The Forestry Forum

General Forestry => Sawmills and Milling => Topic started by: WDH on February 28, 2013, 09:59:36 PM

Title: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on February 28, 2013, 09:59:36 PM
I cut pecan ( smiley_devil) today, so I am a little beat up and put out.  I cut one board today that even a PhD in geometry could not figure out  :).  I am going to either have to have a serious talk with the genus Carya, or either come to the conclusion that this genus cannot be rehabilitated  :-\.

I have 6 more logs to go and not as much appetite to saw them as I had when I started.  Anybody need any bowed, thick-n-thin, split, green pecan boards for a project?  I will make you a deal.  They are free  :D.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: hackberry jake on February 28, 2013, 10:05:23 PM
I have some of the very same boards!
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: thecfarm on February 28, 2013, 10:06:27 PM
The temperature is about 30° here now. I can think of a project real fast.   :D
By the way,did someone mention PIE????
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: mikeb1079 on February 28, 2013, 10:19:52 PM
Quotetell me kid....have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?

i'm sorry to hear that your dance turned so sour wdh.   :'(  however i believe i read that you're retired, live in georgia (where the temps are in the 70s?, and have a 200 acre woodlot.  now i don't feel so sorry for you anymore.   :D :) :laugh:
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on February 28, 2013, 10:31:16 PM
Quote from: mikeb1079 on February 28, 2013, 10:19:52 PM
:'(  however i believe i read that you're retired, live in georgia (where the temps are in the 70s?, and have a 200 acre woodlot.  now i don't feel so sorry for you anymore.   :D :) :laugh:

I guess that if you put it like that, then things are not too bad at all.  What is a little pecan misery in the big scheme of things  ??? :D.

Ray, maybe we need to stick to the nuts  :).
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: mikeb1079 on February 28, 2013, 10:34:49 PM
 :D :D :D

pecan is just there to remind you of how nice it is to saw anything else.   :)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on February 28, 2013, 10:37:27 PM
The problem is that I also have three hackberry logs to saw, too  :). 
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on February 28, 2013, 11:01:44 PM
 smiley_horserider
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: hackberry jake on February 28, 2013, 11:11:32 PM
Quote from: WDH on February 28, 2013, 10:37:27 PM
The problem is that I also have three hackberry logs to saw, too  :). 
Oh, I see how it is, discriminating against the ole hackberry, and I thought I was welcome here  :(
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on March 01, 2013, 07:14:19 AM
Jake,

You have a tendency to twist and warp.  This can be overlooked  :D.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: Po-Jo on March 01, 2013, 08:06:36 AM
so is there any hope for pecan wood? other than the smoker? I had always thought there must be something you can use/ build with that wood, even if its a barn / chicken coup , tho I was hoping more for flooring , interior wall, heck even some type of furniture,
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: 5quarter on March 01, 2013, 08:20:57 AM
WDH...cut your 3 hackberrys, stack em up and pile those pecans on top to keep everything in order.  ;) :D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: bama20a on March 01, 2013, 08:40:25 AM
Quote from: Po-Jo on March 01, 2013, 08:06:36 AM
so is there any hope for pecan wood? other than the smoker? I had always thought there must be something you can use/ build with that wood, even if its a barn / chicken coup , tho I was hoping more for flooring , interior wall, heck even some type of furniture,
Yep,There is if you know how to work with it,Look here.https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,62883.0.html
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: ND rancher on March 01, 2013, 09:22:11 AM
WDH,  I'm wondering, if you deliver I would take it of your hands.(just saying) I would like to meet this  smiley_devil wood you talk about. Remember I'm new and (like a teenager) nothing is impossible!     Keith
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: CalebL on March 01, 2013, 09:45:21 AM
Why do you guys have such a problem with pecan?  Put a 10 degree blade on and crank your tensioner as far as it will go and have at it.  I also found a diesel/bar oil lube works really well. 

Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: mesquite buckeye on March 01, 2013, 10:15:18 AM
Quote from: WDH on February 28, 2013, 09:59:36 PM
I cut pecan ( smiley_devil) today, so I am a little beat up and put out.  I cut one board today that even a PhD in geometry could not figure out  :).  I am going to either have to have a serious talk with the genus Carya, or either come to the conclusion that this genus cannot be rehabilitated  :-\.

I have 6 more logs to go and not as much appetite to saw them as I had when I started.  Anybody need any bowed, thick-n-thin, split, green pecan boards for a project?  I will make you a deal.  They are free  :D.

Just keep flippin that log till they don't curl no mo.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WH_Conley on March 01, 2013, 10:22:08 AM
Do what I do with Hickory. Make 4 cuts, call it a cross tie and cut the slabs into firewood.

If anybody wants anything else out of Hickory, the price goes up enough to cover the nerve pills. ;D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: mesquite buckeye on March 01, 2013, 10:53:16 AM
Quote from: CalebL on March 01, 2013, 09:45:21 AM
Why do you guys have such a problem with pecan?  Put a 10 degree blade on and crank your tensioner as far as it will go and have at it.  I also found a diesel/bar oil lube works really well.

Or a 9, or maybe a 7. I don't get what all the hubub is about. Can't imagine the slabs curl up more than 6 or 8 inches during the cut. Big deal. Once you get the tension out, should be no problemo. Try some big, curvy lateral branches on a mesquite or a cottonwood if you want to see some drama.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: OneWithWood on March 01, 2013, 01:28:37 PM
Danny, this is but a test from the wood god.

