Manjisann's Chainsaw Milling Adventures

[ManjiSann]

search, rustic, log furniture, live edge.  select images and if you see something you like, click it and it will head you down that road. the plastic kiln just shows you a way to keep stuff going this winter.  until you have a shed or a kiln.

Doc, thanks for the suggested search terms, I didn't think of "live edge" so I'll look for that as well. 
Brandon 

[ManjiSann]

I have been following this thread with great interest. It follows a very similar trajectory that I had. I got into CSM after seeing it in Fine Woodworking about 40 years ago.

Ultimately I designed and built most of my own furniture in colonial American style ( 1760-ish)- lots of carving -mainly walnut and black cherry etc,  
I ended up also forging my own carving chisels because I couldn't afford the store bought ones.

As for drying - outdoor gets you down to about 15% and then indoors to get it to 6-8%  - ready to work. I did my own re-sawing on an old Rockwell bandsaw.

I coated my ends with several coats of the cheapest latex paint I had - colours indicated when I sawed the trees. I've sawn maple, black cherry, walnut, birch, basswood, but not much softwood - not really worth  the effort.

I learned to carefully sharpen - got good at it.

Eventually had too much wood in storage so I stopped milling.
My latest CSM adventure was 2 years ago -  walnut tree that I had planted over 40 years ago - sad to do it, but it started to be a hazard. But I DID get the lumber out of it.
Maybe I make my own coffin out of it - delicately and generously carved :-} .
miro

Miro, thanks for taking the time to post about your adventure!  Not just to Miro but to all of you who started this adventure before the internet, my hat's off to you! I remember as a youth (I'd say as a kid but I'm still a kid in my head  8) ) there were so many things I wanted to learn how to do but I couldn't figure out how to for lack of information. The library often didn't have the books I would have liked. So for anyone that was a DIY person before the internet and things like this forum and youtube, again, mad respect, you guys are the true geniuses! Anyhow, back to Miro's post.
Would you post some pics of your carving chisels and a bit about how you forged them? I've watched Forged in Fire and think it'd be awesome to do some of my own forging/blacksmithing but have no solid plans to at the moment. Don't want to have to many irons in the fire as they say, but would still love to learn more. 
I've been using wax for coating my end grains but I may try paint for the biggest reason being I can write on it. Might be very educational to write things like beginning dimensions, MC, dates, etc on the end grain and then see how the board changes as it dries. Old Greenhorn got me thinking about learning and experimenting. The wax doesn't allow for writing and it clouds over a bit so if I wrote on the board before applying the wax it'd still be hard to read. 
Bummer about having to remove the walnut tree, but as you said, you got the wood and I'm sure you'll make something amazing out of it 
Brandon 

[captain_crunch]

File the teeth 90* instead of 35* you won't believe the difference and don't see saw the saw 

[ManjiSann]

Decided to trim the busted part of the ladder up

Makes you wonder how the ladder broke yet the remaining parts remained as straight as they are



Trimmed the busted part and filed it a bit to try and knock off the sharp edges in an effort to reduce injury in the future



Don't think I'll get to any milling tomorrow but hopefully Wednesday I'll either mill some of the bits I have already or maybe I'll get that magic text asking me to come pic a log up 

Brandon 

[ManjiSann]

Didn't think I'd get to anything today due to some stupid court stuff taking up my morning but had scheduled the day off work and decided to not go in and have a Mental Health day 

I cut down a 45 yo apricot tree near the beginning of all my adventures in June. Sadly I cut it into firewood lengths as at the time I had no idea I'd be getting the Husky and building a CSM. I remember when I cut it down I thought "Dang, wish I could mill this into lumber as there's some beautiful grain". So today I took a part of it and decided to mill it a bit. The little section was so light that I had a hard time keeping it still, the chain kept moving it so the cut was a bit rougher... that's my story and I'm sticking to it  :D :D



I tossed the pieces back in the wood pile in frustration but after thinking a bit I got them back out. I really would like to try cutting up some of the stuff I have even if it's smallish, I think it'd be good practice and a good learning experience as to what I can expect to find in a given configuration of wood. I figure I need to build some sort of holding jig or clamp system out of 2x4's to keep the logs stable and in place.

I think these two would yield some nice pieces



I've got a combination of cherry, apricot, pear in this pile. While not long many are pretty wide so if I can figure a way to hold them I'll cut them



Brandon 

[Old Greenhorn]

You've got some nice material there for barbecue cutting boards. Dry them, peel the bark, round the corners and sand them flat. A little tung oil and you are good to go. Everything has a purpose.
 You could also make little cocktail tables. just 3 legs might do. I sure would not burn them up.

[Nebraska]

I like that cutting board idea, those will look nifty all shined up. No idea Apricot looked that nice.

[ManjiSann]

You've got some nice material there for barbecue cutting boards. Dry them, peel the bark, round the corners and sand them flat. A little tung oil and you are good to go. Everything has a purpose.
You could also make little cocktail tables. just 3 legs might do. I sure would not burn them up.

OG, Great idea! I'll seal the ends and let them dry for a bit then turn one into a BBQ cutting board!  I have the other half of the crotch or whatever it was that these came from. I'll have to mill it out as well  Maybe I can mill that one a bit thicker to turn into a little table top.

The more I think on it the more a little three legged table would be fun to build. Maybe some adirondack chairs and little tables next to them to hold little drinks  8) 8) since everything is made of wood it'll all match  ;D

Brandon

[ManjiSann]

I like that cutting board idea, those will look nifty all shined up. No idea Apricot looked that nice.

