Whatcha Sawin' 2020 ??

[Brad_bb]

Week 5 cutting my Ash piles.  Just starting another log pile with both some small and some medium 5 foot logs.  I feel like MM in the sandbox, but with no sand.  I'm out of the mud after having turned the mill around and loading via the driveway and moving one log pile to be accessible from the driveway.  The firewood is nearly gone.  I've been splitting the large rounds and other leftover firewood from last summer with a maul and a few of the construction crew have been taking it as I split it.  I bundled up 6 bundles of edgings I cut to firewood length for kindling.  



 

Why does the color of Ash vary from very light cream to light brown?  IT seems random and splotchy sometimes.  Look at this one, one side is brown and the other cream?  What happens over time, does it even out some?  


 

[WV Sawmiller]

Brad,

   How are your ash logs in stock holding up? Mine are getting badly spalted but I did a poor job of storing them directly on the ground. Most are gone.

   I ran out of firewood so I went out to cut a big dead ash I have been watching. It had one long limb sticking out on the opposite side of where I wanted it to fall and I am very scared when cutting ash of tops and limbs falling. This one turned out to be about 30" at the butt and close enough to my line fence and corner gate to hit them so I took the extra precaution of wrapping a long 1/4" cable around it then through a snatch block to convenient Norway spruce then to my tractor. I gave it a couple of good jerks with John before I went over and notched then cut it. I had put a new 24" bar and new chain on my Stihl 441 and it cut real good. Once I was as comfortable as I was going to get I got back on the tractor and pulled and it came right on down where I wanted. It did take a small buckeye with it but I expected that as they were nearly growing together. The tree top broke into several big pieces but the butt log seems solid but spalted up about 14-15 ft. I pulled down a big limb or two but still have not bucked the log which will challenge the limits of my tractor and my mill but will likely provide enough lumber to finish the back and short end of my new shed project. 


 
Big patches of bark already slipped. Very ugly limb on the left over where I needed to make my back cut. I did not get a picture of it on the ground but all went well and I lived to tell about it. These trees always scare me when I cut one and when they don't I will probably stop cutting them as they deserve all our respect. Weather and schedule permitting I may saw this one the end of the week. It will also provide enough firewood to finish out the year for me from the tops and limbs.

[Brad_bb]

Pretty good so far.  They were dead standing and taken down last year as soon as the tree guys could get in(which was spotty in June through the end of the summer). There may be some from earlier in the spring, not totally sure. I've gone through one pile of logs (30-40 or so).  Some minor spalting in maybe 1/2 dozen, but not enough to weaken the boards.  With ash, it doesn't take much spalting to weaken the wood, but these few must have just started as I judged them ok to still use.  Any log with a hole where water has been getting in is going to have more spalting or rot around that area.  I'm thinking that the ones showing some spalt may have been on top of the pile.  The last ones I cut (today), even through they are smaller logs, were near the bottom and were probably kept more dry.  They had no spalting.

I was expecting more spalting, and honestly thought some might end up as firewood, but none have ended up firewood.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Brad, to me the light color in your photo looks like sapwood and the darker heartwood. 

[busenitzcww]

@WV Sawmiller , we need pics of said spalted ash.  ;D

[Brad_bb]

 
I'm starting to think that maybe the color is oxidation? After it's exposed to air long enough that it darkens to that light brown? In this picture you can see at the end of the log where more oxygen is getting to the end is changing color.



   Here is some of my minor spalting on the edge of these book match boards. The rest of the board is clean.


 

[WV Sawmiller]

@WV Sawmiller , we need pics of said spalted ash.  ;D

 

 

 These are pix of boards I already installed on my shed with varying degrees of spalting down to boarderline punky. They would never work where strength is required but are okay for a non weight bearing wall covering.


 On the upper left you can see spalting in the stump of the tree I cut yesterday.


 This is a picture of the big dead ash I showed in an earlier post but did not get a picture yesterday. The butt log is about 30" where cut.


 Same tree , different angle. Lots of firewood and maybe 2 saw logs.

[Kwill]

Cut my first oak on the new mill. This was a post oak. It had been cut maybe 3 weeks. Seem to be really hard. I'm wondering if I would have cut it right after falling it if would of made a difference. I was using 4 degree woodmizer double hard. 

 

 

 


This a 6x8x10 I made for my beams on my wagon running gear build.

[Magicman]

Post Oak does not like to give up without a fight so neither 3 weeks nor 6 months would have made any real difference.  It is the absolute best that you could have chosen for your wagon project.

Well maybe Black Locust, but that ain't what you had.   ;D 

[tule peak timber]

Cutting cedar today from the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, CA. Today is the first day on the job which will yield architectural millwork for the New Natural Resources Headquarters in Sacramento, CA. A tic above freezing; rain and sleet today. I have posted more about this project in the customer's project thread.