Your task, or trial if you prefer, is to accept the shenanigans of those logs and make something beautiful and useful out of them.

It can be done and you are just the man to do it  :D

I think those little sticks used to impart flavor to cooked meats are a true thing of beauty!  :)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: dgdrls on March 01, 2013, 07:51:57 PM
For us northerners who only saw Pecan's cousin the Hickory as I understand,
is this true?

"Clever as the Devil and twice as pretty."

― Holly Black

anyone care to share some Pecan pics?

DGDrls
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: hackberry jake on March 01, 2013, 08:30:08 PM
heres one


 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25938/pecan.jpg)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: CalebL on March 01, 2013, 08:42:34 PM
hahahah........Nice.  I have some pics of some 24" wide pecan slabs though......to be continued........
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: SwampDonkey on March 01, 2013, 08:57:00 PM
I had some 2" yellow birch sawed some time ago, just part of a whack that I wanted random thickness and width from some logs. There was 2 or 3 of those that twisted like a spiral staircase. I never looked close at them to see what was going on with the grain. But they came from nice logs. At least they was nice when I hauled them in to mill. Never know sometimes. Maybe I got traded. :D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on March 01, 2013, 10:02:42 PM
Not a blade or a lube issue, but a tension in the log issue.  Did not matter if you flipped the log after each and every cut.  Nothing you can do about some logs except cut the lumber thick like was mentioned.  Maybe the other logs will behave better  :).
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: Magicman on March 01, 2013, 10:49:06 PM
I have seen smaller Pecan logs that could/would not be sawed.  My experience has been that the larger the log is, better it behaves.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: PC-Urban-Sawyer on March 02, 2013, 01:40:33 AM
Quote from: mikeb1079 on February 28, 2013, 10:34:49 PM
:D :D :D

pecan is just there to remind you of how nice it is to saw anything else.   :)

And then you get something like this:

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10074/wbdangbrds02.jpg)

Thats some pecan  smiley_devil that Woodbowl milled for DanG several years back...

If I could get wood like that I'd be pleased to say "The  smiley_devil made me do it!"

Herb
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: customsawyer on March 02, 2013, 04:42:03 AM
Danny some logs are meant to burn.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: fat olde elf on March 03, 2013, 06:19:02 PM
Danny,
Does the W in WDH stand for WHINE ? Retired, new building, upgraded saw, nice wife, host of friends and admirers, position of responsibility on the Forum and living in wonderful Georgia....Seems like that would warrant an attitude of gratitude,not whining about some @#$%^ pecan pos logs. Say your prayers...
Even with all that, I still admire you..............
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: Mooseherder on March 03, 2013, 06:23:23 PM
Maybe you missed it but it was all in jest fat old elf.
Danny isn't a whiner.  Pure man, and a good one at that. :)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: red on March 03, 2013, 06:32:17 PM
sometimes a sawmill is really a firewood machine
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: SwampDonkey on March 03, 2013, 06:32:31 PM
I was gonna ask how much shrinkage he had anticipated, but I didn't want to start noth'n.  ;D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: Mooseherder on March 03, 2013, 06:36:44 PM
I cooked some chicken over chunks of pecan and charcoal this afternoon in my pit.
Got quite a few compliments from the crew.  Some of them complimented twice. ;)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on March 03, 2013, 08:04:08 PM
Quote from: hackberry jake on February 28, 2013, 11:11:32 PM
Quote from: WDH on February 28, 2013, 10:37:27 PM
The problem is that I also have three hackberry logs to saw, too  :). 
Oh, I see how it is, discriminating against the ole hackberry, and I thought I was welcome here  :(

OK Jake,

Here is a pic of some of the hackberry lumber.  I want to be sure and give hackberry equal time on a thread dealing with the devil  :D.



 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/011.JPG)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: mesquite buckeye on March 03, 2013, 08:43:51 PM
Looks like super nice stuff to me... Would make some nice bookmatches. ;D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: hackberry jake on March 03, 2013, 08:47:52 PM
Mmmm hackberry. ;D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on March 03, 2013, 08:54:31 PM
See, I was thinking about you  ;D.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: Okrafarmer on March 03, 2013, 10:42:21 PM
Quote from: Magicman on March 01, 2013, 10:49:06 PM
I have seen smaller Pecan logs that could/would not be sawed.  My experience has been that the larger the log is, better it behaves.

Isn't that pretty much true of all species? I've found that the big old sweetgum logs around here (over 20") mill up pretty well with few problems. From what I've seen most of the tension issues from logs comes from milling saplings instead of mature trees. Any insights, or am I all wet on that?
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: hackberry jake on March 04, 2013, 12:01:31 AM
I think it depends on age more than it depends on size. I cut up a cherry tree that was about 22" dbh and it dried flawlessly. It was over 100 years old. A couple years later I cut up a 38" cherry tree that was 58 years old and it has cupped and split more than I ever would've expected.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: isawlogs on March 04, 2013, 12:19:59 AM
 Danny, I will suggest that you burn it now before it get too hot out.  :)
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on March 04, 2013, 07:17:56 AM
I have had the same experience on tension prone species where the small ones act the worst. 

Marcell, we could have a whack of a bonfire  ;D.
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: isawlogs on March 04, 2013, 09:35:17 AM
   move_it  fire_smiley   smiley_sweat_drop    :D
Title: Re: Dancing with the Devil
Post by: WDH on March 04, 2013, 07:42:08 PM
That about sums it up  :D.