Howdy Good Forestry Folks-
A friend and I are embarking on the grand journey of milling and drying our own wood. We're building a kiln, getting a small mill - adventure awaits!
I'm new to the forum so pardon me if there's already a designated space for this question but...
What books, periodicals, videos, etc - do folks recommend for learning the art/trade of the sawyer. Obviously this is a skill which takes years to master, but we'd like to ramp up our learning curve as quickly as possible. Also if there are any good suggestions for info about drying, that would be welcome as well.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
best,
Charles
Welcome to the forum, cjderosa! In my experience, there seems to be more published info on drying lumber than sawing. I haven't read any of the drying books, one of the sawing books I have read was by the author Dan Cassens, if I remember correctly. It is available as a free download, or Woodmizer sells it as a book. That's all I can really add for now, other than to say that experience, just getting out there and doing it, and this forum will likely be the best info you will come across. That has been my experience, anyhow. And some of the guys that are far more knowledgeable than I will be along shortly to help you out ;) Also, check out the Drying and Processing board for a wealth of info on kiln drying, etc.
Please update your profile so we know where you are and a little more about you. As suggested before, try to find a FF member near you and volunteer to off-bear and I bet you will learn a bunch! I wish there was someone close to me. I've completed my home-build mill and have cut up about 20 logs varying in size from 8 to 14" in diameter and 16' down to 5' in length. I've stacked and air-dried a couple weeks and learned a bit about how my choice of cutting affects the final product. Biggest thing I've learned is how much wood shrinks!
Thanks Guys. Good start, much appreciated.
John, good suggestion about updating the location in our profile - it has been done.
For the record, we are in Los Angeles, California - going to bring some urban forestry to this big city!
Thanks
cj
Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
Should we presume you are thinking of a bandmill for sawing?
There are swing mills and there are circular mills too. Keep feeding questions that come up and we as a Forum will feed back answers and likely more questions.. but pull up a stump and join in.
A couple that I purchase recently that I liked were Full Value Forestry and Full Vigor Forestry by Jim Birkemeier. Good info on woodlot management, some on sawing, kiln drying, some on urban timber, value added products and direct marketing.
There are quite a number of free articles to download from the online bookstore for Purdue University's Extension Department. Go to their web page:
mdc.itap.purdue.edu
and then select the 'Forestry and Lumber' category on the left.
While Purdue is a long way from Los Angeles, their articles are relevant to more than just the midwest hardwoods.
You can purchase Dan Cassen's book (in CD form, actually) form that website as well. It's $20.
Charles
CJ, welcome to the FF. One book I recommend for anyone who works with wood is Understanding Wood by Bruce Hoadley. Very handy reference book, and it covers a lot of subjects.
Thanks everybody for the wonderful response. We're going with the Lucas 8-30 mill. Looking to cut both slab and dimensional lumber. Can't tell you how intrigued/excited/intimidated I am by this undertaking. Good to know there's a strong community of knowledgeable folks out there. Much more to come.
best
Charles
cjderosa,welcome to the forum. Good luck with the new adventure. You stated our own wood. Is this for your own use in building?
I believe if you search the Forum, you'll come up with more information then you'll find in most books. The Forum is written by people that have had problems solved by other people that have solved those problems. It is also an ongoing wealth of information that continues to expand.
I will tell you that my experience has been that good sawing and product comes mainly from good saw maintenance. Without that, you're sunk. I don't know where there is a book on that, but a lot of the solutions comes from hands on experience. You might want to find someone with a swing mill and go to their operation for a day. Watch what they do, ask questions, take pictures, and take notes. It may mean you will have to travel, but it will be time and money well spent.
Equipment setup and maintenance avoids problems, Mill layout speed up production and reduces milling costs. They also should be addressed before you set blade to wood. Marketing and log procurement are also factors for success.
It sounds like you have a business plan in your head. Hopefully you put it down on paper. Care to elaborate?
Here's a link to woodmizer site with a good dvd & book. Good luck & be careful what you wish for. Some say sawing is an addiction!
http://woodmizer.com/Store/Home/Misc
Is this the Lucas 8-30 that you have, as shown in this video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq8LEFOL7Xc
Not a very good video, but shows the general idea.
Good to ask questions for the Lucas owners here to provide answers.
Welcome to the forum! Check out Sawmill & Woodlot Management magazine (www.sawmillmag.com). A couple of books that you might find helpful are "Harvesting Urban Timber" by Sam Sherrill, "Sawmilling for Woodworkers" by Robert Bjorklund and Charlie Griffin, and the "Ultimate Guide to Portable Sawmills" published by Norwood Sawmills. If you can make it, I'd also recommend attending the Great Portable Sawmill Shoot-Out at the Paul Bunyan show in Cambridge, OH the first weekend in Oct. Lucas will be well-represented at that show, by the way.
The only piece of advance I would give is that if you are milling mostly urbin lumber, get a REAL GOOD metal detector. A really good one will save you some saw blade taps and/or slabing chains.
Thanks Everybody for the wise words.
Charles
I got started by reading the Saw mill and Woodlot magazine, if I remember right the wood doctor has many articles on drying and sawing, with back issues available, as to published books, I come up empty on this, but as barbender mentioned, getting in and sawing, taking good notes, searching and reading some past threads should give you a great starting point. There really is no substitute for learning by doing, just take notes, and remember how logs react from varying open face cuts, this pretty much determines the pattern you will go with, and remember there will always be a need for flexibility even after opening a face. Stresses will most likely be the biggest challenge in dealing with logs. Hang in there, it is an up hill climb for the most part, and never forget, as was told to me," get ready for the heat and the cold!" the in between times are to be charished ;D
If you could find a local sawmiller in your area.. ask him if you could help for the day.. tell him you want to learn. Watch some of the demo's on the different manufactures websites.. you can see the levels of automation from different models of sawmills. Best luck on your adventure..
Welcome to the Forestry Forum, cjderosa. Surely Lucas has some instructional videos. Google is also your friend for finding videos.