 

[Ljohnsaw]

With those temps, I'm assuming you are cutting up in Paradise?

[tule peak timber]

No , we are in the mountains above Palm Springs,,,,it snowed a little today.....
  I'm trucking in the cedar and redwood from Paradise for this project and some large gate builds about to start up.Lots of wood (log loads) on the market this week with the uncertainty in the future. Stock up ! 

[Kwill]

Post Oak does not like to give up without a fight so neither 3 weeks nor 6 months would have made any real difference.  It is the absolute best that you could have chosen for your wagon project.

Well maybe Black Locust, but that ain't what you had.   ;D

Do you think it will be stout enough?

 

[Ljohnsaw]

No , we are in the mountains above Palm Springs,,,,it snowed a little today.....
 I'm trucking in the cedar and redwood from Paradise for this project and some large gate builds about to start up.Lots of wood (log loads) on the market this week with the uncertainty in the future. Stock up !

I can't get into my place with probably 6 or 7 feet of snow :-\  Last fall I couldn't get truckers to call back.  I'd think you could lease some property up there cheap right now to pre-process the logs down to rough lumber to take home to finish milling.

[tule peak timber]

I have a lot of room to stack and store, while all other property around me is much sought after by the dope growers. We just keep our heads down and mind our own business..........

[btulloh]

Do you think it will be stout enough?

More than stout enough.  Those are fantastic.  The traditional size for those is 2x8 or 3x8, so I'd say you're good, and then some.  Looking good!

[GAB]

Post Oak does not like to give up without a fight so neither 3 weeks nor 6 months would have made any real difference.  It is the absolute best that you could have chosen for your wagon project.

Well maybe Black Locust, but that ain't what you had.   ;D

Do you think it will be stout enough?

If you finish building the wagon bed in the same proportion as those two beams you will need to get a 10 ton running gear to be able to put any load on.   My guess is that that running gear may be rated for 5 tons at best.
btulloh's comment I agree with.
GAB

[DennisK]

That running gear looks less than 3 ton, with auto tires on it.

[Kwill]

It's a 5 ton and the tires are temporary just to move it around. The top I will finish with 2x 6.5 ft long. I'm thinking about putting the beams back on the mill and taking 1 1/2  off them. They would be 4.5 x 8 and I'd have my 2 long boards going down the sides

[Kwill]

 Milling some boards for the wagon

 

 

[redbeard]

 
 milled some pilings that were salvaged from Bellingham Wa. Bay
I believe it's larch 
 
 very heavy and tight grain.
 

 
 beautiful grain and staining from being in mud for years. Bad thing is they have a very strong petroleum smell.

 They are going too be 10" x 10" x 16' posts for my mill cover 

[doc henderson]

wow those will work great.  I am surprised the smell is bad after all the years.  is it after they are cut, or even before?.  I wonder if after they are cut, if a top sealer like a spar urethane if you want them natural, or like a odor sealing varnish like Kilz/zinsser ect. if white is ok.  I think they still have an oil based available.  that is what we used when rebuilding houses after a fire.  That was all the work back in the early 80s when interest rates were 18 to 21%, and no one was building new houses.  looks like it would be easy to roll on with a roller and extended handle.

[redbeard]

My friend that brought these poles 5 or 6 years ago. That's how long they been collecting dust in the woodlot.
I think I made a post about them back then.
Anyway I milled one of the bigger ones a 20+" pole on the ole B-20 5 years ago and they had the smell then also.
The wider 2-1/2" live edge slabs had georgous grey staining  probably the part of pole that was in ground. A customer bought them and made a table out it and I asked him later about the smell and he said it went away.
There not treated and when they pulled them out of bay they still had bark on them.
There's a big refinery in Bellingham and the pilings were very old and abandoned pier for many years, they probably just soaked up the pollution over the years.
I will just keep them natural  I also like the wane on them.
One thing for sure they are going to  extremely strong posts.
I try too use material with a story when building around my sawmill village.

[tule peak timber]

Redbeard, how is that orchard walnut coming along ? Pics ? Did you put any in your kiln ?  Rob

[Magicman]

Jeff, I suppose that you will build the new sawmill shed before you move the Cooks.  ???  I know that sawing the posts is one step closer and exciting.


 
Jeff's "Sawmill Village" when we visited last July.  The Cooks will be located on the slab (which will be extended) directly behind the camper.  You can see the Cooks in the background on the left of the camper.


 
Here he is showing off the Cooks.


 
And he also does a good job with his Oscar 60".


 
I watched him saw this slab!! 


 
He also does a good job with Dungeness Crabs.  ;D