I've only cut down the one apricot tree so I can only comment on it but it was very pretty wood. It was a beautiful tree, hated to see it cut down. 
Short story, got a call one Saturday from my wife asking if I'd loan her friends husband my chainsaw because his shorted out while cutting down his tree. I thought about it and said no but I'd be happy to help them cut it down when I was off work that evening. Got off work, expecting a little 8" diameter tree... nope thing was over 20" at the base, branches were bigger than a lot of fruit tree trunks I'd seen. At the time I only had the first little Poulan saw so we cut it into short sections we could easily carry and I brought them home with some vague notion about using them for smoking. Wish I'd had the CSM, woulda loved to mill the trunk and a few of those branches. 
Brandon 

[Hilltop366]

Google "charcuterie board" for ideas, apparently it's the latest thing.

[Old Greenhorn]

See? Now aren't you glad you didn't throw them in the fire? There's a guy around here who makes cutting boards out of his scraps, he glues the up from squares of various woods, like a checker board. He has sold 50 of them in recent months for over 100 bucks a pop. I have been thinking a bit lately about marketable items so when I saw that wood, that is what came to mind. Let's see how it goes, keep us in the loop.

[ManjiSann]

Google "charcuterie board" for ideas, apparently it's the latest thing.

Hilltop, I clicked the link and basically is that fancy language for cutting board?  :D :D  Seriously though, I'll look into it a bit more in depth. Would be cool to make small stuff that sells or at the very least to give to my neighbors.

Brandon 

[ManjiSann]

See? Now aren't you glad you didn't throw them in the fire? There's a guy around here who makes cutting boards out of his scraps, he glues the up from squares of various woods, like a checker board. He has sold 50 of them in recent months for over 100 bucks a pop. I have been thinking a bit lately about marketable items so when I saw that wood, that is what came to mind. Let's see how it goes, keep us in the loop.

Y'all are just full of great ideas!  I'll have to research the proper way to seal cutting boards as I know one of the risks with a wooden cutting board is stuff getting in the pores. 

Brandon 

[ManjiSann]

Didn't feel like sitting around watching TV all evening so went in the basement to cut more stickers in preparation for the bit of milling I'm hoping to do tomorrow. Decided to empty the shop vac as it wasn't sucking very well... heh solved that mystery at least 



Cut more stickers, super exciting... not



I'll cut them to length tomorrow once I decide what I'll mill.

It'll be cool when I've dried so much wood that I can start reusing stickers  8) 8)

Decided to add more stickers and straps to the pear boards and I'm glad I did. A few were starting to cup a bit and a few bow a bit. I think the thinner stickers on the bottom flexed so much from the straps tightening that it allowed or caused some of the problems. Switched the bottom ones to sections of 2x4 and strapped it all back up and it's looking good.



 Wish I'd weighed and measured a few before they started to dry, would be interesting to see the different numbers now as I swear they're noticeably lighter. Can't wait for the moisture meter to arrive 

Brandon 

[JoshNZ]

You need to get a lathe =D. The short knotty ugly pieces that you don't want to mill, love going on a faceplate!

[Old Greenhorn]

Y'all are just full of great ideas!  I'll have to research the proper way to seal cutting boards as I know one of the risks with a wooden cutting board is stuff getting in the pores.

Brandon

Tung oil is likely what you want. Search for it here on the FF. Here is one link: http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=105659.msg1651380#msg1651380
Works for me.

[ManjiSann]

You need to get a lathe =D. The short knotty ugly pieces that you don't want to mill, love going on a faceplate!

There's an idea    I don't know where I'd put a lathe in my shop, it's rather packed at the moment. If nothing else I have a friend that is planning to get a lathe, I'll have to see if he'd like the pieces 
Brandon 

[ManjiSann]

Y'all are just full of great ideas!  I'll have to research the proper way to seal cutting boards as I know one of the risks with a wooden cutting board is stuff getting in the pores.

Brandon

Tung oil is likely what you want. Search for it here on the FF. Here is one link: http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=105659.msg1651380#msg1651380
Works for me.

If stores sell tung oil, do they also sell elbow grease?  :D :D :D  Wish I could find a store that also sold ambition!
Seriously though, thank you for the information and taking the time to find and post the link. I need to set aside an hour or two a week to just read the links and info provided and delve deeper into all of this  :P  So much to learn... there should be a Forestry Forum degree offered  ;D 
Brandon 

[doc henderson]

some of us have earned the forestry forum "BS"  degree  :D  @tule peak timber @Old Greenhorn @Southside 

[tule peak timber]

Bachelor of Sawdust ?????????

[Ed_K]

 1st pic reply 104 would make some nice wall clocks.

[Nebraska]

Pretty soon we're going to see  Manjisann's today's happy customer posts.  ;)

[JoshNZ]

You need to get a lathe =D. The short knotty ugly pieces that you don't want to mill, love going on a faceplate!

There's an idea    I don't know where I'd put a lathe in my shop, it's rather packed at the moment. If nothing else I have a friend that is planning to get a lathe, I'll have to see if he'd like the pieces 
Brandon

Failing that you can always sell turning blanks. If you cut smaller 2-3" slabs into round discs then dry them, wood turner's will pay for them, over here at least. Particularly figured stuff. Burls and crotches etc

[ManjiSann]

Bachelor of Sawdust ?????????

Masters of Man Glitter  8) 8) 8)
Brandon 

[ManjiSann]

1st pic reply 104 would make some nice wall clocks.

My wife saw them and suggested the same thing! Great minds think alike it would seem  ;D
Brandon