Here's one thing I did with those branches I milled-Saddle Racks

[Brad_bb]

A couple years ago I posted about the small walnut and Ash branches I was milling.  There were 4-7 inches in dia.  I saved stuff like this thinking I could use it for live edge railings, or pickets in a railing or who knows what?  Some sawyers said those aren't logs.  Well maybe not, but they are worth milling to me.  Recently some of this material came in handy.  It was walnut branches 5-6" dia and was cut 2.5-3.5" thick.  They were plenty dry after several years.  They ended up being resawn and planed into 1.25" thick stock for braces on the saddle racks in our tack room.  I did not build the saddle racks.  Acorn Woodworks here in Westfield In did.  I supplied the walnut stock for the braces as I thought it would look a lot better than straight ash braces.  The rest of the saddle racks are ash that I supplied.  Some leftover material from all the Ash I sawed for the inside walls of our barns. We didn't have enough bridle hangers/medallions for the top row of racks, so we are waiting on those to arrive.  You can see them on the lower two rows.  We have a separate pivoting rack for the saddle blankets we haven't installed yet, but it will attach to the post in the picture.


 

 

[Walnut Beast]

Looks fantastic!! Love that you utilized the small stuff that most people wouldn't mess with!! 

[Don P]

Nice job . I've seen branch cookies used for tack hangers in a nearby barn.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Great look and great idea.

  I am going to try cutting some similar sized limbs and tops I have accumulated into thin lath type strips about 3/8" thick. I sawed some similar strips for a customer and liked the look and am going to try it with some stuff laying around in the way. My original plan was maybe 2.25" square stock for bench legs. I figure there may be a market with the craft people or I can make crates and such out of them and see if they sell.

[Brad_bb]

What is a lathe strip? Maybe its not lathe like a turning machine, but like the strips on a plaster wall?  They may not dry well being that thin.  The branches I cut two flats on end up 2.5-4"  or so.  They dry like that.  Being that thick they don't move much.  We resawed after drying into the 1.25"  pieces.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Yes it is Lath not Lathe. It is a thin strip like people used to use for holding plaster. I routinely make them 3/8" thick and 2" wide by simply edging my 2" flitches on 8/4 lumber in half inch drops. The 1/8" kerf leaves me with the 3/8" strips. I use them for making crates and such like these.


They can be used for all kind of projects. I had a customer order and today he picked up some 3.5" wide and some 2" wide for projects he does (He makes coolers from them). He had been using old pallets but was tired of cutting them up and said that was his least part of building them. He was thrilled with the ones I'd cut.

  Yes, they need to be stickered good on a straight, flat surface with weight on top but they dry a lot straighter than you might think. Being so thin they dry quickly and I suspect I need to be careful not to dry them too quickly. I've only used poplar in the past but am excited to see what walnut and cherry  looks like. It may not work well but it is certainly not a waste of high value wood and more of a salvage project the way I see it since the size "logs" I'm thinking of normally get tossed in the firewood pile anyway.

[Don P]

 I was down in the barn the other day after y'all were talking about sawing lath. I use it making models and trying out ideas often enough. There was the multi species trebuchet and 2 bridge trusses hanging from the ceiling and a Howe truss in process on the table. The howe is to scale in thickness, width and length, so I planed the final dimensions. I've done the same thing for modeling house framing. Just another use of lathing.

[Sod saw]

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Hi Brad,  I sure like the looks of those saddle racks.  The breathable design looks like a winner.

Not having ridden in many years and perhaps the technology has changed making saddles lighter, but I would have a hard time getting a saddle up on to the higher racks.  Are they making saddles lighter now?   Maybe more synthetics now?

Or are you folks out west taller and stronger than those of us back east? 

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[Brad_bb]

Thanks.  I'm in the midwest.  The bottom two rows are no problem.  The top row is for ones rarely used.  Need to use the step ladder for those.  Tack room and laundry/utility room have cabinets specific for step ladders.

[SwampDonkey]

They look great, gives the racks come contrast. ;D

[Brad_bb]

In the prototype, the slats were just glued into a mortise in the end pieces.  It was decided to dovetail them (see bottom pic) for a little more strength due to the weight they need to hold and the impact of dropping the saddle on there.