Whatcha Sawin' 2022 ??

[Walnut Beast]

Thanks cutter! The Cedar isn't going that well 😂 

 

[cutterboy]

That's the way it goes. Some good, some bad.

[WDH]

At least the carpenter ants have been having a fine family reunion :D. 

[Patrick NC]

 

 

I've had this Dawn Redwood sitting around for awhile.  To be honest I almost forgot about it. Sawed a slab off tonight and it looks pretty interesting to me. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. Probably cut it into 8/4 slabs and see what happens.

[moodnacreek]

Today I learned that getting full size 2x12's from medium sized logs is a real pain.  I didn't have logs big enough to make a decent cant, so I had to just keep cutting slabs and then edge them.  Those are heavy slabs to be standing up to edge.  Originally the guy wanted 2x6 and then switched to 2x12.  I should have said no to that.

This is what happens when you get into sawing. your machinery is seldom big enough. A real heavy duty edger with the right support equipment and there would be nothing to it.

[moodnacreek]

That dawn redwood would be great for sign makers or other wood carvers. The problem is that they have never herd of it and only want basswood or w. pine.

[Resonator]

That cedar is being held together by termites holding hands. :D

[caveman]

Between sawing pine 1x6x16's and 2x4x16's, I got a call from a guy who wanted some old beams resawn.  I figured they were hand hewn from some barn up north.  Turns out they were from a sawmill somewhere relatively local.  They looked like red oak and had a bunch of sand and rocks imbedded into the cracks and anywhere sand and rocks could fit.  I spent a good bit of time with a wire brush and a water hose trying to get them clean enough to saw.  I told the customer it would be hourly rate plus blades.  I was able to get through with one blade, but it was not a happy blade at the conclusion of this sawing session.  I will say that cranking up the tension, pouring the lube (cotton picker spindle lube in this case) and just pouring the coals to it and it continued to cut flat, even when past dull (WM, ST, .1.5", .o55).  Sawing creosoted crossties could not have been worse.


 

 

There were three of these, roughly 12x12x 11'.  The one pictured was the roughest.

[Andries]

One blade - that's impressive.
Sand and gravel are not a blades best friends.

[Cornerstone]

Storm damage made this elm tree in the backyard pretty lopsided and homely. Since the lawn was  destroyed already from doing septic tank work with the backhoe, I took the opportunity to dig it up for some practice milling. 



  



 



 

[TimW]

The wood in the middle photo is beautiful.
hugs,  Brandi

[doc henderson]

 

 

Gabe RN and his son John.  we milled up 3 elm logs he wants for a 10 x 30 wood wall.  He is a charge nurse in our ED.  got to know him when I was at Wesley in Wichita.  He and his wife are Nurses and former Airforce.

[Magicman]

Your Elm looks like my Black Locust. 

[Larry]

Sapwood is a clue....black locust.

[doc henderson]

I took his word for it.  if so, I wish I had know, that is nice rot resistant wood.  It was fresh felled a month ago, and sawn just that day.  I will see if I can get a better pic.  no thorns,  and it sawed nice.  the will look further.  he has a bunch more, i will see if he can provide some leaf pics ect.  thanks

[beenthere]

Honey locust would have thorns, but the black locust does not. Should make a good wall.

[Magicman]

Well, some Black Locust trees will have short and much larger at the base thorns, but nothing like the Honey Locust thorns.  

What I saw here were straight and virtually limbless stems/logs with almost no sapwood.  Elm and Black Locust bark is very similar.  Black Locust heartwood is yellowish where Elm is more brown.

[doc henderson]

this was a brown green heart wood.  did not get pics.  this is the same guy that helped me biby a log to cover a beam when they lived in Wichita.  He was not using PPE and I got my Asthma chewed.  

[JJ]

I think they r talking about cornerstone's elm. 🤔

[doc henderson]

Thanks JJ.  I wondered but we both were talking elm.  

[Magicman]

I think they r talking about cornerstone's elm. 🤔

??  I wasn't.  My reply was directed toward doc's "elm" which was just above my reply.  Actually I did not see any replies after mine that were directed toward Cornerstone.  I also do not see anything with Cornerstone's log/cant that even remotely resembles Black Locust.

Doc's Elm may be Elm, but to me the sapwood/heartwood says otherwise.

[WV Sawmiller]

 

Went to saw logs for my boat dealer/mechanic 18 miles away. This is another flea market job as he had seen and talked to me at the flea market a while back and has mentioned he had logs and finally told me to come saw them. Today was near perfect with a break in the weather. High in low 70s, mostly cloudy and a breeze. These are all fairly small hemlock logs in 8', 10' & 12 lengths. He wanted all true 2X4s and a little bit of 1X4 lumber on the side. He had to push back the first 4-5 logs with his tractor and forks as there was not room between me and the tree for the mill and to still walk.


One unusual thing was the customer has a band mill and it was parked about 35 yards away. He has had it several years and says he has sawed a little bit of 1" lumber but did not know how to saw 2X4s?

   I sawed and removed the slabs and edgings to a pile behind me and he stacked the lumber as it was cut and kept me supplied with logs every time the loading arms were lowered as requested. We ended up with 881 bf total. We could no doubt have gotten more bf if he had wanted some to the flitches edged into 2X6 but he said he only needed 2X4s and I cut what he wanted.


Everything was flat stacked on a big trailer as cut. I think there were 16 12s, 40 10's and 82 8's and a few 1X4" of each on the side.

[doc henderson]

Thanks magic man.  I have sent the question to Gabe.  Just to make me crazy, the first pic he sent me was leaves on a tree like this.  



 

I am like, "What?"  that looks like Walnut.  he said he has a bunch but then said this is not a pic of the same type of tree we milled, and he will get some of that.    I am headed to Camp Alexander Colorado, in the am with Troop 1 of Hutchinson Ks.  I will try to post, but reception and Wi-Fi is limited.  I will send future pics when I can and may start a thread about our week at Camp.  Only 3 youth, and two adult.  My Assistant Scoutmaster is former Lieutenant Kernel Army.  We work well together.  i started some acetazolamide to reduce shortness of breath at night the fist few days at just over 8K feet ASL.  it has changed my IPA beer to flat cherry soda.  side effect.  We are lowlander here in Ks.  God bless America and save the Queen!  

usflag

[Magicman]

Black Locust

[Larry]

I found a picture that illustrates the sapwood on MM's link and the reason I called black locust when I saw your picture.



I think it is a dead giveaway when I see it.  Also it has a distinctive smell when sawing.  I think it smells like cinnamon cookies and always makes me hungry.

I really like working with it and have made lots of outdoor furniture with the stuff.  With exposure to UV the color changes to a dark cherry color.

Going from a poor memory, about 40 years ago the Missouri Dept. of Conservation started a program to reclaim land around coal strip pits.  The land wouldn't grow hardly anything but they found it would grow black locust.  Black locust fixes nitrogen in the soil so they could get other under story stuff growing.  When mature the plan was to cut the black locust for firewood.  They enlisted Peabody Coal Company's help and some strip pits in east Kansas along with Missouri got heavy plantings of black locust.