure washer, with similar results >:(. Finally he rented a 3600 psi gas powered pressure washer and that did the trick. Stripped the bark but left the wood undamaged :).
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

WDH

There is difference between a fungal spore that germinates on contact and produces fungal hyphae that penetrate the wood and a grain of granite dust that is inert. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

crowhill

I use a pressure washer on really dirty logs and it will take the bark off. The only issue I have is the amount of mess left behind and usually have to wait for the area to dry some before it can be cleaned up decently. But it does work!
TimberKing B-20, Kubota M-4900 w/FEL with tooth bar, hyd thumb and forks, Farmi winch, 4 chain saws.

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