Whatcha Sawin' 2025 ??

[Magicman]

If you fail to saw parallel to the pith check in Cherry, the chances are almost guaranteed that the boards will split from end to end.  Maybe best to avoid the pith and saw bowl blanks, etc out of some of it. 

It is generally best to "choose your battles" when dealing with Cherry.

[ktm250rider]

If you fail to saw parallel to the pith check in Cherry, the chances are almost guaranteed that the boards will split from end to end.  Maybe best to avoid the pith and saw bowl blanks, etc out of some of it. 

It is generally best to "choose your battles" when dealing with Cherry.

Ahhhh, where was this good information last year when i cut my crooked cherry logs!  I have a whole stickered log that is cracked on both ends.  Ill have to get some pictures.   I was able to slice the slabs in half and get some nice boards out of it for a night stand, so not a total loss.  Im also thinking of a little (well a lot) of epoxy and butterfly's to build a buffet top out of.  
All my cheery logs are crooked but ive been able to get some good lumber out of them.

[jpassardi]

One way to maximize your yield on crooked cherry is to cut them into 4' or 6' logs between the crooks. More work to mill and sticker but allows you to parallel and remove the juvenile wood. Whether it's worth it all depends how valuable the cherry lumber will be to you in the end. I've done it because cherry is rare on our property.

[Wlmedley]

MM,thanks for the advice. I have sawn one cherry log in the past which was shortly after I got my mill. My BIL gave me the log and I gave him a stack of slabs mostly because at the time I didn't have anywhere to store them. I do remember that some had pretty bad cracks but at the time I probably didn't cut them correctly. I kept a few boards for myself and they still look pretty good. I really don't particularly like the look of cherry by itself but found it looks nice in a glue up with other wood species. I made some cutting boards with cherry in the middle and walnut on each side and it turned out pretty good. I'll try and get what I can out of these logs being I probably won't get very many logs in the future. I don't know of any on my place. 

[Machinebuilder]

I really like cherry.

I have sawn some and it saws fairly easy.
I like the look after it ages for several years and darkens.
I have several 3x10x10 pieces I had milled about 15 years ago, someday I'll use them for something

I also have saved a lot of small chunks to smoke food with. IMHO its the best for poultry.
I use it for my thanksgiving turkey.

[Magicman]

I have sawn two jobs that were all Cherry.  Both were in the 1500 bf range and both were to be used for inside wall paneling.  One had a few logs that were in the 30" range.  I saw it so seldom that I love it.  All of the logs that I have ever sawn had a crook and pith check.


Here is an example of an 18" butt Cherry log.  Notice the pith check and that the faces will be opened so that it will be parallel with the blade for the saw through.

[WV Sawmiller]

   And if you are sawing live edge slabs for benches or bookmatching saw parallel to that check to contain the check in one board/slab as best you can.

    Cherry makes a pretty fireplace mantel also. I like a 3" thick mantel and try to box the heart keeping the check in one mantel. Because of the sweep I sawed one log with a lot of curve. I centered the front as best I could and squared off the back leaving a rounded front LE mantel (actually 2 of them) that started at about 7" wide on each end then increased to about 12" in the center. I had a 1/2" trim cut a guy grabbed and put a couple of 1" dowels on the ends to make it look like a cross-cut saw as the shape was right. A man came and saw the 2 - 3" thick mantels and bought them both. He had 2 fireplaces in his home he was building.

[Wlmedley]

I've got a small stack of cherry that I sawed a few years ago. Top board is 1" and the rest are 3/4" thick. Don't know why I sawed them at 3/4" but they stayed pretty straight and maybe I'll find a use for them someday.

[TimW]

New customer wanted me to meet him half way to Austin to sell him these two beams.

[TimW]

He then convinced me to saw him two 18 foot 4x8s while he drove 3 hours to get here.

[TimW]

This is what he came to pick up the 8x8s and 4x8s with.  He does remodeling and new construction.  I think he will be a repeat customer!

[Magicman]

I sawed a Goodwill job this morning for the Grandson of a friend.


There was not too much to it; three ~6' Beech logs.  Notice that Luke stopped by to check on me. 


The two larger logs were sawn into 2 1/2" X 6" and the smaller log into 1X10's.  I also pulled a couple of SYP 1X6's out of my stack and sawed him some stickers. 

He was happy and I was happy to help him. 

I have a one log job scheduled for tomorrow morning. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Lynn,

   That looks like one of those low/no profit but high reward jobs.

[Magicman]

Yes, sorta like that.  His Grandad and I were next door neighbors for over 20 years and have been friends for over 55 years.  There are simply times when Goodwill is the proper thing to do.  I had already told PatD and also Marty that there would be no invoice. 

[jpassardi]

Nice gesture on your part Lynn. 

[red]

That sounds like Magic Man 

[TimW]

That sounds like Magic Man

Indeed

[WV Sawmiller]

     Yeah, I am sure you guys are like me and have some people you just can't charge for work done for them. Most have done so much for me and my family I could never saw enough lumber to pay them back anyway.

[Magicman]

Goodwill is a circle that can not be broken

[Resonator]

You're a good man Magicman.

[Wlmedley]

Every once in a while someone will call me wanting some wide boards for shelves and I normally don't have any as wide boards tend to cup in my past experiences. I had a pretty nice poplar on the mill yesterday and decided I'd give it a try mostly because log had a slight bow and using MM's method I did my saw through with the horns up and I didn't save any side lumber on my first and second cuts thinking it would crook anyway. Ended up with with some nice 13" wide boards. Time will tell if they stay nice. Stacked in my shed with some weight on them. Should fit through my 13" planer once they dry.

[cutterboy]

Bill, the lumber looks great now, hope it stays that way. Some might cup but some will probably stay flat.

[Nebraska]

Forty eight red cedar shingles, would've been two bundles exactly but I forgot to flip my lever and made a short half inch board instead of a shingle.  Just was a very nice evening to work outside a while. 

[Magicman]

That is a nice bucket-o-shingles. 

[GAB]

I forgot to flip my lever and made a short half inch board instead of a shingle.  

I've done doodid dat a few times myself.  You get busy and just forget a step in the shingle sawing pattern.  I looked at my thin short boards and said birdhouse material.  
GAB